Drack's abrupt laughter roared through the Tempest as Scott Ryder made a dash up the ramp leading into the meeting room. Ryder rounded the transparent barrier, immediately turning his head into the direction of Sky's briefly glowing armor as the silver-encased figure stood with the Krogan. The human glimpsed around taking view of the Tempest's crew gathered into the area.
"Am I missing something?" Scott asked.
"Oh, hey, Scott!" Sara beamed a wide grin while giving a brief wave. The human woman sat between Vetra and Liam as the three sat upon one of the seating placements under the viewing window.
Drack stood next to Cora Harper. He cackled loudly, "This kid's got quads! Hacking the Nexus' systems is the for sure thing to piss off Tann. Seeing that Salarian get mad sure makes for a good day. I wish I would have been there."
Cora stood at attention with her back to the hologram board and spoke in upmost military diligence, "Right... Onto more important things; thanks to Sky we still have our Pathfinder." She turned her head facing into Scott's direction as the human Pathfinder joined the ring of crew members.
Scott folded his arms and broadly smirked enthusiasm, "Aw, you guys. I didn't know I meant that much to everyone."
Drack grunted, "Finding a replacement is easy... just saying."
Gil stood outside of the ring and quipped, "I could fit the bill, I mean, all I need to do is just tell everyone else what to do, right?"
Jaal, whom stood on the other side of Lieutenant Harper, narrowing his eyes toward the engineer, "I doubt your combat skills would be very efficient with tools that are meant to fix the ship."
Liam's laughter filled the room, "That was a burn! Good one, Jaal!"
"Jaal is learning the Gil and Liam way... oh dear.. I might have to put in for a transfer if this keeps up." Kallo mumbled lowly and shook his head. The Salarian was sitting down with a large gap between him and the female Turian. Suvi Anwar had chosen to sit beside Kallo and offered a gentle chuckle, "Kallo, don't be silly. We'd never let our best pilot go. What would the Tempest do without you to guide her?"
Scott slowly turned his head looking around the meeting room and made a perplexed look, "Uh... Where's Peebee?"
"Oh? Is that why it's so quiet in here? Huh." Vetra very gradually looked around and slumped back into her seat.
"Very funny, Vetra." Peebee scoffed, the Asari's voice coming from below in the research area. She loudly ranted, "Damn it! What's wrong with my Omni-tool?! It's not scanning anymore..."
"I warned her." Sky gently shrugged his shoulders
Scott let his arms fall to his sides and he began to slowly pace into the center of the ring between crew members, "Anyways, we've got some important work cut out for us. Again. The Kett are making plans for an invasion... and their target is the Milky Way, second-"
"Really?! They're going to the home front? How stupid can they be? I mean, c'mon we kicked them in the tail when we stopped the Archon. You'd think they'd figure out that we're pretty badass... I'd honestly like to see them go up against the Krogan. THAT would be a very boring battle because we all know that Drack's people would squash the Kett in no time. Speaking of, the Turian and the human militaries combined, the Kett would certainly be begging to come back to Andromeda." Liam brought down his arms and sat up to sit on the edge of his seat.
Drack made his suggestion, "We need to find their nest and drop a big bomb on it. We should make plans to invade their home for a change of pace."
"Can I finish, please?" The Pathfinder waved up both of his hands up to motion for silence. "Second, we may have found a way to control the Scourge. If we can establish the method then we can use it against the Kett like a super weapon type of thing. Going on Drack's idea; we can use the Scourge to target the Kett's home system but first we need to keep the Kett from carrying out their plan to invade the Milky Way. Third; we're heading back to Voeld. Sam has a location of an alien artifact that can potentially give us the upper hand to control the Scourge."
"Do we have a precise location? Voeld is a giant defrosting popsicle." Vetra worriedly asked.
Sam answered respectfully, "I have marked the location on the Nomad's navigational system, Miss Nyx. Omni-tools will also display a marker the closer the Pathfinder squad is within the specified area."
"We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Sam." Cora remarked with an appreciative smile.
"I appreciate your confidence in my abilities, Lieutenant." Sam's robotic voice came back with gratitude. "Pathfinder, we are coming upon Voeld's orbit. Auto pilot will be disengaged once Kallo has taken his place at the helm control."
Sara tilted her head and anxiously wondered, "Who do you plan on taking with you, Scott?"
Scott offered a heavy shrug, "Depends who wants to go... Anyway, everyone, back to whatever you were doing. I'll make the call in before we get suited up. Anyone that is interested to go..." He trailed off.
The crew members began rising from their places and turned direction for the descending ramps. Sara Ryder walked passed her sibling and remarked in demand sound, "You better take me with you... I want to see this!"
Sky took a few steps toward the human Pathfinder's way, "Allow me to accompany, Pathfinder."
The Asari suddenly emerged behind the tall silver figure, grabbing Sky by the elbow, and began to drag him away, "You're not going anywhere just yet, bucko! Maybe Poc's scanner will work... This is Rem tech, right? It's gotta be! It's like human meets Rem tech, only yours is... very, very, sexy-looking. I WILL have this armor!"
(*Disclaimer: alternative romance outcome available in Chapter 7 - Alternative Romances)
Ryder turned his attention onto the patiently waiting Turian after the crew members had dispersed from the meeting room and returned to their posts. Scott's lips cracked into a broad grin as he approached Vetra and extended his arms out to take up her hands into his.
"Vetra, we haven't had the chance... I.. I'm sorry for what happened." Scott began with a whispering voice.
"Scott... it's okay. You're okay. I'm so glad that you're okay.." Vetra responded very quietly, dipping her head down and looking upon her hands held within his. "It was heart aching to find out that the Kett captured you but... it's over now so let's just... I wanted to talk to you.. alone."
"This is as good time as any." Ryder smiled admiration and waited for Vetra to lift her face and meet her green eyes into his stare. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"It's complicated... you and me.. us.. together. I... I really love you, Scott, but after not seeing you when you were supposed to be behind me after we saved that group of Angara on Voeld... It was such a painful feeling in my chest. We... shouldn't do this anymore."
Scott's smile vanished, his heart sank into the bottom of his stomach and he softly protested, "Vetra, I don't understand."
Vetra answered as calmly as she could muster, "What if something bad happened to you? Nothing like Sam deliberately killing you just so you could escape the Archon's trap back on our mission to find Meridian... but I'm talking about something really bad that there's no coming back from... if you were exalted for example.. Spirits.. I wouldn't be able to.."
The human man gingerly released Vetra's hands and quickly wrapped his arms around the Turian's torso pulling her into an embrace. He whispered toward her invisible ear, "Vetra, I love you and I want us to be us... together."
"Scott..." Vetra's arms looped around the Pathfinder's waist and rubbed the side of her scales into his soft skin.
Ryder leaned slightly back in order to come face-to-face with the female Turian and firmly pressed his lips to her scale-covered mouth motioning for a deep kiss.
.
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(Disclaimer: The location of the Kett base is where the 'Remove the Heart' quest is found. Not the Angaran AI's location. Bit of info about the planet of Voeld; From the Milky Way, the Initiative identified Voeld as Habitat 6, a "golden world" projected to be a life-sustaining and temperate garden world. This is confirmed by Angara]n historians. During the Scourge event, gravitational distortions affected Voeld's orbit. Models from the Nexus tech labs show how this triggered a minor ice age. The Angara were forced to withdraw to a few urban centers, with the rest of Voeld's population scattered in smaller settlements. YouTube video search 6whJGaUhdyY at 20:55 Suvi: We designated this Planet Habitat 6. Original readings suggested it had a breathable nitrogen-rich atmosphere- oceans of H2O. )
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"You've gotta be shitting me, Sam. The Kett base? Didn't we drop this place off the map several months ago?" The Pathfinder asked aloud while gripping the hand pistol with both hands and made steady sweeps back and forth as he cautiously trekked through the cave's inner pathways leading to the Kett base built into the great mountain. He spotted an enlarged Chitin crawling across the ground.
"This place looks like a ghost town. I guess even the Angara didn't want to stick around after they got what they came for." Peebee quietly spoke in a state of awe as she followed in rear formation behind the Pathfinder.
"This place has many bad memories. We prefer to steer clear of them." Jaal supplied an explanation.
Ryder's helmet lights slowly turned back and forth as the human glimpsed around, "Well, I guess if the lights are off then no one's home."
Sam's voice raised over the broadcast, "The base was left abandoned, Pathfinder. There is very likely chance that the power generators no longer function."
"I kind of figured, Sam. It hasn't stopped other house guests from moving in." Scott popped one of the enlarged crawling insects with a single bullet.
"Ugh, bugs! Too bad they're not Remnant. They're SO much cuter." Peebee squeaked.
"Remnant cute? Peebee, really?" Scott grumbled in disgust and rolled his eyes.
"I do not mind these insects. They are quite friendly." Sky's voice spoke behind the group.
Both Ryder and the Asari turned their heads to look over their shoulders toward the dark silver armor and suddenly gasped in unison. A large number of Chitin insects were clutched onto various areas of Sky's glowing armor.
"SHIT! SKY! Get those things off!" Peebee nearly shouted, spinning around, and quickly raised the gunpoint into Sky's direction.
"Sky?! How are they- are you controlling them?" The human Pathfinder quizzically inquired.
"Controlling?" Jaal's voice revealed a suspicious demeanor as he slowly turned to look upon Sky with a curious look.
Sky lifted his right hand to the opposite shoulder allowing one of the smaller-sized insects to crawl across the top of his hand. He answered soothingly, "They have become attracted to the energy glow from the patterns on my armor."
"Wait a minute - you can control insects?!" The Angara insisted eagerness while glancing between the Initiative Pathfinder and Sky with an astonished look.
"Ryder, did you know about this?" Peebee swiftly lowered her gun and whipped her head into the Pathfinder's direction.
"Well, yeah, of course I did... I mean, Sky is an enhanced Biotic. Didn't I specify that in the reports when I came back?" Scott Ryder returned his attention forward in order to continue through the darkened compound.
"Uh, no. You didn't. That is the COOLEST!" Peebee chanted excitedly. The Asari holstered her weapon and walked together with Sky, avoiding to come within close proximity of accidently touching the Chitin insects. "So, Sky, can you make the creepy crawlers do tricks? Can they roll over and play dead? If they can play dead then that saves us having to waste ammunition on them."
Sky disregarded for any responses as the Pathfinder squad progressed through the empty corridors. The green light of the symbols provided a brilliant glow over the walls in passing. The group traversed further into the mountain base and had come into the very bottom floor level.
Peebee's voice lowered into a very quiet whisper, "This is very creepy. Are there such things a ghosts? Kett ghosts specifically? I can't recall how many were killed when we strolled through here."
"Why are you whispering, Peebee?" The Angara asked in an unamused sound of voice.
"Because it makes things a lot more eerie... Are any of you guys scared? 'Cause, you know, if you were then I'll happily record your guys' screams. I wonder if Ryder's screaming over vid coms would be worth anything."
"Peebee..." The Pathfinder's scolding voice echoed through the emptiness of the rooms. Scott stopped and lowered his gaze onto his left arm promptly igniting the Omni-tool to appear. "Okay, Sam, we're at the spot... So, what are we looking for?"
"My sensors provide indication that there is an underground level just below. There is hollowed walking room within the ice that may have served passage for the Kett prior the construction of this base. I theorize that the Kett intended to keep this passage a secret amongst their own." Sam explained calmly.
"Keeping the Scourge for themselves, basically. If the Angara were to find the artifact then they could have turned the tide against the Kett with the control of the Scourge." Ryder added in the realization.
The artificial intelligence spoke in caution, "I detect a static interference that is preventing my scans from delving further below the ice. The artifact may be the cause of this disruption."
"Okay, new question for you, Sam. How do we get into the underground level? I don't think there's a switch... and with the power down it wouldn't work anyway." Ryder adverted his gaze onto the bronze-colored floor.
"I can optimize your Omni-tool into a frequency similar to the affects of a blowtorch with a much more impactful force that will take less amount of time to cut through the metal." The robotic voice broadcast over the squad's communications.
Peebee suddenly gasped and pointed toward Sky's direction, "SAM! I have an idea brewing! Can you also provide my Omni-tool with the same frequency?"
"If your intentions are meant to find a way to remove Sky's armor the answer is no. That would include a large scale of discomfort upon a living organism, possibly searing completely through his body. I believe that Sky would disapprove of this." Sam's voice hinted slight dismay.
The Asari began in protest and explained with coy sensibility, "You're a poor sport, Sam. I wouldn't do it to kill him! I just want to study his armor... and we can all find out what Sky really looks like. It's a win-win!"
"I will send these insects after you, Asari." Sky very lowly muttered. The Chitin insects began to crawl down from the dark silver armor to the metal flooring and rapidly spread apart before disappearing into the darkness.
Jaal abruptly stifled a choking chuckle and cleared his throat as a cover up, "Ahem... That would be a sight to see; Peebee running away from a swarm of Chitin insects. Vetra could profit well from that vid."
"Jaal?!" The Asari's voice escaped with a surprised gasp, "How could you... After all we've been through! I thought that you and I were an item. I'm heartbroken, Jaal."
Ryder shook his head and spoke aloud, "Sam, can I get that frequency now? I think I'm going to choke on Peebee's bullshit."
Sam elaborated, "The frequency has been set to your Omni-tool, Pathfinder. I advise a large circular circumference that will enable easy passage into the level below. There is a drop down approximately ten feet in height. This will provide sufficient room to freely stand within the underground level."
"Okay, got it." Scott holstered the handgun and outstretched his left arm bringing the large glow to shine over the floor. "I wonder if I can preset the setting to make a large circle and just cut the hole out all at once. Let's give that a try, Sam." The orange light brightened its shine into a solid circular form and began a softly sizzling noise as the Omni-tool's frequency adverted and began burning into the metal. Streams of smoke rapidly rose up around the edges of the glowing red ring, the low hissing sound was drown out by the grinding of metal against metal, and was suddenly replaced by the loud crash of ice being shattered as the large circular metal plate abruptly dropped into the level below. Scott clicked off his Omni-tool and gradually approached the edge of the ring to overlook into the deep hole finding that the room below generated a softly wavering blue glow.
"Whoa." Peebee praised as the Asari included her inquisitive nature to peer over the edge. "That's a lot of ice and it looks like it's still in the slow melting process... Um, is it safe? I'm not very good at ice-skating."
"I'll drop down first... Not like it's that hard to replace me as Pathfinder, right? Pathfinder Peebee, Asari conqueror of the Remnant!" Scott enthusiastically mocked before jumping into the large metal gape.
"Were you trying to be funny, Ryder? Or were you really being serious? I would actually prefer not to have the Pathfinder title. Just give me control over the Remnant bots and we'll be good. Asari Conqueror actually does sound better than Pathfinder." Peebee watched the human man plant a smooth descent upon the ice while making use out of the propulsion system from the jetpack to ease his fall.
The Pathfinder promptly touched down into a single roll giving himself an evenly balanced descent in preventing an impactful fall onto the circular metal that awaited upon the ice floor. Ryder came out of the roll into a standing posture near the singed edging of the metal plate. Slowly turning his helmet from side-to-side Scott looked up at the grand ice walls that formed the small area. He lowered his gaze onto the site of several openings clenched under ice. Scott looked over his shoulder as the Asari came down and easily planted behind him. He cautiously stepped out onto the solid formation of ice while continuing to glimpse around, "Sam, there's a lot of options to go. Can you get us pointed into the right direction?"
Sam's voice broadcasted to the squad's receivers, "You are upon the precise location of the artifact's coordinates, Pathfinder. There may be a secondary level directly below your position. My sensors are still being affected by the unknown interference, therefore, I cannot determine the safest route of descent to the level below. The scans from your Omni-tool could provide a reliable sense of direction."
"That's very reassuring, Sam. I don't know what I'm looking for. If there's a staircase then that problem will be solved." Scott murmured his thoughts out loud and extended his left arm which ignited the orange glow to first appear upon the ground in front of him. He carefully walked forward to approach one of the openings and raised the Omni-tool scanning interface to peer its glowing light into the icy hall. Scott glanced over his shoulder spying the Asari placing her palm against one of the smoothed surfaces of ice.
Peebee noted disappointment aloud, "It's all... ice.."
"And it's melting." Jaal motioned toward the direction of a drizzling trail of water slithering down from between the top of the ice wall and under the structure of metal. "This is the result of Meridian's systems having affect upon the worlds. It's truly remarkable."
"Voeld will slowly return into an ocean planet. I get dibs on the first beach front property." Ryder called over his shoulder before walking to the next opening and running the Omni-tool's scanner into the stretched hallway.
Jaal regarded the human's remark with slight dismay, "This isn't about claiming stake upon Voeld, Ryder. It's about this planet returning to its former, a world in which the surface took on a different appearance before the Angara came to settle upon its surface long ago. You must still abide by Angaran wishes... I get dibs on the second."
Peebee rolled her eyes and grumbled, "What is up with men and beaches? I find the Remnant vaults a lot more homey."
Sky remained silent in his approach toward one of the openings, he slipped under the low ice frame, and swiftly vanished from the small area.
Ryder, Peebee, and Jaal glanced to one another with puzzled looks and quickly followed, one after the other, under the opening within the iced wall. Scott looked upon the dark silver armor's green glowing runes merging together with the wavering blue glow creating an array of sea green colors shining over the smooth surfaces of the surrounding ice walls.
"Wow... that's incredible." Ryder whispered in awe, looking the walls up and down to follow the shimmering glow.
"Beautiful." Jaal gasped also expressing his astonishment.
"I didn't know your armor could do this, Sky. It's... amazing. Too bad the others can't see this. Vetra would be so jealous." Peebee giggled in spite.
"Sam is capable to record, you do know, right, Peebee?" Ryder momentarily looked over his shoulder to look back at the Asari.
"Oh, really?! Sam, you would be the best AI in my book if you could do that for me!" Peebee beamed cheerfully.
"Sam is the only AI that we know of, Peebee..." Jaal muttered under his breath.
Sam's voice accepted the Asari's request, "Acknowledged, Peebee. The recording functions are operational and present via the Pathfinder's field of vision."
Sky continued to disregard any comments as he turned corner and came to an abrupt halt before a descending ice-covered stairway. He half-turned, making a careful side-step back allowing the Pathfinder squad view of the staircase leading into the darkness below.
"Irony has it; I found the stairs, Pathfinder."
"You're good, Sky! I'd say a lot better than Ryder." Peebee nudged Scott in the back of the ribcage on the Pathfinder's armor. "I nominate Sky as the new Pathfinder!"
"This isn't a democracy, Peebee. You can't just vote for a new Pathfinder-" Ryder began his argument and had quickly returned his focus onto Sky whom started down the stairway.
"If the lot of you desire to continue bickering, I will gladly venture on of my own accord."
"Thou art antsy. I likey!" Peebee swiftly brushed passed the human Pathfinder and carefully raced down the staircase leveraging her balance by outstretching her arms to the surrounding walls and glided her way down following after Sky.
Ryder shrugged toward Jaal and faced direction of the stairs prior starting his descent. Scott's helmet light blinked on and flashed its ray of light back and forth between the walls as the human Pathfinder submersed into the unworldly darkness. His boots touched down onto metal sound, quickly adverting his helmet's light upon the flooring revealing its appearance like corroded copper.
"Is this metal? Sam, are you able to get any read outs yet?"
"I am attempting to recalibrate my sensor array within the static interference. The process has become very difficult now that the Pathfinder team is located at the precise level where the unknown device can be found. However, my other capabilities are still functional." The artificial intelligence replied over the broadcast communication between the squad members.
Ryder softly sighed, "I guess you're on break, Sam. Anyway, let's spread out and broaden our search for... something that stands out differently than everything else we've seen."
"Sky found a VERY big box. Would that count?" Peebee's light flashed across the room toward the brightly glowing green runes that remained aglow without the pulsing fade.
Scott briskly raced toward the stilled glowing runes, the sound of water sloshing under his boots and quickly rising to knee-high depth in his approach. He stood with Sky and raised his helmet's light onto one of the forward facing sides of the cube-shaped object that was clutched within an ice wall. The Initiative Pathfinder raised the sudden glow from his Omni-tool to shine upon the stained golden-colored surface that appeared to have had its shine corroded away. The flat surface slightly protruded with pictographs of countless amounts of gold corroded rings consisting of circles within circles across the entire oddly-crafted object. Random swirled patterns interlaced from circle to circle and weaved between the outer rings to adjoin to various outer rings.
"Is this the sound device that we're supposed to be looking for? Uh, I don't get it... Is there a console or a button to push to turn it on?" The Asari's helmet light projected brighter as Peebee came closer to the strange artifact.
Jaal drew closely to the solid surface and hesitantly extended his hand to touch his palm onto the surface. He questioned out loud, mostly to himself, "This has been hidden here on Voeld for how long? Why have the Kett found this and not by my people first?'
"This definitely does NOT look like Rem tech. It's too fancy and boring. No flashy lights!" Peebee expressed obvious discontent and softly rasped.
Scott murmured as he waved his Omni-tool slowly up and down shining its orange light across the carved surface, "Maybe the Remnant had a creative streak before killer bot mode... This material doesn't register as the same composition as Remnant metal... How did the Kett translate from this thing? There's no symbols or words that give instructions on how to activate it. Sam, is this the music box that we're supposed to find?"
Sam offered calm explanation, "It is, Pathfinder. I theorize with each different sized pattern, including the depths of the indentations, there are variations of sound vibrations created into the air that give the Scourge direction. Essentially, just like the strokes created from a music box."
"It's a giant music box? You're kidding..." Peebee narrowed her eyes toward the human Pathfinder. "How does music control a deadly space cloud?"
"Sound waves are capable to travel through the vacuum of space which means this thing must be able to generate specific frequencies that control the Scourge... Um, I think we're going to need an excavation crew to get this out of here. Sam, can you get a copy of it into your data?"
"It will require some time, Pathfinder. I am still in the process of bypassing the interference."
"Is the interference coming directly from this thing?" Scott made slight worry as he questioned in response to the artificial intelligence.
"No, the source is very close to your position. I suggest a scan from your Omni-tool to determine its location." Sam's robotic voice answered.
The squad suddenly became alarmed swirling around into the direction of a great splash sounding abruptly behind them. Their lights fixated upon the area of rapidly rippling water.
The Asari's ray of light swiftly swayed back and forth, "What the hell was that?! Is there something else down here?"
"Don't get scared, Peebee. If you do, don't worry... we have Sam recording every minute of it."
"Ha, ha, Jaal. If it's a hungry fiend I'll make sure to offer it a light Angaran snack."
Scott shook his head, rolling his eyes, and grumbled, "Can you two stop? It was just an icicle that fell from the ceiling. Look up." The Pathfinder's helmet light shined up to the frozen ceiling.
"Ryder, um... that's a LOT of icicles and some pretty damn big ones, too. If you get crushed I get to drive the Nomad from hereon, right?" Peebee wondered with a subtle spiteful tone.
The Initiative human man disregarded the Asari's snide demeanor and quickly turned his helmet's direction toward Sky's glowing armor. Ryder's boots sloshed through the raised water level that was now above knee height as he approached the green glowing wall.
"That's... not Sky's armor." Scott murmured to himself and hurried through the weighing water to come up beside the humanoid figure and turned the ray of light onto the source of the green glow. "HOLY SHIT! What is this thing?!" Ryder's voice raised into a brief shout.
Under the melting wall of ice unveiled a long and large oval-shaped neon green glowing object encaged within a blackened jagged framework.
"WHOA! That is certainly different than anything we've seen before!" Peebee shook her head trying to shake off the overwhelmed disbelief.
"Ryder," Sam began, "This appears to represent the same functions as a stasis pod. There is a connection with a very low frequency power junction just underneath that is keeping the stasis pod active."
"No fucking way! There's someone alive in THAT thing? Wo-ow!" Peebee widely gaped in shock.
The Pathfinder team suddenly whirled around by the sound of shattering ice upon the metal floor in front of the stairway that was shrouded by the darkness.
The Asari drew out her weapon and waved it wildly back and forth, "Shit! SHIT! What the hell was that?!"
Jaal motioned toward the ceiling, "The icicles are falling and hitting the floor. It's called gravity, Peebee."
Peebee growled toward the Angaran and reluctantly holstered the handgun, "I knew that, Jaal!"
Jaal turned the ray of light toward Scott, "Ryder, did Sam get that moment recorded? I can't wait to see the look on Peebee's face later."
"You're a fucking asshole, Jaal." The Asari glowered toward Jaal.
Scott fully ignored the Angara and stricken Asari while he retained focus on the glowing green stasis pod, "Is there a way to get this cracked open?"
"I advise caution, Pathfinder; opening the stasis pod will make the lifeform within vulnerable to the outside elements. Whatever lies within may not be accustomed to the outside extreme temperatures and highly probable that it could perish. A retrieval team may be required to transport the stasis pod to the Tempest."
Sky's silence had finally come broken as his echoing voice conveyed softly, "There will not be enough time. The ice is melting too rapidly and soon this area will become an underground ocean. I can contain the body within a substance similar to the organic matter inside of the stasis pod that is keeping the body preserved." He swiftly approached the glowing stasis pod and outstretched both of his hands pressing the flat of his palms onto the pod's shell. His fingers slowly dipped through the translucent surface, as if breaking through an egg sac, submerging his arms up to the elbows and carefully stepped back.
Scott, the Asari, and Jaal diverted their attention toward the sound of randomly shattering ice and swiftly shifted their gaze upward to momentarily watch the icicles breaking and falling from the frozen-over ceiling. The Pathfinder team anxiously returned their focus onto Sky whom gently pulled out an unidentifiable body completely covered in deepened yellow sludge and gently cradled the mysterious lifeform in his arms.
"I have her. We need to go. Now."
"Her?" The squad blurted out together in unison.
The sudden gush of water sprung and impacted upon the water-logged ground with a heavy splash. Ryder lifted his helmet's light fixture onto the sight of a newly merged waterfall that had broken through the iced wall. He watched cracks rapidly forming around the spout of water and suddenly became crumbled from the force of water rushing through the gradually crumbling ice wall.
"Ah, fuck! The water is rising! Let's get to the stairs!" Scott shouted and motioned for the others to follow as he staggered through the rising water level.
"Cold, cold, COLD, C-COLD!" Peebee repetitively recited.
"Sam, get an evac team to the hole! We're going to need a lift up! Have Lexi on standby!" The Pathfinder exclaimed in a rushed tone. Scott hurried toward the direction of the stairs, stepping aside and quickly waved for the rest of the squad to rush up the half-melted staircase. The human man followed up behind Sky as the Pathfinder team made a mad dash through the frozen hall on route to the underside of the Kett base. "Evac, we're going to need you in less than one minute! The water is coming up behind us!"