The Dream

Jak was dreaming. He knew that. He had dreamed so much, so many horrors in his past coming to he fore in his sleep. But this was different. He was watching the past, but it wasn't a nightmare.

He watched again as Princilla Rivers was escorted from the Hyperion and straight into the arms of waiting Alliance police. He had known on meeting the woman that she was trouble, but he hadn't had a clue. She had sold the quarian and the Blue Suns mercs secure codes to several of the docking ports on the Hyperion. It wasn't clear exactly why she had done so, but the amounts of money that had appeared in her private accounts had been damning. As soon as she had been released from the doc's clutches, she had been escorted off the ship. The Initiative wasn't a military force, so she wouldn't face a firing squad no matter how much some might wish that.

Now that she was no longer aboard, she wasn't the Initiative's problem. The problem was despite some quality time with a pair of former intelligence operatives, no one could be sure how many codes she had supplied the various groups who had paid her, so security had been forced to change every code. As much a people had detested her before? Her greed had delayed the launch for three days while security worked to make sure the ship was secure again. That had sucked, but Jak had helped as best he could.

But there were consolations.

He watched again as Korri danced on the Hyperion's common deck to a massive crowd of Initiative personnel. No matter what else happened, Korri's place in the Initiative was secure. Everyone knew now that she had fought to protect the ship from someone who had hurt her in the past. It was conveniently left blank how the other had hurt her. The quarians of the Initiative knew, and they were ashamed but Korri had shown everyone just how grown up she was now. In a strange ceremony that Jak hadn't fully understood, she had faced almost a hundred of her people, accepted her past and decided her future. One thing was clear to everyone now. Lamant had been the name of the security agent who had been tasked with keeping her in line. Not a father figure at all and if he had still be alive, Jak would have been seriously tempted to make him less than that, but he had passed away five years precious, leaving Korri to the whims of the quarian intelligence service who had hurt her.

The Fleet had never officially acknowledged what had happened and no one had claimed the body of the intelligence operative who had tried to grab Korri. They never found any ID so he was cremated as a John Doe. The Admirals had promised to find out what they could, but Jak didn't hold out high hopes for that. Intelligence services kept secrets. It was what they did. Black ops were black for a reason and whoever had done what had been done to Korri had reason to keep it hidden. Quarians were no different from other people Jak had known in some ways. Fairly laid back until you pissed them off and then all hell broke loose. They were pissed about what had been done to Korri. Almost as pissed as Jak and Lara were.

So it had come to no one's surprise when after the main ceremony was done, Jak and Lara had stood up before the assembled quarians and formally adopted Korri into their family by both human and quarian traditions. Now she was Korri'Collains vas Hyperion nar Rayya. This was the day after Jak and Lara had married in a quiet civil ceremony orchestrated by Captain Dunn of the Hyperion with Pathfinder Ryder, Korri and Perrin'Shiya as the only witnessed. Neither of them minded. Well, they didn't mind the ceremony or the pathfinder seeing it.

Neither Jak nor Lara were enthused by Perrin'Shiya's sudden attention to Korri. It wasn't really the boy's fault. He was younger than Korri and he was caught up in the dream of the Initiative. Here was an adventure, a chance to do something that no one had ever done before. It was like an old style myth or bard's tale, complete with damsel in distress. (Not that anyone dared call Lara a damsel. It would hurt!) Jak was caught up in the enthusiasm himself, but he was also older and experienced enough to know the truth of 'adventure'. They were great to read about or hear about as stories told over a few drinks, but doing them? That was messy, dirty and often painful.

Jak would never say so openly, but Perrin'Shiya seemed like a good kid. He had a good head on his shoulders and knew when to keep his mouth shut, a rarity in young people of any species. He hadn't actually done anything with Korri. Lara's over-protectiveness might have driven a thresher maw away and Jak was working very hard to keep from smothering the girl too. Korri was so much better than she had been, but she was still fragile. To Perrin'Shiya's credit, he knew that and was working to remain her friend and only her friend. Even when she had been sleeping in her quarters, he had simply been there for her. What the future held? None could say, but Korri could do far worse.

Not that Jak would ever say that to the boy. He did enjoy seeing the kid squirm.

He watched again as Perrin'Shiya left for the quarian ark. The sorrow in Korri's mind had been intense, but Jak and Lara had been adamant. Korri had to stay with them and Perrin'Shiya had to go back to his people. They had promised to meet up again in Andromeda and part of Jak really hoped they got the chance. Korri was a bit older than Perrin… No, Perrin'Shiya. Jak had to keep calling the kid by his formal name or he might get ideas. Korri was a bit older than Perrin'Shiya and she wasn't in any tearing hurry to figure anything out, to Jak and Lara's intense relief. The three had talked and Korri had admitted she liked the boy, but she wasn't really sure what to do with that feeling. She stayed away when Jak and Lara got close, both for privacy's sake and because it confused her. He wasn't Korri's birth father, but he figured the old quarian would be proud of her.

I am.

The words were not mental. Not aloud. They were something else. Jak stilled as the world shifted and he was standing on a green panel floating above a sea of geometric shapes. Another panel appeared, floating close to his and on it…

"Hello Jak." Zumin's face was serene here. He wore his usual envirosuit, but no helmet.

"Zumin." Jak said slowly. "I…" He slumped. "Is this a dream? They said we might dream in cryo."

"Jak..." Zumin smiled at him and Jak felt a bit of relief. "How much of any of what you have gone through has made any sense at all? Hmmm?" The quarian might have been blind, but he could see Jak's sudden embarrassment. "Hopefully, your new life will be a bit less exciting."

"I am sorry, Zumin." Jak said sadly. "I didn't want to go. I knew it would hurt you both, but..."

"I know." The panel Zumin was standing on moved closer and suddenly it touched the one Jak stood on. "Jak, you did good. You know that, right?"

"Most of me does. Most of the time." Jak admitted. "Sometimes, though..." He sighed. "Sometimes, I just bounce from mistake to mistake."

"Jak that is life." Zumin said with a sad smile. "The only people who make no mistakes are those who make no choices." His blind eyes turned from side to side and he shook his head. "I didn't know about Korri. How could I?" He slumped a bit. "But I feel… responsible. Visha was a good soul and I repaid her with lies."

"You were a prisoner!" Jak protested. "They killed your family!"

"Did they?" Zumin asked softly. "I never remembered clearly and as bad as Korri acted out? I was worse."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Jak asked with a grin. Zumin waved a finger at him and Jak smiled wider. "You were a bad old man when I knew you and if this isn't a dream..." He paused. "It isn't. Is it?'

"Jak, your mind works in very strange ways even discounting the connection between you and Lara." Zumin replied with a shrug. "After everything you went through, it is no surprise. I don't know if this is a dream, some fragment of code that emulates me, or whatever. No matter what, I cannot stay."

"What?" Jak said quickly. "But… Korri!"

"She is deeper in her sleep than you are." Zumin replied. "She cannot see or hear me and that is likely a good thing. This would hurt her. She is recovering. You are helping her recover. That is why I am here."

"Look, Zumin, I don't know anything about relationships!" Jak pleaded. "What do I do when she starts… um..."

"Getting urges?" Zumin asked slyly. Jak nodded, silent and then kicked himself and made a noise of agreement. "Better than I did. Visha got me drunk and seduced me one night."

"You are kidding!" Jak said slowly. Zumin shook his had. "You are not kidding. Really? How the hell…?"

"Hey." Zumin smirked. "The suits do not make us sexless. Far from it. We can add all kinds of interesting additions to them. As for how? Lets just say, a sterile room, a bottle of hard spirits, a birthday and leave it at that." His blind eyes speared Jak. "For all that she is well over twenty, Korri is still a child in many ways."

"And a good one. She was never given the chance to grow up. We will give her that chance." Jak said quietly. "She will recover. She will thrive." He smirked. "I may have to scare the shit out of Perrin'Shiya a few more times, but we will not stand in the way of her happiness. If she chooses someone, then that is her choice, despite our link."

"You do an old angry quarian proud, Jak." Zumin had a wide smile on his face now. "That puts you ahead of about half the parents I knew in the fleet. Most of them are so focused on surviving that they forget to live. Bad things lurk in that mental place, Jak. As you well know."

"I am afraid, Zumin." Jak said quietly. "Not for myself, but for Korri, for Lara, for everyone who has taken us in. Even Ryder, that old ass that he is. The unknown is always scary. It was always, 'There be dragons' on ancient maps of Earth."

"Quarians had our own version, but I understand." Zumin sighed deeply and shook his head. "My time is up, Jak. I have to go. You will not see me again. Thank you for what you have done for Korri. I don't know what I would have done if I had discovered her existence while I was alive."

"You?" Jak a smile. "Something nuts."

"Right back at you, you silly human." Zumin was fading or Jak was. "I love you and Lara too. You both became family while I knew you. Take care her, will you?"

"If she lets me!" Jak paused and spoke something that had bothered him quite a bit since he had first woken and found out the truth of his lost memory. "Zumin. Where did the organic material the geth used to heal me and Lara come from?"

"If you didn't know that answer, Jak, we wouldn't be having this conversation since this is all in your mind." Zumin had vanished completely and Jak was falling. "As I proud as I am of Korri, I am also proud of you and Lara. And you know why. Why you heard Korri's songs before she understood what they were. Why you could feel Korri as soon as she came into your presence. Why it hurt so badly when you heard I was dead."

"It was yours." Jak said weakly. There was no answer and Jak shouted at the top of his lungs. "You put quarian brain matter in us? No! NO! THAT CANNOT BE!"

Jak was screaming as the world shifted to hues of white around him. Then it shifted again, to cold rock walls that were infinitely less cold when a large mas moved nearby. It looked horrific, but it pulled Jak close and held him as he cried. It didn't look like a rachni, but from the songs he could hear coming from it, it couldn't be anything else.

Hello. The voice was small and quiet, but it held something more. A hint of power, a hint of worry and a feeling of comfort. You shouldn't be awake, Jak Collains. I will ease you back into proper rhythms for your long sleep. The other two are fine, you will be in a few minutes.

You are the queen. Jak begged as he tried to grip hold of something, anything, but it was like trying to grip fog. There was nothing there bu the music. Are we…? What is happening?

Your discordance woke me for a moment. I managed to hold it away from your mate and adopted daughter.The queen said gently. I am going back to sleep, but not before I ease your fear and pain. We have a long trip ahead of us, Jak Collains. Thanks to you, we have a chance to forge a new beginning. A better one. A chance at peace between our people and those who had to fight us so long ago.

But… I am not human anymore! Jak cried as the comforting presence held him.

So what? The other inquired gently. You have those who care for you, no matter your form. No matter what is inside you. The hive will care for you even if you are tiny compared to our minds and bodies.

But… he put quarian brain matter in me and Lara. That is not possible! Jak protested.

And how much of what has happened to you recently has been possible, hmmm? The queen asked kindly. Jak had to smile at that. True. You are afraid, but you have no reason to be. You are not alone. Not here. Not in your mind. You are human, Jak Collains. You and Lara are human if slightly more like us than normal ones. But we won't hold your species against you. This last was highly amused.

Have to be strong… Jak said weakly as music soothed him on every possible level at once. Lara, Korri...They need me to be strong.

In what crazy universe are you not? The queen demanded, but her tone wasn't chiding. It was still so comforting and gentle.

But… I... Jak was floating now. Whatever was holding him was easing him into something warm.

Sleep, Jak Collains. Dream of a home in another galaxy. Dream of a place where you are not alone. Dream of children of many species at play together. Dream of worlds in which violence is never the first solution. Perhaps your dreams may not come to pass, but never let that stop you dreaming.

Jak could not articulate his feelings of gratitude as the rachni soothed him into a deeper sleep. Into peaceful dreams.

We love you too.

635 years later

Jak woke up with a splitting headache. Despite his best efforts, he could not stifle a groan.

"Easy."A female voice he did not know sounded from nearby. "Take it slow. You had a bad transition, but the docs have figured out the cause and are working on it. The headache should pass quickly. If not, Doctor Carlyle will do some of his magic."

"Korri?" Jak begged as he lay back, head throbbing. "Lara?"

"They are waking now." The other replied. "They didn't have nearly as much trouble as you did."

"Good." Jak inhaled a few times, trying to breathe the pain out. It worked a little. "I had the strangest dreams." And he remembered them. Talking to Zumin, talking to the rachni. The rachni! Jak jerked upright and a pair of hands caught him as he nearly fell over. He opened his eyes and groaned as pure pain slammed into them from bright lights.

"Easy!" The female voice said sharply. "You went through a wringer. You will be fine according to all the docs, but you need to take it slow for at least a couple of days." This was a command and Jak nodded, taking deep breaths.

"I need to talk to the Pathfinder." Jak said after a few moments.

"You are." The voice had turned flat and Jak froze. The only way she could be the pathfinder was if Ryder was dead.

"He was an asshole, but a good man." Jak said softly. Someone choked on what sounded like a laugh.

"That he was. Both." Jak opened her eyes more carefully and the girl who stood in front of him nodded as his eyes focused on her. She looked very familiar. Alex's daughter? "If you haven't guessed, I am Sara Ryder."

She wasn't supposed to be that pathfinder, was she? Jak thought about that, but his head hurt too much.

"Long story?" Jak asked, still breathing deeply. She nodded. "You have my condolences anyway. He was a good man and a good friend."

"And an asshole." Sara smirked as Jak chuckled. "The man kept secrets just to do it."

"Came with the job." Jak said with a sigh. He looked around and the room was very familiar. The quarters he, Korri and Lara had been assigned on the Hyperion, but now, two forms lay on the bed and a man in a medical tunic was watching both carefully. Korri was stirring, Lara had a slightly lecherous smile on her face. "He said he was going to leave a file for the next pathfinder in case something happened." Sara Ryder nodded and Jak relaxed. "You read it?"

"It will take a while to get to that shuttle storage bay." Sara Ryder said with a small frown. "Um, the Hyperion is a mess but that area is intact."

"We need to..." Jak sat up and regretted it as his head spun wildly.

"You need to sit there and recover." Sara Ryder said sternly. "I know where I can get a krogan to come in here and sit on you if needed. And we will need to talk to the krogan about this. Soon."

"Jak?" Korri's voice sounded and everyone looked to where she was. Her eyes were dim under her helmet visor, but her voice was getting stronger. "Did we make it?"

"Yes, Korri'Collains vas Hyperion." Sara Ryder said quietly. "You made it."

"Welcome to Andromeda."