Entering atmosphere forced Scott into a micro panic attack as Habitat 7 flashed back to him. He flinched at the touch of a hand on his shoulder. Dr. T'Perro stood now at his side. " That doesn't look like Paradise,"

He shook his head, pushing images of floating rocks out of his immediate attention, and crossed his arms. " I'm beginning to suspect nothing in Andromeda will be Paradise,"

" Careful. I might put that in your evaluation," She warned him in jest. " Negativity in a Pathfinder is an unattractive and unprofessional quality,"

Scott smirked. " If SAM lets you,"

She shook her head. Scott admired her in passing. Between the flashbacks to Habitat 7 and acknowledging what Sara shared, the rare case of paranoia and fear left Scott in a hazardous position of appearing capable and not being on his toes like he ordered everyone to be. " Your SAM will learn his place,"

" I am not party to this argument," SAM replied to Scott on their private channel. " Nor will I interfere with an evaluation by the medical doctor,"

Ignoring his A.I. partner, Scott started for the back of the ship. He needed his lucky socks. " This is an odd practice, Pathfinder,"

" SAM, you share my head. Call me Scott,"

Scott rooted through his sparse clothing for the one pair of socks that had been patched up over and over again. Sara threatened to throw them away time and time again, and yet allowed him to keep the socks. Finally he yanked his boots back on and headed for the armory. Gearing up for Eos felt more like going into combat. It wasn't often that Scott dreaded combat and exploration. Combat inevitably joined hands with exploration when conflicting parties clashed. After Habitat 7 Scott expected killing Kett would soon become common as swatting a fly. That bothered him. Killing should never be that easy.

He supervised everyone gearing up. Kosta joked with Vetra about what they might find down there while Cora remembered her training manuals and recounted them back to herself in a near silent mantra. Gil assured them that the Tempest would be safe if they were met with hostile conditions on surface, as long as Scott and team would take cover and hole up until they could land again. Too many people depended on them for Habitat 7's ghost to keep haunting him. If Sara could overcome watching one of their comrades die, then he could overcome floating rocks.

Who the hell was afraid of floating rocks? Not him! Pft. He was a man. He never feared rocks. Not even floating rocks.

Still, he carried extra ammunition and waited in the cargo bay for landing. Cora joined him and talked about what they might find on Eos. Kosta and Vetra checked their weapons and checked the time.

" We sync time when we land. If we are separated, we will regroup as soon as possible. If we are attacked by Kett, shoot to kill. If we come across any of our people, exiled or not, we will try to leave them alive," Scott instructed everyone. Relying on his former career experience, he fully expected to be able to bring back his people and the Tempest - successful or otherwise.

Vetra held her weapon at ease. " You don't need to worry about us. We're adults. We know how to stay alive,"

" Except for Kosta," Cora jabbed, glaring at Liam Kosta. " He delights in breaking brokes and injuring muscles,"

" I do not,"

" How many injuries have you sustained while-"

The argument was interrupted as the ship landed and the exit ramp unfolded out toward the ground below. Scott clenched his rifle close. No one on his team is dying in Andromeda. No one. Not even accident prone Liam Kosta. Facing what they called Eos hit Scott with a strong stench of despair.

Site 2 appeared as if something of force barreled through it. That was just from the ramp. The further they worked into the site, he spotted extensive damage, strewn Initiative debris, and loosely defined road that poorly showed how many people occupied Site 2. Vetra said nothing and frowned at the abandoned colony as if it wronged her.

Scott scanned everything he could with his omni-tool and SAM's advancing scanners. The database compiled everything for later access. He started to hum as he worked, spooking Cora who never worked extensively with him before. Kosta and Vetra split off to check out the nearby buildings while Scott and Cora tackled the other half of the buildings. " This isn't good." Scott pointed to the only thing saving them from the intense radiation that he tested twice just out curiosity. SAM yelled at him both times for his stupidity. " These of the later batches. Makes you want to know how many batches they actually used and how many might've been taken by the exiles,"

Cora nodded. Her omni-tool revealed less than Scott's. It revealed a fading life span that gave her pause. How much longer could these be expected to function at full compacity? Why weren't they retrieved from the surface after abandoning it? Such recklessness is impossible to forgive, even if the Nexus was under a lot of strain.

Resources were resources!

` " Breathe," Cora chided him with a gentle smile.

He forced a smile in return. Stupid helmet for showing his face. " We should see what Vetra and Kosta found,"

" I get the feeling you don't respect Kosta,"

" I respect his dedication to the job, but he's reckless. Dad always taught us that being reckless ends up with people dying. Kosta's taken risks all his life and gone through how many career choices?" Cora nodded. " At a certain point, a person needs to tame themselves and slow down. Not Dr. Carlisle retire, but respect his age and the risks of exploring a new galaxy. We don't even know if we can eat the fauna or wildlife without adverse effects. We don't even know if the wildlife is endangered here,"

Scott leaned against a set of steps, relaxing until they were either attacked or ghosts came out of the metalwork. Cora held her weapon at ease with her eyes roaming the bleak surroundings.

" I hope that Kosta gets his shit together before we end up dead," Pushing off the stairs, Scott spotted Vetra and Kosta exploring further up the hill . He checked his attitude at the door and was all business when they met up. Overall the news wasn't encouraging. No one could open locked doors. Power was out.

Great...if it wasn't his own team sabotaging their hopes of success it was the environment. He put his head down and put SAM to work.

If anyone said that the Nexus was boring, they underestimated the power of a fractured leadership. Sara also learned a new hatred for William Spender. It took her two days for a proper introduction to the slimeball and when they were alone in a corner, he asked her to his apartment quarters after hours. She almost punched him, saved only by Kandros who wanted to inquire after Tann's mood on the growing restlessness now that everyone was aware of the Pathfinder assigned to the case of finding everyone a home.

Naturally Sara decided that despite Spender's sexual advance she would try to judge him from her experiences with him. Kandros warned her that she should use in caution when dealing with Spender. The Xenophobe deserved nothing short of a proper spacing, but Kandros adhered to the regulations set by the Initiative, loose as they may be at the moment.

With Jien Garson's death, arks failing to show up, rationing, overtime, and a general sense of helplessness, the uprising was inevitable. The occasional hero like Kandros and Kesh kept the station together, but all that could be undone by Spender. He needed to go. Spacing may be too extreme, but he needed to be handled immediately in an appropriate poetic manner.

She kept a tail on him. Sometimes it was one of the recalled colonists who hated Spender. Sometimes she tailed him when she had the time. Tann afforded her the usual break schedule, often invading on her space to discuss business that was on his mind. This particular day Spender harassed Pipona Tortik as she managed the inventory onstation.

" These need rerouted-" He ordered Pipona, showing her a list of resources on his datapad.

They squared off. Sara lounged nearby and recorded it. In civilian clothing she blended right in.

" The pods already have power," Spender stated matter of factly.

" And when the power runs out?"

" The human ark-"

Sara repressed a growl. What. An. Ass.

The salarian stepped forward. "The human ark is not an eternal power source. You wantto threaten the lives of sleeping people for what exactly?"

Spender activated his communicator. " Addison,Kesh's salamanderis stopping me from moving power cells," Sara's jaw dropped.

Did he-did he just call Pipona Tortik an animal?

Addison's aggravated sigh punctured building tension. " I'll talk with Kesh," Sara's jaw set. Captain Dunn needed to disconnect the ark now if everyone here didn't care about proper preservation.

Correction. Addison and Spender had to be dealt with. Immediately.