Duck. Shoot. Duck. Glance to Vetra. Shoot, shoot, leap, crush against the wall. Shoot. Shoot.
Liam's body dove past him, a swath of rounds arcing over him and downward. Jaal let out a yell and unloaded on the three chosen, chest heaving in aggravation at the new discovery of the kett exaltation and furthermore the kett's lead on the Jardaan's Meridian.
Within view behind the the three chosen, Scott Ryder and Cora Harper lay dead. Peebee collapsed in close proximity to Destined. Vetra pressed against the same wall as him. Bloodied and favoring her left arm, she resorted to a pistol instead of her signature sniper rifle.
An Anointed swept around the corner in front of them. Vetra popped off two rounds before absorbing seven rounds chest to waist. She dropped to the ground in a crumpled mess.
Liam toppled over the side of the second floor after a Destined slammed its fist into his throat. The Annointed finished off Jaal.
He jerked awake to Lexi, Cora, and Vetra standing near him. Tears tracked down his face as he choked an emotion. Lexi readied an injection to help calm him.
" Night terrors?" Vetra asked, dropping to a crouched position beside his cot.
He nodded wordlessly.
Vetra lowered her gaze in shame. " I understand,"
Jaal breathed raggedly. Vetra motioned Cora to join her. Lexi put the injection down and muttered a prayer for them all. " We need to find Meridian before they do," Jaal begged of them. " The archon can not corrupt the rem-tech," Cora held his hand and embraced the hurting Jaal.
Lexi fetched them all Andromeda's tea that Suvi and Lexi refined from local fauna from Eos. Vetra gave hers to Jaal who sipped the tea gratefully. The four stayed in the tech lab for three hours talking about their own night terrors and sleep problems. Ever since Scott set foot on the Archon's ship, freed the salarian ark, and pursued what they thought was Meridian, life turned dark.
The archon attacked the Nexus and dragged Sara off the Nexus and forced the Hyperion to tag along in the process. Scott walked the Tempest on his off hours wiating for Suvi to deliver coordinates they could follow. Even Drack teetered on the brink of snapping at people around him. He pet the pyjak as a method of calming himself, freaking out Peebee. Kallo and Gil tried to keep the team focused with planet scanning and research and for some it worked. For Scott and Jaal, they plotted with Director Tann on how to even the field and over take the cocky archon.
Nothing prepared Scott for the hell at Meridian, nor the hell that liberally beat Sara's recovering body to a now fragile state that no one wanted to directly acknowledge. Hospitalized on the downed Hyperion, Scott staying on Meridian to be near his twin, Sara bemoaned her extra sensitive nerves that still acted strangely at times after the archon's brief control. No one dared to argue with her, and her short temper these days made working with Evfra appear cheerful by comparison. Only Prad visited Sara on a daily basis, the transfer agreed upon by everyone to provide a source of comfort to the traumatized Sara.
The victory quieted massive kett activity in Heleus, giving everyone the luxury to let their guard down. A stubborn Sara crutch walked herself about the growing settlement despite Scott ordering her to take it easy. She threw a crutch at him after he insisted one too many times. Scott caught it with both hands.
" I am tired of being coddled. I am tired of people expecting me to just lie down and wait a year before acting normal again. I'm broken, not dead," She heaved suppressing all the memories of the event that everyone insisted on she should remember with some clarity. She was tired of being treated with gloves.
Scott handed the crutch back to his sister, holding onto it as Sara resteadied herself. " I'm aware you want to be back on your feet, but both Dr. Carlisle and Dr. T'Perro agree you are only causing yourself more harm. I'm worried for you, sis. You kicked Prad out of your living quarters last night over an innocent comment. You haven't once visited Mom in Cryo, and Suvi says you're losing yourself into Angaran-Initiative law,"
Her eyes narrowed on him. " It's my job, Scott. You're the Pathfinder. I'm going into law by selection of residual choices. What do you want me to do? Have a baby like everyone else? I'm not near healthy enough for that, and I don't want a human male. Picking a partner is not priority right now,"
Standing in the middle of the memorial garden, they blocked the narrow path that lead to the open fields popularly used for celebrations. At the moment no one occupied the garden except them.
Scott kept hold of her crutch. " I'm not saying havie babies, Sara. I'm saying stop pushing people away. Stop trying to hide from the incident,. It happened,"
" I know that," She resembled their father at this moemnt, stubbornly standing her ground. " I already apologized to Prad. We're having dinner tonight, and Evfra is attending it,"
Scott let go of the crutch. " You convinced Evfra to attend a dinner - with a Ryder?" The mere words stunned Scott. Evfra always treated him with disdain and distrust. Before Sara's capture, Evfra only requested his sister as liason to keep Scott in line. Evfra admitted to this indirectly three days prior.
Sara hobbled toward the field. " We're going to discuss the future, bringing together the Angara and Initiative. We're going to hash out what is and isn't acceptable to the Resistance. I invited Tann but he had other plans, with Addison of all people," Once again Scott didn't know what to say to this.
It'd taken him almost six months to reactivate the available vaults and then rescue the Moshae and bring down the Archon. In that time at no point were Tann and Addison friends.
" I know I have issues, Scott. Okay? I'm angry all the time. I'm on depression medicaton. I can't visit Mom like this. It's a violation of our love for her. She needs to see us happy and healthy," Sara grabbed his arm. " You and Lexis are starting a family. Prad and I are working out problems. HIs mother is a delight but the rest of his cousins haven't accepted me. To be fair, punching Prinxil didn't help,"
" Male or female?" Scott still needed clarification on names if he actually wasn't standing in front of said people.
" Male. I punched him because he said I was being hormonal. Which at that time of month, I was. But it was still an insensitive remark designed to trigger me," She stopped at her favorie bench and sat down. Wild flowers of exoitc colors and shapes grew in maintained knee height. " Prad didn't talk to me for two days,"
" Jerk," Scott slung his arm around his sister's shoulders.
" To be fair, I've been difficult. Like Dad after Mom's 'death'. I'm afraid one day he's going to walk away. Leandra and Kandros are happy and Tann - he doesn't stop to talk anymore. Too busy with the new changes. Change of authority and a new council for all the races is in the works, and Tann will be an adviser to them. Addison is 'retiring' to manage the outposts acquisitions on Elaaden and Kadara. Kesh is staying on the Nexus with August Bradley as the Ambassador for it. Replacing Bradley is Tiran Kandros. I know all of this because I also advise the council," She informed Scott calmly.
" How can you advise them if they aren't instated yet?" Scott leaned forward, sporting his new Angara made clothing. " Is there some shady business already taking place?"
She laughed. " If they are, they aren't telling me. All I know is what I'm told and Evfra is tightlipped. With the Roekaar and Resistance, it's been discussed that the APEX will become its own official military organization. Kandros's second in command took over APEX and an entirely new person assumed command of security on the Nexus,"
Despite the fact she hadn't answered his first question, her amount of intel snowballed him into believing that her experience with the Archon wasn't the only tributing cause to her stress. " Sara," He took her hand in his. " Would you like to raise our children if anything happens to me or Lexi?" It was her turn to be stunned.
She threw her arms around him and hugged him. He sighed. There was a hint of the old Sara. They sat another half hour before returning to the new law building at the center of the 'city'. Prad waited for them with a bouquet of flowers. " All is well in the Ryder clan?" He asked carefully.
Scott pat him on the shoulder. " For now,"
Life picked up activity around them at the center of the 'city'. Here two more government buildings were constructed in a mixed architectural style of angaran and Initiative. The building somehow appeared sleek despite the bold orange and yellow rounded rooftops and coverings. The residential area was less uniform in architectural style. A clear division between Initiative and Angaran homes marked the mandated desegregated housing. Those who lived here either worked to build the new society or crash landed with the Hyperion. Prad and Sara's unit, an angaran design, already occupied by guests. Evfra de Tershaav and Viraan talked about the still missing Haddon and missing motive haunted her and the Resistance.
Sara put the crutches against the wall and slipped out of her shoes. Prad put his arm around her waist. " Soon you'll only need one smaller crutch," He assured her knowing she yearned for freedom more than anything else.
" Actually I may be able to stop using the crutches in about three weeks. Harry said that the long hours are more harmful than the walking." She walked toward Viraan, the female's meeting halfway and bumping forearms. Evfra greeted Sara and Prad with a curt nod. " And SAM reminds me I'm still in line to be Pathfinder after Scott. Apparently Cora decided she didn't want the role,"
Prad accepted the drinks handed over by Evfra. Sara instantly sipped from hers. It would be a long dinner and she needed something to distract from Evfra's stubbornness. Even if it wasn't alcoholic.
Instituting the joint laws proved to be challenging for all parties involved. The new council: Moshae Sjefa, Nakmor Morda, Claron Ignatius, Julitte B'Sarr, Harmony Tristam, and Trenner Raisa; relied on Sara Ryder, Jarun Tann, Raziela and Senalda T'rani, and Turrin Sraan for law advice. The Pathfinders - Scott Ryder, Avitus Rix, Zevin Raeka, and Sarissa Theris currently worked together to bring peace to Elaaden, Kadara, and the Nexus while driving out all Kett known. The Tempest ferried Scott and team while Avitus Rix commandeered a former kett starship and eradicated any kett influence that wasn't connected to operations and life support. It resulted in a comically white and blue ship with the Initiative's logo on both sides. Inside it allowed for military support for Rix as well as transport for people location to location. Zevin Raeka and Sarissa Theris were loaned starships from the angara. Each pathfinder put together a multi species team.
A common thorn prodded the recovering people aside from instituting a new set of laws. Despite their attempts to bring the people together, xenophobes rebuffed any blending of the races. So the plan was to shift away from the segragated training to joint training exercises, merging cultures and holidays, and throwing an official celebration for Meridian to become a new 'planet' for habitation. To do that multiple parties needed to work together for the common survival.
" Prad!" Sara yelled across their living unit. " Is that you?"
He walked into the kitchen and behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Nuzzling her neck, he tightened his hold. " You drive me crazy, woman,"
She placed the dried dish on its hook. " Over what now?"
" You volunteered to take lead of the legal council," He kissed her neck, feeling her pulse leap beneath his lips. She was positively alive in his arms at this moment. " Now we'll never see each other unless it's a holiday or someone's died,"
She sighed. " My pay will be double what the Initiative pays Scott. And when this city grows, we'll need that. Besides I actually learned the law in part to Evfra and in part to Tann," She covered his hands with hers. " Prad, do you love me?"
" Love you? I adore you, worship the ground you walk on. Without you, I am lost," He swayed with her. " Why?"
She stared up at the holographic photo of them hugging at the after celebration after Scott killed the Archon. That had been a difficult time for her. " I feel like I've lost myself lately. Scott's concerned and both docs are bearing down. I just wish life got easier, not harder,"
" At least we aren't facing the kett right now," He guided her toward their sprawling seating area. " And we are able to reclaim our people, our culture lost to war! Your people helped us. Those of us with sense will always remember that,"
She cooperated with him, lowered onto the bench like couch carefully before Prad laid next to her and played with her hair. Like a child he twirled it around his fingers and tickled her exposed side. " Hey, Prad? You want to marry me?" She grabbed his webbed fingers to stop his tickling.
" Now?"
" No. Not now. Before I become Pathfinder. If I become Pathfinder," She hoped she never inherited the role. " When we're ready,"
He placed a pillow under her head. " We we're ready," Prad agreed. " And you still need to apologize to Prinxil," Her jaw set. " And not hit him again," They lay in the growing darkness dreaming about what-ifs and praying for a better future. Hope spiked in not just their household but across most households on Merdian.
Tann's lonely unit sat dark and unoccupied as Tann visited with Leandra Phelonia and Tiran Kandros. They speculated on whether the people would fully recover before the kett returned in potential numbers. Unfortunately for Tann and the fragile happiness, the archon's defiant lack of communication set off an investigative fleet. Hell would come calling again in great numbers.
