"You think I didn't remember you?" Lyra asked sweetly. "How could I forget such a pretty face?". She reached and patted my face, smiling. I laughed nervously, not looking away.
She spoke again, "So, this is what you were in on Earth, huh?"
"Not exactly", I replied. "My brother and I were in with some bad people, so we had to leave"
"So, you came to Omega?" she asked. "Home of bad people?"
"We were going to some backwater colony, but the ship we were on got pulled in by Aria", I said.
"What did she want with it?" Lyra asked curiously.
"I don't know, one thing we were flying to an colonial stinkhole, next thing we're in the terminus systems with batarians screaming in our faces", I remembered.
"So, were you scared?", Lyra asked.
"No", I said mock-bravely. "Nothing I couldn't handle". I smiled at Lyra playfully, who began to laugh,
"Yeah, you looked like a real tough guy, when I pinned your brother by Harrot's".
"Hey!" I said, laughing. "I don't mess with wome who look like they would eat you for breakfast".
"I don't eat pieces of shit for breakfast", she said, smiling.
The door to the cockpit opened behind us. Aran walked in and leant on my chair.
"How's it going in here?", he asked.
"Fine", Lyra answered. "Just getting to know your brother".
"Oh?", Aran said, who even though was behind me, I could tell had raised an eyebrow. I could also hear him letting out a soft laugh. "Do I need to get a hose?"
Lyra shook her head in annoyance. I turned round to give him a disapproving look.
"Those barrels secure?", Lyra inquired, changing the subject.
"Yeah", he replied peering through the window. "That the relay?"
Lyra sighed before answering, "Yes. That's the relay. So go and strap yourself in".
Aran chuckled, "I'll leave you two alone then."
The soft metal underfoot got more distant, and stopped as the door slid closed.
As soon as the door had closed, Lyra smirked.
"You two are nothing alike", she said, shaking her head.
"I know", I said, in agreement. "But he's my brother, and he's always been there for me"
Lyra shot me a mocking look, before miming vomiting. Her jovial look was diverted by the approach of the colossal mass relay. The ancient, metallic leviathan seemingly fixed in space, with it's magnificent, biotic gyroscopes at one end. As we approached, its mass effect field smothered the ship, pulling us into the path of it's lengthy tracks. Our rate of acceleration increased astronomically. Distant stars began to form streaks as our speed increased. A momentary blur of white and we decelerated effortlessly in front of another relay.
I remained still, in complete awe. I had never seen travel through a mass relay before, and it's breathtaking. I heard my brother shouting from the common area in the deck below. She gave me an approving nod, and I got up and made my way to Aran. The cargo hold was still, with a dozen barrels lining the wall, strapped in place. I continued down the second set of stairs to find my brother brooding over a table, with a bottle of whisky.
"Found the whisky", he said, pleased with himself looking up at me.
"Great", I said, half-heartedly. I took the seat next to him. We sat in silence for a few minutes as my brother occasionally took a long swig of whisky.
"When we get to the citadel relay...", He finally said. I looked at him, hoping for a different end to the sentence.
"...that's when we do it", he concluded. My gaze lingered on him for a second before starting,
"Do what? You remember what she did to you on Omega", I reasoned. "Besides, we don't even have any guns!"
"You seem pretty friendly with her", he said.
"Get her shotgun".