Scott hated being the Pathfinder. He thought it would be a walk in the park with the training he'd been given, but it had only been a day and he was already regretting taking Tann's deal. The crew barely spoke to him, still feeling the loss of Sara. They even missed Reyes at that point. Jaal was the only support he had.
They were heading to Elaaden, he wanted to see Morda. The Krogan clan leader of the New Tuchanka colony. He needed to find out if Spender was still alive. Sara had him exiled when she finally got the evidence needed to charge the snake with the countless thefts and set-ups he'd done throughout the Nexus, eventually causing the uprising.
"Pathfinder, we are making our final approach," Kallo calls through the ship comms.
Scott looks up from his terminal. "Thanks, Kallo," he replies. He finishes his email to Tann and then gets up to head for the bridge. He might hate this job but someone had to do it. He could only hope Morda had the answers he needed to get rid of the Director.
Reyes had a long day ahead, he first needed to go see Keema. The Angara had hidden a lot from him whilst he was on the Tempest and now she was struggling to keep the peace. He enters the HQ, finding only some guards and Keema pacing in front of her throne.
"Vidal, about time," she angrily says as he stops in front of her. The guards in the throne room all knew who Reyes was. No one besides Keema was able to get away speaking to him like this.
"What the hell have you done?" he shouts as he puts both hands on his hips. Keema smokes her cigar, letting the smoke cloud his view.
"I've been trying to run this damn port whilst you were playing hero with Nexus," she shoots back in defence. Reyes scratches the back of his neck, his brows furrowing at her.
"Don't question what I do, Keema," he warns. She sits in the chair, sighing loudly. "Everyone leave us," he orders. The guards don't need to be told twice and they all scurry out. "What is going on out there?"
Reyes wasn't expecting much to change whilst he was gone. Maybe some new stores to be opened or progress on the houses currently being built. What does he come back to? People fighting in the street, his men being attacked trying to defend shop owners and Dr Nakamotos's clinic has being raided by the exiles from Elaaden.
"We have been accepting too many people into the Port," she explains. Reyes grunts at her, he was so angry at this. "I've tried to keep the peace but the exiles from Elaaden have turned on us.
"All of them?" Keema shakes her head.
"Just a few, some are our own. Dr Nakamoto's clinic got stripped bare, they stole a shuttle and fled the planet before we could catch them." He curses under his breath, how could this have been allowed to happen.
"And the fighting going on outside? I had to break up two of them on my way here." Reyes had two men fighting over a gun mod they both wanted to buy. The shop owner didn't care, whoever paid more could have it, but the fight turned physical and he punched one in the face to break it up. The other were four Angara demanded to see Keema and were angry as a human guard was getting involved in an Angaran matter by denying them entry.
"Prices have risen on most products sold on the Port. The protection fees had stopped that from happening before, now people are doing whatever they can to make money." Reyes motions Keema to move from the throne, she rolls her eyes but gets up. He flops himself into it.
"Right, first thing first. Get me Dr Nakamoto. I want to see him." Keema nods, she stares at him for a moment as he rubs his aching head. "What?" he snaps at her.
"Some of our operatives told us work was getting done much quicker than what was expected for the Charlatan to reply to. How did you manage that?" Reyes looks at her, his eyes hung low.
"SAM has been helping me," he truthfully answers.
"You're letting an AI from the Pathfinder help you? It could do anything with our information," she says disapprovingly.
"Hey," he snaps with a pointed finger. "SAM would never betray me. He has saved all our asses more than once, give him some damn respect."
Keema turns her nose up at him, turning to walk out. "Yes, Reyes," she mutters as she shuts the door. Reyes looked at the floor in front of him, he'd been back less than twenty-four hours and he already wanted to pack up and leave.
He opens his omni-tool, sending a quick message to Christmas Tate. He was the head leader of the Nexus outpost on Kadara. He hoped the man had some better news for him regarding the state of the outpost.
"Sara," SAM calls through her omni-tool. She looks up from her datapad, smiling at his voice.
"Yeah, buddy?" she asks.
"I have been watching Reyes," he explains. Ryder sits up from the couch, throwing the datapad on the coffee table.
"What you got for me?" There was a pause as SAM played the logs he'd recorded between Reyes and Keema. The recording ends with Reyes sighing heavily. "How did you get all this?"
"I hacked Reyes' omni-tool. Recording all his encounters, I cannot however get visual images due to him not having an implant I can use." Ryder nodded, she'd even heard the fights Reyes' had to split up. The port was really struggling, though she didn't get why he'd think she wouldn't approve.
"Is there anything else? He said I wouldn't approve, so far I don't see anything that bad." SAM doesn't answer at first. "SAM?" she calls with suspicion.
"There are two human females currently locked up," he finally states. Ryder got up from the couch, grabbing some water as she let SAM actually explain the issue with it. "The women both attacked a Turian who'd tried to steal from them. Because of the nature of the attack, Keema was forced to arrest them."
"But why would they hide that? I get they attacked him to defend their belongings, but surely they'd be let out with a warning?" She clears her plate and cups away. the water ran warmly over her skin, it was a welcome feeling.
"Reyes' guards are mistreating both women." Ryder pauses, glaring at her omni-tool.
"What do you mean?" she asks as she dries her hands and waits for the answer.
"They are beaten each day and used for entertainment." Ryder felt sick, she held her stomach as she leaned against the counter. "Are you okay, Ryder?" SAM asks with worry.
"How do you know all this?" she asks heading for the door.
"I looked through Reyes' operations. Most are not worth mentioning, however, a lot of his operatives are working above what he tells them to do." Sara was already out of the house, heading straight to the main port. "Where are you going, Ryder?" he asks on her private channel.
"I need to see these women for myself. Does Reyes know this is happening?" She would be disgusted if he did.
"No, Ryder," SAM answers. A small weight comes off her shoulders. She heads to the HQ, the only place she'd know the cells were. Luckily thanks to Reyes, she also knew the back entrances to get in without being seen.
Reyes was still sitting on the throne when Dr Nakamoto finally entered. The man looks nervous as Reyes glares at him, sitting in a chair that made him look like a god to the Kadara people. "Mr Vidal, hello," he mutters.
"Relax, doctor. I called to help you." He sees Nakamoto's shoulder lower from the tension he was holding. "What happened at your clinic?"
Nakamoto stumbles over his words before finally finding them. "A human, two Turians and Krogan came by the clinic. I told them I was booked and couldn't help them unless it was an emergency." He paces in front of Reyes, waving his arms around in anger. "They attacked me, pinned me down and forced me to tell them where all my medication and treatments were.
"And Oblivion?" Reyes asks. Nakamoto stops short, tripping over his own feet.
"They took it." Reyes stands up, now even more pissed off.
"Shit, alright. I'll get some guards to your clinic, whatever funding you need to get your clinic back up you can have." Nakamoto takes Reyes' hand, shaking it vigorously as he bows.
"Thank you, Mr Vidal," he says before leaving. Reyes calls Keema, telling her to meet him at the cells. He wanted to sort out the fighting situation, most were in the holding cells. He had to start getting sanctions in place to stop this from happening in the future.
"SAM, is there anyone on the other side of the doors?" She got through the back rooms just fine, remembering which way she had to go. Most of the guards were nowhere to be seen.
"There are five bodies inside the room, all behind the cell doors," SAM says from thermal scans. Ryder knew they were the prisoners, she hoped two of them were the women he'd mentioned.
She walks in, peeking her head through before finally walking inside. The prisoners all looked up at her, each glaring as the Pathfinder they knew just walks straight into the cold, wet cells. Ryder could see they were treated better than how Sloan ran things. They were at least fed and clothed. The only two women in there were sitting close together, she could see they'd been crying.
"Pathfinder?" A Turian asks in shock. Ryder shushes them, waving them closer to her. The metal bars were the only thing standing in front of them.
"What happened to you all?" she asks. The Turian who had spoken just moments ago looked like shit, he'd obviously been in a bad fight.
"It's the Collective," a human male shouts. "They beat us when we try asking for help."
"Help with what?" she asks. They all look at each other. "I can help you, but you need to tell me the truth."
"It's that Asari bitch," the Turian spits. "She thinks she can do whatever she wants. She used to work for Sloan."
"And what? She believes Sloan was the rightful ruler of the port?" They all nod to Ryder's on point statement. "What does she do to you all?"
"She frames us, makes us fight, then blames us. The Charlatan knows all too well." Ryder shakes her head.
"Trust me they don't," Ryder quickly says. She then pauses, the panic on all their faces tells her someone was coming. She looked around the room, there wasn't one hiding spot in sight. "Fuck," she hisses.
The doors open, expecting it to be a guard. She was surprised when the Asari they spoke about strolled in, two guards tailing her. They were speaking in hushed tones when their eyes landed on Ryder standing by the cell door. "Pathfinder?" The Asari laughs as the door locks behind her. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Ryder scoffs at her, pointing to the prisoners behind her. "Helping these poor people you locked up for no reason. Wait until the Charlatan hears about this."
The Asari body emits her blue biotics, stalking like a predator towards Sara. "No, they won't," she snaps as she runs at Ryder.
Reyes wasn't in a rush to the cells, but the feeling of being watched was sticking the hairs on the back of his neck up. "SAM?" he calls.
His omni-tool lights up just moments later. "Reyes, you are needed in the cells right away," SAM says with urgency.
"Have you been spying on me?" he asks, walking that bit faster. Expecting just some rowdy prisoners to be causing a stir.
"Yes, Ryder asked me to," he says, easily snitching on her. "She is in the holding cells. Your Operative, Layland is attacking her." Reyes then took off in a full-on sprint.
"Keema get the guards to the cells now!" he orders in an aggressive voice. He'd kill this operative, then Ryder for sticking her damn nose in his business. He wanted to keep her safe from all this.
Sara thought she could hold herself against the Asari, but she stood no chance. She had no armour or weapons, just her biotics and SAM trying to enhance them. The Asari had used the small space to her advantage.
The two other guards had left the room, waiting outside just in case someone came to check what the sounds of screaming, swearing and broken furniture were. The prisoners were shouting, telling Ryder where to go and watch out as Layland tried to flank her. Even SAM was trying to warn her.
Ryder was currently pinned in a statis bubble, Layland held her down. Laughing with insanity, Ryder knew she needed to get out or this woman would kill her.
Layland then cries in pain, depleting her biotics and holding her shoulder as her purple blood gushes out. Ryder looks up, panting from exertion. Reyes stood at the door, a pistol extended towards Layland. Her guards were both held down by Reyes', Keema stood by his side, shocked.
"Vidal, the fuck you want?" Layland shouts in pain. Reyes stalks up to her, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her into the wall.
"Get her out of here," he commands. Ryder looks to Keema who starts to pull her out.
She pulls herself away from the Angara, still holding her wounded arm. "Reyes," she mumbles.
He stares at her, for once she was actually scared of him. He had the eyes of a haunted man, ready to kill anyone who even looked in his direction. "Get the hell out of here, now!" he all but yells with a finger pointed towards the door.
Even Layland was taken aback by his outburst. Ryder only sulks, turning and leaving with Keema. "Look, Vidal. What is your stake in this?" she asks, applying medi-gel to her wounds. Reyes smacks it from her hand, pushing her down to the floor and he straddles her chest and strangles her.
"You hurt my love," he growls.
Layland tried to talk, but her breath was slipping away. "Love," she croaks.
"Yes, and you pissed off the Charlatan." It takes her a moment, but her eyes go wide when she realizes Reyes was it. He then applies more pressure, smirking as her mouth goes dry and her eyes roll into the back of her head. The guards are killed on sight, Reyes looks up. The prisoners all shook as they stared back at him, just witnessing him murdering someone.
"You are the Charlatan?" one asks. Reyes stands up, nodding.
"If you tell anyone this," he says pointing at Layland's lifeless body. "Will be you... but worse," he grimly adds. They all quickly nod, understanding not to breathe a word to anyone about his true identity. "I will be by tomorrow to see the issues with your arrests." He turns to his guards. "Get them fed, bathed and taken care of," he orders.
"Thank you," one of the women mumbles. He gives them a curt nod and walks out, knowing Keema would have taken Ryder back to the throne room.
Ryder sat on the stairs to the throne, trying to sip a coffee in her shaking hands. "Are you alright?" Keema asks for the third time.
"Ryder is currently in too much shock to speak. I am attempting to calm her," SAM explains. Keema can only turn her nose up to the AI, still finding it odd that he could control Ryder's body.
They both look up when Reyes walks in, he is hunched over, his jaw locked tight. "The fuck did you think you were doing?" he screams at Ryder.
"Reyes, calm down," Keema shouts over him.
"Keep out of this," he yells. He stops just in front of Ryder, getting down low to be eye level with her. "I will ask you one last time and you shall answer me: What the fuck did you think you were doing going behind my back?"
"Behind your back?" Ryder repeats in a whisper.
"You used SAM to spy on me, I just knew I couldn't trust you like this." Ryder then snapped, throwing the coffee across the floor as she stood up. Reyes backs off.
"You don't fucking trust me?" she asks.
"Not with my work no. You get in over your head. You could've been killed," he grimly says. "You will stay in the house or I will put you under guard."
"You can't just fucking lock me away like this," she yells pushing him away from her. She heads for the door, he stops her.
"Do not speak back to me like this," he warns.
"Or what? Eh." He stops short of her defiance, glaring at her as he holds her forearm. "You'll fucking leave me to the ashes for defying you?"
"Ryder," he says in a low voice. But she pulls out of his grasp and storms off, Keema holds Reyes back from following her.
"You need to give her space," she explains. Reyes can only grunt in response, going to the throne and slumping down on it with a big sigh. How in hell was he meant to control her and run Kadara? He didn't want to lock her away, but she couldn't butt in too much into his affairs. People will notice the once known Pathfinder working with the powers of Kadara.
He can only sit and think. Think about what he could do to fix everything and keep Ryder happy and safe. He just wanted the best for her.
A/N: Ugh, I hate arguments. But this should be addressed, Ryder will go crazy if she doesn't have some sort of responsibility. Reyes' job is dangerous, but not as dangerous as what Ryder is used to.