SAM approved of the Nomad and Gil ordered updates on its handling as Scott, Vetra, and Cora set off for one of the alien towers. Kosta boarded the ship and expected the worst guarding the cargo bay against possible Kett invasion. He monitored the team comms as boredom set in.
Inane chatter back and forth proved to be of little interest.
" The Asari can study anywhere," Cora praised someone not yet introduced to the team.
Kosta leaned forward while sitting on a crate. He no longer expected a Kett attack. The Nomad fit three and Scott preferred the company of ladies, apparently.
" Rem-tech. Not quite like the prothean technology," Scott pitched in optimistically. " A lot of potential. Sara should be here,"
" Sara would never leave the planet," Cora replied in generous approval. " Enemies aside, everyone loves a mystery,"
Damn it! He wanted to be there with them! To see the technology. To determine how it could help settle a worldy by measuring its realistic risks. He needed access to current weaponry so he could integrate into the team's arsenal. Being selfish ruined any happiness he harbored for advancing the Nexus's goal.
The same frustration came back to him. Fitting in and appearing normal mattered to him. Andromeda was supposed to be a new start. A blank slate. So far it proved to be a challenging blank slate.
" Can you imagine the mystery behind this place though? Why three pillars? Why all the jutting structures?" Scott posed for the group. " Addison was aware of the structures before. I wonder why she never mentioned them in her reports available to us,"
Liam shook his head. Addison's frustration with her position bled into how she treated people. Unfortunately it also tainted how people viewed her. He liased with her to ensure that Scott succeeded. Her frustration increased daily with the incompetence surrounding her. Liam almost understood, but the manner in which she treated the Pathfinder indicated she almost wanted the Initiative to fail.
Addison likely considered the technology unimportant, truth be told. In face of radiation, Kett, lack of resources, alien technology ranked low on the priority list.
" Not enough time?" Cora suggested diplomatically.
" No. The Nexus tried twice. She gave up," Vetra argued bitterly. " We're surviving out here, not living,"
" We'll change that," Scott promised sincerely. " Look at…"
The comms cut out after a spell of silence. Kosta swapped with Gil just in case Kett attacked. Bedding down for an hour or two, Liam Kosta put his comrades safety out of mind but not out of heart.
The vault astounded everyone. It's front door nearly gave Scott a heart attack on the way down of the variable gravity well. It's vastness reduced them to foreign star dust in comparison. Yet the stillness beckoned to Scott. He hummed over the channel, spooking Cora again. Cora gave Scott a dirty look. Vetra's eyes tracked the angular ceiling as far as her eyes permitted. Her fingers relaxed on her rifle.
" She's beautiful," Scott purred over the comms gazing up at the tree in the center of a platform. How it survived down here was amazing. Impossible. Miraculous. He needed to plant them all along the surface of Eos because of its beauty and resilience. He needed to make it the mascot of Site 2.
Everyone lined up out of unconscient accord. " Complicated," Cora agreed in fading awe. Habitat 7's vault nearly killed Scott. No one yet fully or even faintly understood this technology. Her stomach twisted in a knot. If they lost Scott she might become Pathfinder.
Shame pushed that desire to the back. She shouldn't want Scott to die. He almost died and survived by her mentor's sacrifice. Sara may not keep her sanity if she became an orphan. The Ryder Clan...no. Cora simply refused to step on others to ascend. Her own merit pushed her to here. She didn't need to prove anything to anyone.
Vetra nudged a container. " Scott,"
" On it," Scott hurried to comply, scanning everything. SAM recorded all the visuals for records and research. Until they returned to a buoy to pass along the information packet, no one would tap into this but Suvi Anwar.
The deceptively small container opened to reveal an odd shaped cavity full of Remnant loot. More dotted their paths as they worked downward toward the hexagonal columns. If the creators of this technology needed a way to reach destinations, was all the consoles necessary? Isn't there an easier method if you wanted to make it difficult on intruders?
The stream of electrical charged fluid blocked their paths more than once. Bad engineering? Scott, Cora, and Vetra had no explanation for it. Their tag-a-long, Peebee tested the key that they found at the beginning of the vault. Thus far the entire vault decided to give most life a middle finger. Either the creators had a sense of humor or the creators were an alien race that could float?
Scott extinguished the beam from the main restart console and the entire place lit up. Cora rocked on her heels as a wave of violent dust cloud swept away all life forms in its path. " Go!"
Heart pounding, muscles tensed, Scott darted for the exit with Cora and Vetra on his heels. Nearly stumbling over shields and forced to take ramps, Scott cursed his bad luck. Habitat 7 vault = nearly successful. Eos = a proud attempt. Future vaults = pray hard.
" Sara should be here…" He thought out loud as he counted the vault worlds. Of all the galaxies to land in, the Remtech creators paved a way. " Gorgeous,"
" Not what I would call it," Vetra replied in growing respect. " The data this place must hold."
Peebee resisted touching the holographic imaging. " Who...how...why?"
" Indeed. Sara will ask the same," Scott mumbled. He sighed. " Let's go,"
Cora glanced over at the depth of the cavernous hellish pit of intrigue. She needed to keep her priorities in line. Would have, should have, could haves never solved anything. Her service with the Asari would instruct her to think this through, appreciate its experience, and utilize that for a better understood enemy. She fully intended to do just that.
Kallo and Suvi studied the dirt samples Kosta retrieved for them while Scott and company were in the vault. He retrieved every bit of plant life he could find, hoping that Suvi didn't skewer him for not being gentle and precise in his choice specimen. He scrubbed off the dirt and dust off his armor before storing the armor on the cubicle shelving in the crew quarters. When he returned to the bio lab the pair whispered rapidly back and forth about scientific mumbo jumbo that made little sense to him.
" Everything good?" He held a thumb to them approaching slowly.
Kallo motioned him closer. " This is incredible. It already shows signs of growth and stagnate evolution. This fauna isn't radiated, but it's cellular structure is different from plants in the milky way," Suvi adjusted the microscopic sample dish under the lense and kept her eye pressed to the instrument.
Kosta nodded. " Soo…"
" We won't know the full use of this knowledge until we learn more about Andromeda's native fauna and wildlife," Kallo informed him. " Suvi's the person to consult on this. I helped design the Tempest, not study biology but salarians have a short life span. We are forced to learn multiple fields to varying degrees of expertise,"
" That must make every moment a lifetime to you then, Kallo?" Kosta never considered how hard life must be for their race. The biological shaft certainly favored them over the other races that traveled to Andromeda. " Your mind is sharp. You may give Suvi a worthy challenge,"
Suvi's head lifted slowly. " Not academic, certainly,"
Kosta threw up his hands. " I know when to step back, Miss Science Officer," Her eyes narrowed on him. " My bad...I'll uh...fetch more samples tomorrow,"
Kallo nudged him. " If only the scourge were as sympathetic to our curiosity," Kosta definitely understood that all the way to the bank. A shame that the scourge existed at all. His comrades would still be alive. People, many people would still be alive. Those were the breaks in life though. If he expected an easy place, he traveled to the wrong galaxy.
Problem was….the galaxy never stopped being generous in that regard. It slapped everyone in the face. Not even wrenching on the family car could cheer him up. Next time they made port in Nexus the pet pyjak would become the Tempest pet. It that wasn't something normal for him to indulge in, he needed a different career .
