Scott Ryder leaned forward in his computer chair as he sat before the corner-formed metal desk located within the Pathfinder's Quarters. He had returned to his private room giving himself a reprieve from active duty and time to read through the recently received email logs. Scott rested both of his elbows upon the black table top's surface, one arm spread across the flat surface and the other propped up to brush his hand over the back of his head, bristling his fingers through his strands of thick dark hair. Scott momentarily glanced toward the small furry animal with long ears and tail as it nibbled on bits of toasted corn cereal. His eyes quickly adverted onto the hologram screen that displayed the message response from Director Foster Addison.
Pathfinder, I didn't know that your new recruit Sky had a taste for poetry. Truly, a man 'after my own heart'... In regards to your message; 'Appearances deceive, tongues lie, and idle hands betray. Thy actions orchestrate louder than words. Let thine own heart and mind entwined as one be judgement. Adhere to your instincts but do not let your eyes perceive as the guide.' The phrase; 'Appearances deceive' is something that you should already know and need not my explanation. Anyway, the term 'tongues lie' relates to the phrase; 'everyone lies'. Some, including myself, choose the honest partiality.
'Idle hands betray' is an expression that goes commonly 'hand-in-hand' with greed. When greed becomes the prime influence 'betrayal' is likely to follow when the prime suspect desires to have something in their possession, an item of great value for example. 'Thy actions orchestrate louder than words' is a fancy way of saying; 'actions speak louder than words'... and you don't need me to explain 'that'. The phrase that your recruit used; 'Let thine own heart and mind entwined as one be judgement' is definitely a testament to mankind's' 'lack of the better judgement' when we let our emotions become our first responsive way of thinking. 'Heart and mind' puts 'emotion and logic' together into an even balance so that one or the other is not outweighed in the final decision to be made... the last phrase; 'Adhere to your instincts but do not let your eyes perceive as the guide' is something 'else' that I've never heard before.
There's a few number of possibilities that come to mind. We see things as 'they are' apart from what really 'is' to someone else. Like the Angara for example; they might perceive the color blue as a different color, blue might be orange to them... Another testament to clarify for an example; if you close your eyes and let your other senses 'take over' you'll find that these secondary senses will became more dramatically aware to your present surroundings. Having our other senses 'guide' entails that we shouldn't just follow our eyes by relying solely on what we 'see'. We often overlook small details when we don't entirely rely on our other four senses. Have you ever tried eating food with your eyes closed, Ryder? The intensity of food taste is changed because we perceive the taste of what we eat by the way it looks.
Anyway, I've got priorities to clear up... The colonists and 'their' problems. Such and such etcetera. I don't need to bore you with the details. May your Angaran friend Tava B'shond find this information insightful. My best regards to her and her brother for surviving this long under Kett captivity.
Scott leaned back into his chair and raised both of his arms up, bending at the elbows, and rested the back of his head into his laced fingers.
The doorway softly hissed open permitting the female Turian to emerge into the Pathfinder's Quarters.
Ryder spun his chair to face into the direction of Vetra Nyx as she gradually approached.
"Hey, Scott. Everything okay? I've read over the recent report and I gotta say; WOW! That was intense fucked-up shit that happened! Drack's okay, if you're wondering." Vetra swayed in her walk to come stand in front of the human man.
Scott leaned forward again in his chair, bringing his hands from behind his head and outstretched his arms to loop around the Turian's slender waist. He gingerly pulled Vetra in for an embrace.
"Nothing I couldn't handle." Scott Ryder smirked deviously up to Vetra.
"Ha, right... Sam just reported in that Specialist Rynn Gee is looking specifically for you, Scott. It's news about the Quarian Ark Keelah Si'yah."
Ryder quickly regained onto his feet, slowly breaking away his embrace with Vetra and acknowledged, "I hope there's some good news." He turned his head and asked aloud, "Sam? Can you set direct course for Meridian? Let Kallo know I'm on my way to the bridge."
.
.
The Tempest gracefully nose-dived through the visible opening within the Dyson-sphere that encompassed around the planet known as Meridian. The starboard window briefly flooded with brilliant blue light provided from the planet's glowing skies.
"Making the gravitational adjustments." Kallo excitedly announced.
The frigate ship adverted its trajectory to glide through the cloud cover and began its descent toward the lush world's green and blue surface. The Salarian continued to happily proclaim, "We are on course for the capital, Port Meridian. Docking Station Control has acknowledged our arrival and has the landing platform at the ready."
The human Pathfinder and Jaal stood behind the female Jardaan as Lamees dus Conta walked across the platform toward the starboard's control console.
Lamees widened her golden eyes into a look of awed-amazement.
"This is Meridian.. I'm finally able to see it for the first time since its creation. How beautiful." Lamees whirled around and suddenly reached one of her hands out to grip Jaal's wrist, pulling the male Angara closer. The female Jardaan joyfully exclaimed, "Jaal! Jaal! I'm so excited! Will you show me around?! I want to see everything!"
The corners of Jaal's purple-colored lips curled into an adoring smile. He expressed a gentle laugh and gratefully nodded, "I'd be honored... just don't be surprised by all of the humans walking around."
Mal's deepened voice injected coldly, "Meridian was registered to be the property of the Angaran race."
"Mal," Lamees quietly snapped, "Don't be rude! Meridian can be shared to all races of the galaxy... except the Tehet. The Tehet are NOT welcome."
Jaal stifled a chuckle from escaping and politely added, "You have a very expressive personality, Lamees, and one that is admirable."
Lamees broadened her orange-red lips into a wide grin. She quipped cheerfully, "I like your personality, too, Jaal Ama Darav."
Kallo cleared his throat before making further announcement, "Boarding procedures are underway. We are now touching down into station-"
The female Jardaan suddenly dashed passed Scott Ryder, strongly pulling the male Angaran with her, and zipped toward the bridge's door.
"Let's go, Jaal!"
The human Pathfinder smirked to himself in his turn to follow gaze after the surprised male Angara.
"There goes the two love-bugs." Scott muttered softly.
Suvi giggled and remarked, "Lamees is so adorable! She would certainly make a great pair with Jaal."
"I think I'll go throw up now... Can you direct me to Gil's room? I want to make sure I leave a nice puke pile on his floor." The Salarian pilot faked a choking cough.
"Oh, Kallo. I thought that you and Gil had made up long ago. What's going on now?" Suvi made a worried look toward the Salarian.
"Nothing, Suvi. I was making a joke at Gil's expense. I don't like him but I don't hate him. It's that kind of agreement we have."
Scott slowly stepped back and murmured, "I think I'll go do my Pathfinding thing. Have fun, you two."
"We'll be right behind ya, Ryder!" Kallo called over his shoulder.
Ryder directed toward the closed door that silently hissed open upon his approach. Sara Ryder had come across the transparent walking platform and met up with her sibling in the middle.
"Hey, Scott! Oh, you're heading the other direction." The human woman spun around and started her return across the platform with Scott following behind.
Scott nodded, "Yeah, kinda. I thought you would have pranced off to the port by now."
"Ha, funny. I actually wanted to ask you something." Sara stopped in front of the Research Station and slowly whirled around to face her twin.
"Yeah? What's up, Sara?"
(*Disclaimer: Ryder's other romance option: Sky also available in Chapter 15 - Alternative*)
Sara anxiously replied, "Well, you know.. it's kind of a big deal between you and Vetra. I was wondering when you were going to make it official."
Scott cocked an eyebrow, "Make what official?"
Sara narrowed her eyes and placed her hands onto the sides of her hips.
"Are you that thick-headed? Vetra, Sid, and I are on the fence about this... Well, mostly me and Sid. Vetra seems just as oblivious as you are... which makes you both a great pair. I want to know when I can start making wedding plans."
"Wedding plans? Is this what this is about, Sara? You want to get married... uhh, to who?"
"Not me, you idiot! You and Vetra! And stop being a sarcastic asshole."
Scott's cheeks lightly flushed and quickly shook his head to hide the embarrassment rising up into his face, "Um, Sara, that's... I haven't really thought about that... yet.. Yet! I meant to say yet... This really isn't a place to talk about in the open."
"You're embarrassed?!" Sara gawked, "My little brother is embarrassed?! Wow! I thought that I'd NEVER see the day!"
Scott glowered down at his sibling and crossed his arms defensively over his chest.
"Sara, can we not do the sibling-fighting-thing on my ship?"
Sara rolled her ice blue-colored eyes and quietly scoffed, "Yes, Pathfinder Ryder. I will cease our sibling-squabble-battle."
Scott exhaled a deep sigh and motioned toward the door entrance leading into the cargo bay.
"Maid of honor goes first."
"You're going to hold this one over me aren't you?" Sara loudly huffed. She turned away from her twin and began for the cargo bay's entrance.
"Oh, hell yeah." Scott supplied devious tone. He followed after his sister through the opening door and began the descent to disembark from the Tempest.
Scott walked with his older sibling down the cargo bay's extended ramp coming into the area of Meridian's port city. The human Pathfinder quickly looked around finding the mix of all Milky Way alien races and Angara meshed into the mingling crowds.
"Pathfinder Ryder! Over here!" A woman's voice called out over the crowd.
Scott adverted his attention to a human woman, with orange-colored bobbed-cut hairstyle, in black military uniform standing under the shadow of a bridge that connected two adjacent constructed buildings. She waved one of her arms in beckoning motion. Scott, together with Sara, cut through the passing crowds to approach Specialist Rynn Gee.
"Pathfinder," Rynn gratefully smiled and extended her hand out in greeting.
Scott accepted Rynn's handshake and made eagerness sound in his question, "Specialist Rynn Gee, I got your message. What's the update on the Quarian Ark? Did you find them?"
Rynn released the handshake and whirled around to walk together with the human man as she guided the way through the port city.
"You nailed it, Pathfinder. We received their distress call and they gave us coordinates to their location." Rynn Gee explained.
"What's their current status?"
"That's where the bad news comes in. They're having technical difficulties, as per usual. But it gets worse; the Batarians and Vorcha made it onboard... They've tried for a hostile take over during the journey through Dark Space. Most of the Quarian sleepers were woken up before schedule and thrown into the fray of things. They're trying to keep control of their ark. We didn't get any further details when it all started. However bad it really is, they need our help. I've sent word to Nozomi to get a fleet prepared. We need our Pathfinder to lead the charge and assess the damage from the inside of the Ark."
Scott made a stern look and asked, "You need me to find out if anyone is still alive, right?"
"Right." Rynn nodded and stopped in front of a high-arched opening leading into a tower-sized building that was still underway for construction. She fully faced into Scott's direction and demanded, "We need you on this right away, Pathfinder."
Scott nodded agreement, "Alright. Send the coordinates to Sam. Is there any other details that I need to know?"
"Everything you need to know will be sent to your Sam. If you have any other questions come find me here. It's not much but it's the start of a traffic control station. Good luck, Pathfinder Ryder." Rynn Gee gave one final grateful nod and turned for her approached toward the building.
Sara spoke under her breath, "Shit.. I can't believe it, the Quarians are finally here.. I hope they're okay."
Scott glanced to his sister and agreed, "Me too. Shore leave is officially over.. Sam, can you-"
"I have hailed the Tempest's crew and have made aware the situation. Everyone is on return route for the Tempest, Pathfinder." Sam's voice responded over Scott's transponder receiver.
.
.
The human Pathfinder and Lieutenant Cora Harper were suited up into their battle gear and standing in the bridge room. Scott stood in front of the starboard control console looking out to the view of the swirling warp tunnel that spiraled around the frigate ship.
"Arriving upon the Keelah Si'yah's coordinates." Kallo announced.
Suvi implied her worry, "I hope the Quarians are alright. They didn't come all this way just to fall to the Batarians and Vorcha.. It makes me wonder if the other stasis pods pulled through. We were also expecting the Hanar, Drell, and Elcor.."
"I'm not surprised if the Batarians found a way to get onboard the Ark. Bringing them along with the Vorcha is just a bad mix.. They're both hostile in nature and don't take too kindly to humans very well." Cora stated in professional mannerism. She stood in military form with her arms behind her back but had quickly turned her head side-to-side. "Um, Ryder? Isn't there another squad mate coming with us?"
"Yeah. Sky is coming. He almost started to argue with me about his idealistic pacifism but I won him over."
"With your irresistible charm, right? So, where is he?" Harper cocked a suspicious eyebrow.
Scott lightly shrugged, "Taking care of something in the med bay."
The swirling vortex was abruptly enveloped into the pure surrounding darkness as the Tempest emerged out of FTL warp drive.
Cora's dark eyes quickly shifted toward the starboard window and suddenly dropped her arms to her sides as she took a step forward.
"There she is! The Quarian Ark. Oh, God.. What the hell happened?"
Through the starboard window the Tempest ship overlooked upon the sight of the Ark starship aimlessly hovering in the pure emptiness of space. The hull was covered in scuffed patches and multiple blast scorch marks. The glowing beam light sources randomly faded into blackness before flicking back to life. The Ark's given name Keelah Si'yah was faded with various long scratch marks cut through the print.
Suvi nervously supplied, "Life support is barely holding. The ODSY Drive Systems are completely fried. There's different levels of hull breeches caused from long range missile projectiles.. Oh my.. this is terrible. I don't know how we're going to get her back to the Nexus."
"It looks like the Kett got to her. She's in worse condition than the time we had found the Leusinia." Cora grimaced a heart-broken look.
"Why do you humans always refer ships with a gender? How many times do I have to explain that ships don't have reproductive organs.. " Kallo injected with his astounding curiosity.
Ryder deflected the Salarian's odd inquiry and brought into question, "Sam, are you able to get any life signs? What about the Quarian Pathfinder?"
Sam calmly explained, "I detect that the Quarian Sam Node has sustained critical damage caused from physical trauma by a humanoid. It is likely that one of the two hostile alien races would have been the culprit. My long range scans are tracking the state of the stasis pods; the life forms within remain alive, however, there are multiple pods that were pulled ahead of schedule before the Ark's arrival into Andromeda. There may be life forms who have progressed in age above all the rest during the journey through Dark Space."
"What about their Pathfinder? Are they alive?" The human man urgently demanded.
"Unknown. The Sam Node has lost its connection to the Quarian Pathfinder."
Scott clenched his hands into fists and cursed, "Shit!" He whipped his direction toward the Salarian pilot, "Kallo, can you get us in?"
Kallo cheerfully replied, "I was just wondering when you were going to ask, Ryder!"