-2819, Heleus Cluster

"Dr. T'Perro, Dr. Carlyle," Captain Dunn's voice rang through the doctors' comms in Ark Hyperion's med bay. "Please go ahead and get the members of the Pathfinder team out of cryostasis. The Pathfinder wants his children as well as Harper on the bridge as soon as possible."
"Have we reached our destination, ma'am?" Harry Carlyle asked excitedly while Lexi already moved into action, picking up a data pad and searching for the tag 'Pathfinder team'.
"We are two short hours away from Habitat 7," Dunn confirmed. "Alec wants the shuttles to leave in about an hour and a half. That won't be a problem, will it?"
"No, Captain," Lexi responded this time. "No problem at all. They'll be ready."
"Perfect. Oh and Dr. Carlyle? The Pathfinder wants you to come along planetside. In case there are any medical emergencies."
"Of course."
"Captain out."
Harry joined his co-worker and friend, peering over her shoulder as she drew up the data they needed.
"You take the first three numbers, I'll take the second half," Lexi divided the stasis pods, handing Carlyle the pad as she moved towards one of the several rows of cryo pods adjoining the med bay, numbers etched into her memory.
Quickly, she interfaced the waiting console, ordering for the first of the three pods to be brought down.
Her omni-tool identified the sleeper as Cora Harper, female, 28, a human biotic who'd trained alongside a commando of asari huntresses. Interesting. Interesting indeed.
The data from her scan also told her that she was the Pathfinder's second-in-command, the one who would take over his duties should he fall.
"Bertrand, Marissa," the doctor called out for two of her assistants. "Get down stasis pods #379 and #258. Help them get their bearings and bring them out for examination once they're awake enough to walk."
"Yes, Dr. T'Perro. On it." The two humans jogged away to do her bidding.
In the meantime, Lexi opened the stasis pod in front of her. It was time for Cora Harper to wake up from her 634-year-long slumber.

-Twenty minutes later

June was sitting on one of the examination cots, rubbing at her tired eyes. She hadn't really arrived yet.
Her body – even though she felt like a living popsicle – yes.
Her mind? Well, that would probably take a little while to catch up. She knew she'd only truly believe it once she set foot on one of the golden worlds, taking a deep breath of Andromeda's air.
The Initiative's founder, Jien Garson, was on repeat in some kind of holographic advertisement in the background, talking about new beginnings and a better future for everyone.
And god, did she want to believe it. Truly did. Nothing had been the same ever since her mother had passed away a few months prior to their departure. Ellen's endless love had been the glue holding together their little family and with her gone-
"Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?"
The voice immediately sent shivers all over her pale skin, her head shooting up so quickly, she was surprised her neck didn't crack in protest.
"Dr. T'Perro," June stared at the woman open-mouthed, now rather sure she was still in cryostasis, dreaming. How high could the chances be of running into her like that? Of all people?
Lexi blinked a few times. Red hair, dimples, as well as the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. The scarring on her cheek was new but there was no doubt: "Juniper?"
"You know each other, Dr. T'Perro?" SAM's robotic voice rang through the room, simultaneously garnering the attention from both women.
"Yes, SAM. We met on the Citadel a couple years ago."
"Well, technically its been over 600 years now, hasn't it? I'm not sure I'd call that 'a couple years'.." Ryder smirked at the asari, no longer totally reduced to the nervous, blushing teenager she'd once been.
"I suppose that's true," Lexi nodded, fiddling with her omni-tool and getting it ready for a quick check-up. "It is nice to see you again."
"You, too. I'd never have imagined to see you again. Certainly not as one of the first three faces I see after thawing. You look nice."
"I uh, thank you, Ryder. You have certainly… matured," Lexi awkwardly said, glad that her blue skin didn't show blushing that easily. Her cheeks felt warm under the human's intense scrutiny. "I'd have preferred to see you in one piece though. What happened?" she asked, noticing the tell-tale scarring of a cryo blast on the young woman's right cheek.
"Oh, that. A little souvenir from my Alliance days on Feros. Batarian pirate." June turned her face away from the beautiful doctor, trying to divert her attention to anywhere else. She knew the scar didn't exactly look pretty…
"You have certainly gotten around," Lexi stated, gently guiding the redhead's face back to where it had been, a gloved finger shortly resting atop her chin. "It doesn't look ugly, Juniper. I merely would've wished for you to not have encountered such pain." The doctor pulled her hand away from Ryder's face and ghosted her fingers over her omni-tool. "Let's get you checked out. The Pathfinder needs you ready as soon as possible."
June's pale blue eyes lit up at that. "Dad wants me ready? Did we reach a planet yet?"
"Your father is the... of course he is. Ryder. Alec Ryder," the asari stated more to herself than to the young scientist. "Yes, we are close to Habitat 7. We were instructed to get the whole Pathfinding team out of cryostasis. – Now, follow my fingers with your eyes. Look here. … And here. Good. SAM?"
"Yes, Dr. T'Perro?"
"Let's see if your implant is working correctly. How are you feeling, Juniper?"
"Like a 600-year-old human popsicle," June joked, flexing her arms.
"I agree. Ryder's adenosine levels are still slightly elevated."
"Noted. Thank you, SAM."
"My what levels?"
Lexi smiled, looking up from the datapad she was scribbling on. "It just means you're still a little tired, still waking up. But that is all perfectly normal. You're good to go."
Juniper wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad about the dismissal. Of course, it was good that she was healthy and all. But she would've liked to get more time to talk to-
Before she could think any more about it, the ground began to shake and a loud scraping noise rang through the med bay. Lexi and June fell to the floor as the Ark seemingly experienced turbulences of some kind, the whole ship lurching sideways.
Seeing the imminent danger, June acted quickly and drew up a barrier, shielding herself and the asari doctor from a cryo pod that was sliding towards them.
However, she would not be able to hold this up forever.
She glanced at Lexi, relieved to see her unharmed, lying on the floor right next to her.
"What just happened?"

"I don't know. It almost felt as though we've collided with something..." The asari trailed off, gathering her bearings and supporting Juniper's shield with her own. "Your biotics are quite impressive, June. They already were back on Mars but this is the first time I'm witnessing them firsthand."
"Mom got in contact with a lot of element zero during her research. Only noticed she was pregnant when it was pretty much too late already. Somehow the eezo clung to me only – I got the whole brunt of it while Scott stayed untouched. It was touch and go for a couple of days but they managed to keep me alive. Mom alway said I was her 'little survivor'..."
"Element zero does favor females in most races," Lexi nodded to herself, always the doctor. "It would make sense that it would attach itself to the female fetus in case of twins. Where–"
Suddenly gravity inside of the med bay shifted and June and Lexi, along with everyone else, found themselves floating through the air.
"Just a moment!"
June immediately recognized the new voice as Cora's, her father's second-in-command. She'd been training under his tutelage for the past four years (before they'd gone to cryo sleep at least) and probably knew him better than she or Scott ever would. "I'll get you down in a second!"
Though often stern, law-abiding to a fault and almost over-professional, June had quickly warmed up to the biotic, sometimes even training alongside her. Cora was a good woman with her heart in the right place; even if it didn't always shine through her seemingly cold demeanor.
The human asari commando floated gracefully into the room, her lips morphing into a smirk as she saw how June struggled to even stay upright.

Yeah, well. June was a traditional gal. She definitely preferred her feet on solid ground.

Cora hit a button and everyone and everything – like the equipment, several stasis pods, and beds – fell back to the ground, the gravity inside the room now intact once more.
Grumbling, Juniper got back up onto her feet, embarrassed that the beautiful asari as well as Cora had seen her rough landing, preceded by her inelegant floating. Great…

"I suggest further balance training sessions in a low gravity environment," SAM gave his two cents, always 'helpful'. Thankfully enough, everyone pretty much ignored the AI for now.
"What happened?" June wanted to know, crossing her arms in front of her chest and sounding like a petulant child.
"We hit something… not sure what it is exactly, but it is huge and tried to draw us further in.." Cora seemed somewhat alarmed. That was a bad thing in itself. Not many things were able to shake up the lieutenant. "You'll see soon enough. I was actually sent here to get you and take you to the bridge. We'll have to gear up soon."
"Oh, right, I will-"
"You might wish to stay another moment." Dr. Carlyle interrupted the trail of thought. "Scott's stasis pod…"
"He's all right? Harry? Tell me he's all right. Please." June's voice went from worried to panicky in the matter of seconds once her eyes fell onto the fuming pod.
"Oh I'm sure he's just fine. The Ryders are a tough bunch," the graying man tried to sound reassuring as he ran a scan of the partly broken pod. "SAM?"
"Heart rate and blood pressure are normal but his brain is sending out confusing signals. The crash could have shortly interrupted Scott's cryostasis."
"I'll monitor and keep him in a coma for now," Lexi announced, getting to work on freeing the young man from the pod. "You go and get ready. All of you. Scott will be fine."
Somewhat convinced that her brother would be okay, Juniper nodded and joined Cora by the door. They were still expected on the bridge.
"I'll meet you in the shuttle bay," Carlyle called after them, turning back to his colleague who was raising a non-existent brow at him. "What?"
"You know the Ryders?"
"Yeah. Been a friend of the family ever since Alec saved my ass during First Contact. It's been a rough few months for them..." he sighed, scratching his neck as he watched Lexi and several medical assistants get Scott out of his cryo pod. "The more interesting question is however: How do you know Juniper and why the heck are you allowed to call her by her full name?"