"Approaching the Navpoint Cora gave us, Ryder." Said Kallo and Sara leaned more towards the window.

"There is something there, Sara." Suvi continued and Sara bit her lower lip. It was amazing how close the Ark was to the Scourge. She heard steps behind her, but haven't turned around. Her brain was working and thinking fast. Something was not right here but she couldn't tell what bothered her so much.

"SAM, help out with the sensors…" Said Sara when she felt Cora's presence just next to her. She knew this was an important mission for her second-in-command.

"Hard to believe Leusinia could survive in all this…" Cora uttered. This was exactly the thing bothering Sara's thoughts.

"Indeed... But we should focus on saving who we can." Blue, black and white uniform moved as Cora was finding her place to fit in with her own nervousness. Sara at least tried to believe that Cora could be nervous. Her tough training with the Asari commando, memorized manuals written by one of those who was supposed to be present on the ship, protecting Matriarch Ishara, the Asari pathfinder... It seemed that Cora was ignoring any doubts of this mission, any failures or deaths possibly waiting for them at the board.

"Good call.. Help asari, piss of the kett…"She nearly smiled when she moved around. "very cathartic…" And then it came, Sarissa's name appeared in connection with the whole situation. She surely had a plan… she wrote the manual… she was a legend… she'll have a plan. It was hard to believe that Sarissa was a mortal being and not a Goddess herself. Sara opened her mouth to say something but Kallo finally detected the vessel. The time of truth was there to be revealed.

"Reading life signs… minimal power… multiple breaches… she's a wreck." Cora said, still holding onto her cool and harmonised nature. Sara concentrated her strength into her face to keep it neutral and emotionless. She didn't wanted Cora to notice her doubt.

"If she's spaceworthy and her crew's alive, that's all we need." It was a lie in a way and at the same time wasn't. She just couldn't let Cora feel the opposite. Sara couldn't let this mission end up as the Salarian Ark. Her crew was the most important for her. Cora smiled and Sara directed the Tempest to Leusinia.

"Get ready… 10 minutes" Sara looked at Cora and she nodded. Sara guided her steps towards armoury to prepare and check everything for the last time. Who she found was Peebee waiting there with hands filled with Sara's favourite weapons and smiling.

"Hey cutie… these are yours. With this pace, we'll be late." Sara was surprised but returned the smile. She let Peebee handing her one weapon per one and attaching it to her armour.

"I'm glad you're joining us on this one. I have a feeling that a ship full of biotics is not really enough for what is waiting for us there." Said Sara and attached an Asari sword to her waist. She felt is as symbolic gesture to use this katana looking like weapon on this mission.

"Naah, we'll be fine. You'll get cover from me and Cora. We'll make sure you don't die this time." Said she seriously and Sara just silently nodded. She just loved the Tempest women. No one could really mess up with them.

IIIIIIIIII

The Ark was a mess. Traces of a heavy fighting was all around and Sara was happy for a helmet to hide her face from Cora or anyone. Those few steps towards closed doors reaching Sarissa and the Captain Atandra felt like miles far. Kett… who else could leave such a mess.

"If the Tempest looked like this, how would you feel?" These words resonated in Sara's mind. Captain was careful and Cora stayed professional, but she was sure that seeing Leusinia like this hurt her in a way. The strong and powerful Asari smashed by the hostile race, it was surely not a nice thing to see. Maybe being vented away was not such a bad idea at all.

"But you'd vent a Pathfinder team into space?" There she was. Cora's role-model arguing with the captain of the ship, Atandra. It reminded Sara of the same arguments Alec had with the Hyperion captain. The priorities were always set differently for Pathfinders and captains as it seemed.

"Respectfully, yes. We can't take any more chances!." Said the Captain and Sara felt like wanted to grin. The idea was in a way morbidly funny one. So she coughed and got Sarissa's attention. Cora got rid of her helmet and Sara followed the example. Peebee stayed as a silent observer.

"Sarissa Theris. Pathfinder. Don't mind the captain. Scolding me eases her blood pressure." And there was that something which alarmed Ryder's sixth sense again. It turned out that Matriarch Ishara was dead and Sarissa followed the line the same way as Sara did after her father. Cora presented her knowledge of the manuals and hierarchy which seemed amazed Sarissa, but avoided Atandra's attention. The world manual even made her face more angry than before.

"Matriarch Ishara is dead. Sarissa was next in line and those battle manuals haven't kept the kett of MY ark." Cora looked down, embarrassed and nervous. Sara could finally see that. The training was not welcomed, words were useless and many lives were in stake. Again. Sara wanted to assure this captain, or maybe Cora more, that they really came to save the day, that human Pathfinder was a solution for everything. It just, she couldn't really do it. Sara learned that this position was too much based on sacrificed on many different levels and her response reflected it.

"Let's see how we can clean this mess together, captain." It was time to focus on the mission, on the facts and find out what was really the situation with the Ark.

"Matriarch Ishara died, trying to negotiate with those kett bastards. So I took something precious from them, too. I stole a module containing tactical data. All their secrets routes through this phenomenon." Said Sarissa. Negotiation failed, but they managed to recover useful intel on the Source. It was truly raising the chances for any of their ships to avoid kett or to move through the Scourge. Matriarch reminded Sara of Liam, when he tried to believe kett could be allied, talked to… They learned fast from a safe position it was not a case and Archon was an authoritarian ass only existing to show his dominance to everyone around. Would her father try to negotiate when a chance appeared? Would he shoot first? She didn't know. Now it proved once again that death could meet her behind every corner with every wrong or miscalculated decision. And then, Cora would exchange her, take her position and SAM in order to finish the main mission they had. To bring everybody home.

There was another problem as Cpt Atandra pointed out. Valiant, Archon's dog was on their trace, trying to take revenge on their rude action stealing the intel. He wanted to kill them all, and they were unsuccessful to avoid him, or escape far enough. Captain made clear the intel was not important for her as the damage the ship took everytime they escaped Valiant. This was something Sara fought about with the Tann before and other Nexus authorities, when trying to explain them the importance of long-term plans and hardship of immediate decisions in tiresome attempts to minimize the sacrifices in order to save more than losing them. She was unable to make this decision when she let Kalinda live and chose Peebee over a tech which could give them better control over the Remnants. It was very hard decision to make and Sarissa had her respect for crossing this line against the belief of more around her, to give her people better chances.

"Pathfinders have to take risks, Captain. I've taken my share." She needed to defend Sarissa then, she could understand the weight on one's shoulder. It turned out that the mission got more complicated. Getting rid of Valiant was not the only problem. But the ship lost its juice to move and cut any possible means of escape. The drive's core was death.

They were about to divide. Sarissa's task was to decipher data for a later escape and Ryder's team was to back up the investigations of the Core.

"Pffft. First rule: always know your escape plan." Said Peebee which made Sara to look at her with raised eyebrows. Peebee smirked and backed up as Sara's face was truly amusing. After throwing them in the centre of volcano, Peebee was truly the last one to talk about prepared escape plans. In a way the reality of not having Kalinda showing up could have cost their lives.