Scott groans as his omni-tool rings for a call to be accepted. He ends it, getting his attention back to Jaal as they both kiss and roam each other's bodies. Ryder and Jaal ended up going back to the science lab after the meeting. One thing led to another and they both were now making out with half their clothes missing.
Jaal had Ryder sat on his desk, standing over him as he trails small kisses down his neck. Scotts omni-tool rings again. Jaal pulls his head back. "Do you need to answer that?"
Scott looks at him with flushed eyes, swiping the call to mute it. "No, please don't stop," he says breathlessly. Scott started to massage the growing hardon under his uniform trousers.
Then his omni-tool blared a warning it was being hacked. Scott practically growled when he realised it was SAM doing it. "What the hell, SAM?!" he shouts in annoyance. "I'm busy," he adds.
"I'm sorry, Scott. But there is information from located memories of your fathers you need to know about," SAM's voice fills the room. Scott groans loudly, looking at Jaal with an apologetic look.
Jaal chuckles deeply, bending down to grab their clothes. "Fine, what memory?" Scott knew about the memories Alec locked away. Sara was able to get SAM to show them all to him via his own implant. Seeing them first-hand was creepy, but warming, some memories he couldn't even remember happening. Yet, he was there. Happy with his family.
"I was sorting through them and one became accessible. It was due to unlock with time, not the progression Sara has as a Pathfinder." Scott buttons his shirt up, leaning against the desk as Jaal goes to his terminal.
"Well, why aren't you contacting Sara? I can't see them without her?" SAM almost seems too awkward to answer.
"She is currently with Mr Vidal, not wishing me to be disturbed unless... 'someone is dying'," he quotes. Scott hears Jaal snicker to himself.
"So she's getting laid, fair enough," Scott groans. "Why is it so important?"
"It's about your mother, she is not dead." The words were almost a punch in the stomach. Scott lost his footing and slid off the desk, Jaal catches him.
"What?!" he shouts. Even Jaal was now wondering, they both stare at Ryder's arm.
"Get Sara and come to the SAM node on the Nexus," SAM says before ending the call. The SAM node on the Hyperion was no longer active, it got destroyed by the crash. Luckily SAM is backed up in multiple places and can't be so easily destroyed. A new replica was built on the Nexus. Barely anything was different with this one.
Scott and Jaal both glared at each other before taking off in a sprint to the apartment blocks. They had no time to waste.
Sara was still asleep when Reyes woke up. He untangles himself from her, pulling the duvet to cover her before tiptoeing to the bathroom to shower.
Scott and Jaal bang on the door, there is no answer and it's locked from the inside. "They may have fallen asleep," Jaal comments. Scott nods, he tries to hack the door but SAM stops him.
"Scott, your sister is not dressed," SAM explains. Scott bangs on the door.
"Wake her up then," he shouts. SAM disappears to try to wake Ryder up, but she's in such a deep sleep she isn't waking up for anyone.
"She is in too much deep sleep. Enter with caution, she is covered as of now," SAM says before unlocking the door. Scott and Jaal look at each other, finally pressing the green button.
The door hisses open, and the sight of Sara sprawled out in bed, snoring lightly to herself. There was no sign of Reyes. "Sara," Scott calls. She doesn't respond. Scott looks around, finding her trainers on the floor. He throws it across the room, it lands just short of her arm. "Shit, you try," he says, pushing the other trainer in Jaals hand.
"Why not just go over and wake her?" he asks looking at the shoe.
"She's butt naked, I don't want to see that," he hisses in reply. Jaal laughs, he aims the shoe and throws it.
"What the fuck!" Sara shouts as she is hit in the face with the tip of the shoe. Scott had to throw his hand over his mouth to stop him from bursting out laughing. Sara looks up, seeing them both standing by the door. She pulls the duvet as high as her chin. "What the fuck are you two doing here?" She then looks at the bathroom door, hearing the shower running.
"SAM contacted me, he's found some about mum," Scott explains way too quickly for Sara's waking brain to understand. "We need to..."
Scott is cut off when the bathroom opens. Reyes walks out, looking straight at Sara with a devious smirk. "Ready for round two, little dove?" he asks. His towel rested on his shoulders as he wiped the side of his hair.
"Reyes," she nearly screams as she points to his nakedness. He then feels eyes on him. He looks at Jaal, then Scott than his own dick that was just out. Reyes nearly slips as he pounces back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. "Go outside for a minute, we won't be long," she says with a chuckle.
Scott smirks. "You know, your boyfriend is hot, Sara," he mutters as he leaves. Jaal smacks him over the head with his gloved hand. "What! Your hotter," he states as he's shoved outside, the door shut behind them.
"They're gone," she calls. Reyes comes back out, looking very warm cheeked. "SAM has found something big, we need to get changed."
"Great," he drawls. She throws him his clothes, they both quickly get changed and call them both back in. Reyes was still embarrassed, he scurred to the kitchen to make coffee for everyone.
"Right," Sara says as they all sit at the small dining table. "What is it that's so important?"
"SAM, wanna explain?" Scott suggests.
The next twenty minutes were them all being told by SAM what he'd already relayed to Scott and them all practically flying to the SAM node to get the memory. Everyone walked in together, though Scott and Sara had a spring in their step as they rushed to the end of the platform where SAM's main node was. The consoles around them all came to life.
"Right, SAM. Show us, please," Sara says she holds Scott's hand. Reyes and Jaal stand behind them, they can't see the memory but SAM can play it through the speakers.
"A moment," SAM pauses. His normal blue hue turns red. Sara doubles over in pain, screaming loudly as the vision plays. Death, destruction. Some sort of organic race is being destroyed by a synthetic one. "Sara, please remain calm. I am trying to stop the vision," SAM calls in worry. Scott and Reyes were holding her still as she dropped to her knees, her nails scraping against her head.
"SAM!" she screams in pain. Nothing of vision made sense, it was red, dark and full of screams. Then the worst noise followed, it was loud, almost teeth chattering low toned. She felt the floor under her vibrate as the sound finally calmed. She opened her eyes, looking at Reyes, he looked petrified.
"Sara?" he whispers. She cries, throwing herself into his chest. He soothes her, looking up at Scott in worry.
"SAM! What the hell just happened?" SAM hue went back to blue, he'd experienced the same issue. The files corrupted him, so much information he struggled to take in at once.
"There are extra files Alec hid in here. I am sorting through them now. They are tagged... Reaper," he explains. Sara opens her eyes, looking at Reyes with scrunched brows.
"The hell are Reapers?" Scott asks. He helped Reyes get Sara up, she was okay, but her head was aching badly. She keeps her eyes near closed as she feels her implant slowly thump. The memory starts to play.
It starts with the family surrounding Ellen as she is taking her last breath. Scott and Sara held each other, crying quietly. Ellen held Alec's hand as she coughed the blood up. "Children, do me proud," she whispers.
Reyes and Jaal looked at each other, it was eerie to hear the voice of a dead woman. The memory continued.
"Both of you care for each other and your father," she says, squeezing Alec's hand. "Do silly things, fall in love," she slowly adds.
"Mum," Sara cries. Scott strokes her back as she whimpers.
"There is still time, Ellen," Alec says. He leans over her hospital bed, placing a small kiss on her head. He looks at the kids, motioning his head through the door. "Give us a minute, kids," he whispers.
"We will be back soon, mum," Scott murmurs as they leave the room. Alec looks back down at his wife, the tears fall down his cheeks.
"You fought so well, dear," he whimpers. Ellen places a hand on his cheek, brushing her nails against his beard.
"I couldn't have done it without you. Make sure you go on this adventure," Ellen says. Reyes narrowed his brows, Sara told him she didn't know anything about the Initiative. Alec must have told her. "See the stars for me, my love," she adds as her eyes drift close. She is still breathing, her body is tired of fighting and the sedative took place.
The memory goes dark, Reyes and Jaal thought it was over before Alec's voice calls through again. He's sitting on his desk, looking down at the small SAM node, the final one complete for Andromeda. "How's Ellen doing?"
SAM hue floats around as a smaller, quieter voice of the SAM they now know speaks. "Ellen's disease is stable. You were correct that cryo-hibernation would freeze its progress. She is now on Ark Hyperion."
"Good," Alec mumbles. He then looks at his hands on the desk, sighing to himself. "Kids, I know I kept secrets and I'm sorry for that. I had my reasons, your mum is still there with you. Use Andromeda's resources to cure her," he says as the memory ends.
The last one jumps to Habitat-seven. Sara gasped for air after her helmet broke from the fall. Those last words Alec spoke that were muffled, she then hears them, clear as day. "Keep breathing," he gasps. "There is still time for your mother," he says before she faints.
Sara and Scott both gasp as the memory abruptly ends. They look at each other than at their partners. The room is silent, SAM breaks it. "Pathfinder, I now remember. Alec hoped Andromeda would have the resources needed to treat Ellen's condition. When she fell asleep in the hospital, he started the process of getting her onto the ark under the name... Elizabeth Reily."
"He kept this a secret all this damn time!" Scott shouts in anger. He turns to face Jaal, holding him tightly as he cries. "I grieved her dammit," he muffled into Jaals rofjin.
"Calm, dear one," he soothes.
"SAM, where is mum now? Still on the Hyperion?" Sara moves closer.
"Yes, but she must stay in cryo. Her condition will continue to progress if she's taken out." Reyes looks at Sara, he opens his omni-tool and walks to SAM's side console.
"Transfer all you can on Ellen's condition, SAM. I will get a team together and start research on a cure," Reyes says with determination. Sara smiles at him. He lets SAM take control of his omni-tool as the files transfer to him.
"You okay, Lil bro?" Sara whispers as she rubs his back. Scott gets off Jaal, his eyes puffy as he rubs them.
"Yeah, just pissed off." He looks past Sara's shoulder to SAM. "The Reapers, what are they?"
"In 2183 a Spectre-Alliance operative called Commander Shepard opened an investigation into what was called Reapers. They were known to be a sentient-organic machine race that attacked the Milky-way every fifty-thousand years. They were thought to be the reason the Protheans disappeared." They all stood in shock, surely it couldn't be true.
"Why did dad hide it?" Sara asks. "I remember Shepard, she's an N7. One of the best the Alliance had."
"That vision you had, Pathfinder. Commander Shepard had the same on the colony world Eden Prime. It warned her about the Reaper's imminent arrival." Reyes closes his omni-tool, leaning against the railing as Sara just stares at the ground, looking more confused than ever.
"Your father believed it would cause panic. The Andromeda Initiative wasn't due to leave the Milky Way until 2192. However, due to the worries about the Reaper's return. Jian Garson and Alec gave the arks a window of 2185 to be gone. They were right to do this." Scott looks up, fearing the worst.
"Why do you say that?" SAM pauses before answering. A message comes through the comms of the room.
"Hello, Alec. This is Dr Liara T'soni. I don't know if you remember me, but we corresponded years ago about my Prothean research. The year here is 2186, I never heard if the arks made out to dark space. But, I hope you did. The worst has already happened here, the Reapers arrived two weeks ago. Destroying everything in their path." There was a long pause. "I am here with Commander Shepard and a brave crew building a weapon in hopes we can turn the tide. But if it doesn't work..." She sounds as if she is holding back tears. "I fear the Milky-Way you remember will be no more. Please, keep us alive in your heart, tell your children of the wonderful memories that were once our own. On behalf of the crew of the Normandy SR2, it's been an honour." The line goes dead after that.
"The Reapers attacked the Milky-Way a year after the arks left," SAM explains. Scott throws his hand over his mouth, could everything back home really be gone.
"SAM, can you find out what the state of the Milky-Way is like now?" Sara asks. She knew he probably couldn't, but she just needed to know. She felt sick just thinking of everything back home being destroyed and turned to dust.
"No, Pathfinder. We have been trying to get in contact with the Milky-Way since the Nexus first arrived. We've had no luck getting a response." Scott punches the railing in anger.
"Dammit, what are we meant to do now?" he shouts in anger.
Reyes waves his hand for him to calm down. "There is nothing you can do. We are too far away and our comms aren't good enough yet to reach home."
Sara shakes her head, her fingers holding her chin as she thinks. "Wait," she says loud enough to startle Jaal. "The main station we used to find Meridian. It's basically a massive comm buoy. What if we configured it to contact home?"
They look at SAM for the answer. "If the frequency can be edited for that, it would work," he says. Sara claps in excitement.
"Great, Scott. You and Jaal tell Kallo to get the ship ready, we are making a pit stop to Meridian to see mum. Then back to the station to get a link home. They need to know we made it," she says with determination. Jaal and Scott both nod, taking off in a brisk walk to The Tempest.
"Ryder," SAM says. "This might not work, please don't give it too much hope." Sara smiles at the hue, nodding slightly.
"Don't worry, I won't." She looks at Reyes. "Can you come with us?"
"I have work to do, Ryder. I can't do that from the Tempest," he sadly says. Sara shakes her head, smiling at him.
"What if you could?" Reyes cranes his head to the side, seeing her devious smile.
"What do you mean?" he asks. Sara then looks at SAM, even with her doing that. He really didn't get it. "I'm not following."
"What if I gave you SAM?" Reyes's breath hitches in his throat. How could she possibly do that? Sara laughs at his shocked expression. "I have my own SAM node on the ship, you can use it for whatever you need. Would that work?"
"I... uh," Reyes stumbles over his words. If he worked with SAM, his work would improve drastically. "SAM, are you happy with this?"
"I am here to aid you and the Pathfinder in any way I can, Mr Vidal," the AI responds. Sara pulls him alone to the Tempest.
"I... we can try then. I need to contact Keema first." Sara only smiles at nods, happy with the arrangements. Reyes was still somewhat hesitant. He'd always done his own work, he didn't know if it'd even work well with SAM.
It wouldn't hurt trying, he thinks to himself.
A/N: The Milky Way really needs to know the arks made it. And everyone in Andromeda should find out what happened back home.