As they began their trek back, slower and sorer, Sara had the foresight to let Cora know they were still alive. "I'm liking your idea of getting off this planet more and more," she told the comm.

"I'm glad you've seen the light." The lack of a visual seemed to be doing wonders for their farce of cordiality. "We got a message from Elaaden while you were away that you should hear."

"That good, huh?" Sara muttered.

"I really think it's better that you hear it in person," was Cora's crisp reply.

Sara looked to Vetra, who only offered a halfhearted shrug. Jaal still didn't appear up for conversation. It made Sara question if she had made the right decision, having him leave the ship. Her jaw still throbbed where she had taken a rifle butt to the face, but it felt somehow rude to mention it. Sara consoled herself with the fact that the rifle had struck solid bone and not something more fragile like her nose or temple.

Their boots had barely passed the gangplank when Sara heard the engines thrum to life. The fact that she seemed to be the only one startled by that incensed her further. At least Cora had the fucking gall to announce her location over the intercom so that Sara knew where to furiously storm to.

In the meeting room. Sitting in Sara's chair.

If Cora could tell how agitated Sara was, she ignored it. She turned on the message terminal. "It was perfect timing, finishing up when you did. You've got to hear this."

"Hear what?" Sara gripped the back of the chair and leaned hard into the other woman's space, close enough to guess the flavor of protein bar she'd had for lunch.

Cora didn't budge and instead flicked on the replay switch.

"Heya, Pathfinder. Ryder." It wasn't Avitus. It was Liam. "So, no go on the pods, right? Less than a hundred scattered across the desert, haven't found any with life signs."

"That sucks," Sara murmured.

Cora pulled a chair over for her as Liam's message continued.

"Avitus insisted we scan them all, looking for the turian Pathfinder. Honestly, seems like he's more invested in Macen Barro than Ark Natanus, but that's not important. Maybe three hours ago, Avitus Rix went mad. Completely, absolutely bonkers. Requesting an extraction, ASAP."

"Okay..." Sara relented and sat in the offered chair. "Certainly concerning, but not really a whole lot to go on."

"Oh, it gets better," Cora promised as she moved on to the next message.

This time, it was Peebee. "So, Ryder, you know I hate to be one to agree with Liam, but we're all done with Elaaden. I kind of broke POC and want to get her back on the ship for some repairs, and did you know that Avitus is crazy? Like skull gripping, code muttering, out of his mind? Is this news to you too, or was that just a special surprise for Liam and myself?"

Sara threw her hands up. "So more concerning! Sounds like we're already en route."

"Avitus left a message as well," Cora said.

"Let me guess," Sara drawled. "He's crazy."

Cora hit the replay switch. "Just listen."

"...Got numbers, coordinates flashing in my head. I know how it looks, but I think it's an SOS from Macen. Those escape pods we found don't fit the timeline of when Natanus hit the Scourge, so someone has to still be flying it. Or keeping it afloat, at least. You have to take me there to prove I haven't lost my mind- If I haven't."

Sara sat there a long moment and thought. Admittedly, she hadn't known him long, but Avitus Rix had always seemed like a capable and reasonable sort. "We all had implants installed prior to being accepted into the Initiative," she said finally. "Macen Barro could theoretically be using his SAM to connect to Avitus's implant."

"Or his implant is malfunctioning," Cora suggested. "I know this project was your father's baby, but it is very new tech, especially when you consider they couldn't give it a test run legally in the Milky Way."

"We have to collect the nomad anyway," Sara sighed. "Maybe he'll have calmed down by the time we reach Elaaden? I don't see much harm in at least looking up whatever coordinates are in his head."

"I suppose that depends on how much fuel it'll take to get there." Cora shook her head. "Or if it takes us directly through the Scourge."

"Killjoy." Sara hopped to her feet. "I'm going to go see about napping off a head wound. That's recommended, right?"

"An ice pack and some medi-gel never hurts," was Cora's automatic reply and maybe if Sara had done as much when she first got her face knocked in, it would have made a difference. Now, it all felt like pageantry for the sake of whining.

Sara left the meeting room with Cora sitting at the head of the table and went vaguely in the direction of the med bay before she veered abruptly toward the tech lab. Jaal was there, on the ground and surrounded by more rifle parts.

"What're you up to?" she asked as she craned her head through the door.

"Thinking." And judging from the careless way he was throwing expensive equipment around, his thoughts probably weren't good.

Sara edged into the room, one step at a time. "Yeah..."

"Are we doing the right thing?" The way Jaal spoke it aloud with such clarity had her wondering how many times that thought had circled silently inside his head.

"I mean, I'm trying." Sara took another step and then sat down gingerly so as to not hover. "I kind of got thrown into this without a rule book."

He looked over his shoulder at her and tossed her the dagger from the crime scene. "I know Akksul," Jaal said as she ran a finger along the inscription on the side of the blade. "He's stubborn and angry. So, the angara have the kett who kidnap and defile us, but still we are too busy killing each other over alien newcomers to ally ourselves against the greater threat."

"Sounds about right," Sara exhaled. "Makes me worry about what the krogan are up to on Elaaden, because trust me, Heleus does not have the monopoly on domestic squabbles."

"We should be able to focus long enough to defeat one enemy," Jaal insisted. "Once the kett are gone, we can return to killing each other."

"People are stupid, we know this." She paused and when he quietly returned to his rifle instead of replying, she frowned. "Is this because you know Akksul or is something else going on?"

Jaal sighed and set the rifle down. "I've been receiving letters since we infiltrated the kett base on Voeld," he said. "Many are good. People, families, thanking us for saving themselves or loved ones. But there are others that are troubling."

Sara scooched a little closer. "Troubling how?"

"I can understand the ones that want to know if maybe their sister or cousin's name was somehow left off of the list of those we rescued." As Jaal said it, it sounded more for himself than for her benefit. "Or even the ones demanding to know the names of those left behind or blaming us for doing so. All of that makes sense to me. But I received a letter from Falet do Laav. Falet was one of the sixty-eight we rescued. And he was angry that we had done so."

"Wait. He was angry we saved him?"

"Now you see why I find it troubling." Jaal laughed softly. "He said he was chosen for exaltation and that we had stolen that from him. That he finally knew peace in the Archon's light."

Sara's frown deepened. "Did he say anything about having a preexisting mental illness?"

"The Moshae is furious," he continued, ignoring her. "Since the facility is still intact, Falet and his followers now wait outside it, keeping vigil, in hopes that the kett will return and exalt them."

"He has followers? Of course he has followers."

"I have come to terms with the Roekaar and that facing them may be inevitable," Jaal said. "But this new group of fools?"

"Do you think maybe if we ignore it, they'll just go away?" Sara muttered.

"I don't know. I was ignoring you at the doorway; did you go away?"

"Ouch."

"I'm glad you didn't, but it's still true."

"Okay." Sara tried again. "What do you think we should do about this new cult of kett?"

Jaal's brow ridge lowered. "They're called Tavetara Uni."

"Yeah, I like 'Cult of Kett' better."

"They don't care what you like!"

"Why don't you forward me Falet's message?" Sara suggested.

"Why?" Jaal asked. "I doubt you'll be able to convince him that he's wrong."

"Because it's not about him." Sara leaned forward and nudged his arm with her elbow and watched him pull back, confused. "You don't have to shoulder this alone. This way, you won't have to mope by yourself."

"You think I'm moping?"

She smirked. "A little."

"That must mean something different to humans." Jaal jerked his chin up, stubbornly.

Sara just raised an eyebrow as she stood up. "Uh huh. You've reminded me that since we're headed to Elaaden, I should probably ask Drack a couple things about Clan Nakmor and the Nexus uprising."

"Ryder," Jaal said, his voice stopping her in the doorway. "Thank you."

"It's what I do." Awkwardly and uncomfortably, but still. She offered a smile as she left.

Sara found Drack washing dishes at the sink in the kitchen. Without a word, she cozied up against the massive krogan, ready with a towel in her hand. "What do you know about Elaaden?"

He snorted and passed her a still-dripping plate. "The heat will kill a human who stands too long in direct sunlight."

"Fun!"

"Yeah, I don't think it's really suited for critters made up of almost entirely water."

"So I'll bring a parasol planetside," Sara decided as she wiped the plate down. "But what I meant was more will Clan Nakmor shoot me on sight for being Initiative?"

"Maybe. I haven't been on Elaaden in a while."

"You have a way with words," she drawled. "I bet you're told that all the time, aren't you? I for one feel so reassured."

He barked a quick laugh at that. "When your head's up on a pike, I'll know you won't be able to say it's because I misled you! New Tuchanka was being run by Nakmor Morda, last I checked."

"Last you checked?" Sara frowned at him. "What happened on the Nexus with the krogan, anyway? Why are they all on Elaaden, now?"

"Eh, Kesh could tell you better than I could," he said as he moved on to a pan.

"Yeah, but Kesh isn't here right now," she replied. "Don't you like to tell all kinds of stories? Vetra told me you love the sound of your own voice."

"I do, don't I?" Drack chuckled. "It's not very interesting. Whenever there's a problem, people are quick to reach for a hammer. My clan traveled here so we could make a new life for ourselves, but it's more of the same. We were woken out of cryo to end a problem we didn't start. The only reason we did was because Morda struck a deal that guaranteed us a spot on the new Council."

Sara slung the towel over her shoulder. "Sounds good so far. How'd that end with you all on Elaaden?"

"Tann," Drack made the name sound like an obscenity. "He said that William Spender negotiated the terms without authorization and then that slimy salarian reneged on the deal. Spender, Addison, no one backed us up and they were pushing to return us to cryo to reserve resources. We upheld our end and were thanked with the choice of exile or cryostasis. Should have stayed back in the Milky Way."

"So Clan Nakmor's pretty much entirely justified for hating the Initiative, good to know." Couple that with the exiles whose reasons for being exiled in the first place were explained mostly with Tann grimacing and giving vague hand waves, it was easy to question if Sara was working for the collective best interests. No wonder there were uninvolved people like Reyes who defected.

Currently, the only two selling points to the Initiative were their resources and tech from the Milky Way and that Scott was still technically in their possession. Sara knew Tann was a boot licking asshole, but the more she found out about him, the more he made it difficult to rationalize that she was on the right side of things.

"Kesh stayed behind and the Initiative should be lining up to polish her hump," Drack asserted with a nod. "She's one of the few in charge that can see the big picture. She's singlehandedly kept the Nexus afloat without so much as a thank you."

"Sounds like rough work." Sara tried to gently pry the pan from his grip before he scrubbed a hole into the bottom. "Why's she doing it?"

"Because the people still in cryo need her!" The official reason prettied up the air so much he must have gagged on the bullshit. "And if we're being honest, the krogan need the Nexus. Until more planets become viable, there aren't any secure supply lines. Tann will be long returned to dust and my ru'shan will still be guiding the direction of the Initiative."

"So, you'll make sure the krogan on Elaaden play nice when we arrive?" she asked. "Long enough for me to collect my nomad and crew at least? Everything else is negotiable."

With a snort, Drack stepped away from the sink and dried his hands. "We always play nice."

"Drack..."

"Kid, your species is so young to our history, I'll believe your ignorance." He dropped the towel on the counter. "We've always played nice. Rachni, geth, now kett, whenever there's trouble, the krogan are the first the Council comes crawling to. The problem is, when we deal with the issue, your civilized folk don't know what to do with those of us who survive and return to society. So you gift us with plagues like the Genophage or exile and execute us. There's a sliding scale with people like Tann on one end and an angry krogan with a rifle and nothing else to lose on the other."

Sara stood and watched him turn around and begin rooting through the fridge. "Well, that's an image for my nightmares. Where do you you fit in on that scale?"

"Me?" Drack's voice came muffled, his head deep in the fridge. "I still enjoy a fight, but I'm too old to get overly passionate about the politics involved. Although... I suppose my placement depends entirely on whether or not I can find a fresh bottle of ryncol."

Sara laughed. "I'll check with Vetra. She'll know if there's any more."