Elaaden was in their sights, only an hour to go and Tann could kiss his old life goodbye. Sara did wonder what Morda would do to him. She knew he wouldn't be outright killed, Morda would want him to suffer first. Let him have a taste of his own medicine after what he did to Krogan and exiles nearly a year ago.
She was in the armoury preparing for the descent down into the planet. Scott was taking her, Drack and Jaal. He wanted backup with them since they were dragging Tann and Spender along. Morda was to send a shuttle for them, the Nomad was too small to fit them all in.
"Sara," SAM calls through her private channel. His voice surprised her, she'd been so busy lately that they both barely had time to speak alone together.
"Yes, buddy?" she asks as she wipes down her rifle. She missed having a gun in her hand.
"Sara, you ready to go. We are heading down now," Scott near shouts of the ship comms. She rolls her eyes before strapping her guns into place and heads to the cargo bay.
"Sara, this is important," SAM says sternly. His voice almost gives her a headache.
"SAM, calm down," she winces. "Just wait till I am back, I won't be long." She expected him to say something, but the silence was all she got. She did wonder what was so important, but this was also important and needed to be dealt with.
Elaaden hadn't changed much since the last time Sara was there. The New Tuchanka settlement was booming with life, Morda had done well to get a sustainable home going. The Nexus outpost was also doing good, though some problems would arise. The Outpost leader and Morda could sort most out without violence or threats needed.
The shuttle dropped them a level lower from Morda's 'throne room'. The landing pad hung over the edge. Tann almost shit himself when Drack moved him to see over the edge, giving him a real idea of just how stuck he was and escaping was pointless.
"Come on, pyjak," Drack grumbles as he drags Tann along. Spender is behaving enough to follow Jaal at his side. The Korgan all looked at the old Director being pulled along, some look as if they want to murder him there and then.
Jaal looks at the glares, leaning closer to Scott and whispers, "should we be worried about these... glances?" Scott looks at some, smiling with his head shaking.
"No, it's not for us. They are all at Tann. No one hates him more than the Krogan," he explains. Jaal nods, leaning back up to walk in stride with Spender.
They get up the stairs and Morda is waiting at the top. Her bone accessories swayed with her moving body. Tann looks visibly sick glimpsing at them.
"Ah, Tann. Such a pleasure to see you again," she says in a deep laugh. "You can see the Krogan are very excited to see you," she grimly adds.
"Morda, nice to see you again," Sara greets with a smile. Morda bows partly at her, Sara was the only human she had any actual respect for.
"Sara, I am glad to see you are back. Are you Pathfinder once again?" Tann scoffs at the question.
"Quiet whelp," Drack shouts with a slap behind his head.
Sara shakes her head, looking back to Morda to reply. "No, I am actually giving that up. Scott will take over from me." She wanted to tell Morda the news of her taking Tann's job, but she still needed to discuss it with Reyes.
"That is a shame, but your brother here is... acceptable," she says with a wave of her hand.
"Oh you," Scott jokes with a blush. Morda grunts at him, she waves Drack over to bring Tann closer.
"Now, what to do with you?" she asks inches from the Salarians face. He keeps his eyes low, not dare stare hell right in the eyes.
Sara passes Morda a datapad. "This is all the evidence you may want to see, SAM found a whole lot more shit from his... activities." Morda gives a curt nod, pulling Tann from Dracks grasp with force.
"You can be my personal butler for now. I might be nicer with time," she laughs. She throws him to the ground, the Krogan clan all laugh as Tann rolls in the dirty sand. "Ah, Spender. Glad you are back."
"Be easy on this one," Drack mutters. "He has been helpful."
Morda looks at Spender, the human can only quiver in fear of her. "Fine, go see Vorn. The little one could do with some help on our crops."
Sara couldn't remember if she ever saw Spender smile, but if so that was a first. He nods and rushes off to find Vorn. He was known as a nerdy Krogan. Much smaller than most, but his brain was a powerful tool and without him, the clan wouldn't have survived. "Thank you, Sara and Pathfinder," Morda says as she waves them off. "Come visit soon, Sara."
"Will do," Sara waves. She sees Tann fight against the two Krogan guards as he screams into the next room. Satisfaction doesn't hit as it did just then. "Come on, let's go. SAM is giving me a damn headache."
"Why?" Scott asks with worry. Jaal and Drack walked ahead towards the shuttle.
"I don't know. He said he had something important to tell me, but I brushed him off since we got here. Now my brain is being fried by him," she groans with her hand to her head.
"Let's go," Scott sternly says, pulling her along.
Sara hadn't been back on the ship five minutes before Cora had called her and Scott to the briefing table. SAM had called an emergency meeting without asking anyone if he could. Sara was now worried, she shouldn't have ignored him earlier.
"Alright, SAM," Sara sighs. "We are all here, what was so important you had to nearly blow my brains out to tell?"
The table in the middle changed from its normal blue hue to a file opening. It was a string of code, no one would be able to decipher without his help. "We have a reply," he simply states.
"Reply from who?" Liam asks.
"The Milky Way," he answers. Sara almost gasped, and Scott praised in laughter. They were alive, the Reapers hadn't destroyed them.
"You've got to be shitting me. They actually got our message?!" Peebee was nearly bouncing on the spot, she just wanted to know what had happened to their old home.
"Yes, Sara. I've been checking for a reply and got it mere hours ago. They sent it in code only I could comprehend, they were wary of who was sending the message." It made sense, the Milky Way knew about SAM. The council couldn't do anything by the time they found out, the Arks had already gone. Sending code only he can translate would let them know a Pathfinder had made it to Andromeda.
"What does the message say?" she asks, not wanting to wait around. SAM changed the code into words but read it out so they didn't need to.
"Message received Andromeda Initiative." Sara was about to scream in agitation, was that all they sent? Their technology should be hundreds of years better off than their own. They had to be able to send more. Luckily SAM continues, his voice changes into that of one none of them expect.
"Hello, Pathfinder team. This is Liara T'soni. I hope you are well, Alec." Sara realised they hadn't told them Alec was dead. "The year here is 2820, we have changed a lot since you all stayed in slumber to Andromeda. I know you heard of our troubles with the Reapers before departing. What I am pleased to tell you is we defeated the Reapers at the end of the year 2186. Commander Shepard saved the galaxy and is now a living legend. Myself and a few of the Normandy crew are still alive today." There is some static now, it seemed the full message struggled to send. "We have set up new comm buoys on the edge of our galaxy. Please send a message back to let us know the full state of the Initiative and if Jian and the other Nexus leaders made it alive. Goddess be with you." The message ends.
The room was silent for nearly five minutes before Liam spoke, "they actually did it. Shepard did it," he slowly says.
"SAM, could you find out what members of the Normandy crew would still be alive?" There was a pause as SAM brought up records of the Normandy.
"I can only access those of the SR1 and SR2 during the period Commander Shepard worked with the black-ops group Cerberus." It was common knowledge before they left the Milky Way that Shepard worked with Cerberus to defeat the Collectors, but many didn't believe the stories. The Collectors were known to be a scary story one would tell in the dark. "Liara T'soni, now Asari Matriarch, joined during Shepard's investigations into Saren, a rouge Turian Spectre. Urdnot Grunt, a tank-bred Krogan should be all facts be alive with a lifespan of over a thousand years. Urdnot Wrex may still be alive, he'd be aged the same as Drack."
"No one else I can presume?" SAM's silence was enough for Sara to know. The rest must all be of other species that don't live near as long as Asari or Krogan.
"Who was the full crew?" Scott asks. He didn't know as much as Sara regarding Shepard and the Normandy.
"The SR-1 crew were Garrus Vakarian, Turian, known partner to Commander Shepard. Major Kaidan Alenko, made the Second Human Spectre in 2186." Cora's gasp cuts SAM off.
"No shit. We had another Spectre?" she asks, leaning into the table.
"Yes, Lieutenant Harper," he answers before continuing. "Gunnery Chief Ashely Willams: Died in action due to an explosion on Virmire in 2183. Tali'zorah Vas Normandy, Quarian. Jeff Moreau, pilot to both Normandy ships. Dr T'soni and Urdnot Wrex also served on the ship."
Sara wasn't surprised to hear Shepard had such diverse crew members, it brought life to the ship having different personalities fight beside each other. "And the SR-2?" Jaal asks.
"Kasumi Goto, Zaeed Massini, Jacob Taylor, Miranda Lawson and Jacqueline Nought, also known as Jack, were all the human ground crew members. Thane Krios, Drell. Justicar Samara, Asari. Mordin Solus, Salarian and a Geth known as Legion." Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
"Shepard worked with a Geth?" Sara asks.
"Yes, Ryder. She saved the Geth and offered to join in the fight against the Collectors. Files say it was the only known Geth to be able to speak." Sara drops her mouth open, she never knew Geth could even speak to anyone besides each other. "Garrus, Tali, Grunt and Jeff were the other crew members to rejoin Shepard against the Collectors."
"What about the second human Spectre?" Cora asks.
"Reports say Kaidan Alenko and Commander Shepard had a close relationship on the SR-1, but Shepard's work with Cerberus upset the Major and they stopped speaking after an altercation on the human colony world, Horizon." Cora dropped the subject, it was something that happened over six hundred years ago. There wasn't any point in wondering why now.
"Are we sending a message back?" Scott asks his sister.
"SAM, can we send something back?" The AI changed the table again, bringing up scans of the comm buoy now set up in the Milky Way.
"Yes, the link is weak, but I can send a message back. It may take time for them to receive it." Sara clears her throat, thinking carefully about her words before speaking.
"Hello, Dr T'soni. This is Sara Ryder, daughter of Alec Ryder and former Pathfinder. My father died on our first mission here. I took over for a time and now my brother, Scott Ryder is humanities Pathfinder. Jian Garson died before we arrived, things didn't go to plan and an alien race known as the Kett were exalting the habitants already here known as the Angara. We have since defeated the Kett and have settled on our intended golden worlds. Relations with the native Angara are well, we have one serving on The Tempest as part of the Pathfinder team." She pauses, almost upset to tell the next part, she knew they'd be judged for how bad Tann had acted. "Relations between our own species have been stale. Director Tann, our last known Initiative Director has since been exiled from the Nexus due to illegal activities and driving a wedge between Nexus leadership and our own exiles." Sara knew she had missed the entire part of the mutiny, but she would have to explain that another time. She would have to just say the most important things for now. "Aright, send it SAM."
"Message away, Sara," SAM says before shutting the table down. Everyone looks at Sara, she looks visibly sick.
"You alright, Sara?" Liam asks, coming closer.
She snaps her head to him, smiling slightly. "Yeah, it's just a lot to take in. How far are we from Kadara?"
"Sixteen hours," Scott answers. He was worried for Sara, she was dealing with a lot and not talking to anyone about it. "Dismissed everyone," he says loud enough to break the silence as they all stared at Sara.
"I wish times like this dad were here. He had all the answers," she sighs, slumping into the couch. Scott stands in front of her.
"You have done amazingly by yourself, Sara. Don't start doubting yourself now." He holds his hand out to her, she looks up before taking it. "Why don't you get some rest?" he suggests as he pulls her to her feet.
"Yeah okay, thanks little bro," she smiles before strolling off. Scott waits until she disappears down the bridge before opening his omni-tool. He was going to warn Reyes about Sara and the stress she was carrying.
A/N: I thought 2820 would be better than the original 2819, it had been quite a while since Ryder first arrived and to now.