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turtle-steverogers · 5 years ago

Text

Not Guilty- 2

murder mystery’s back! im having too much fun with this story guys

Link to chap 1 in case you need it

warnings: albert being a human disaster, abuse of the word ‘milk’

ship: ralbert, platonic spalbert

word count: 1680

editing: lmaoooo no

Chap 2

When Albert gets to the precinct the next morning, he’s wary to find a wrapped parcel on his desk that looks suspiciously like a sandwich. He pokes at it, frowning when he sees a singular smiley face drawn on the underside in black sharpie.

“Hey, uh, Spot?” He calls, looking up when he hears his partner’s chair roll out from his desk and subsequently poke his head around the low wooden wall that separates their cubicles.

“Yes, honeycakes?” Spot’s expression is the face of innocence and Albert’s stomach churns.

“Did you-” He stumbles, gesturing to the presumed sandwich, “Is this for me?”

“It’s on your desk, isn’t it?” Spot smiles, rolling back into his cubicle.

Albert sighs, taking off his messenger bag and jacket and sitting heavily in his desk chair. He cautiously unwraps the white paper to find a loaded meatball sub sitting in the middle of a napkin. There’s a sticky note placed delicately on the fluffy white bread and Albert plucks it up, squinting at the words:

Sorry you didn’t finish your sandwich xoxo Spottie

He laughs probably too loud and sticks the sticky note on his desktop, right next to the note from Jack that reads: ‘I’m sorry for stealing your pants, I had brains on mine’ after Jack had taken his extra pair of slacks from his locker when his got spoiled at a crime scene.

He takes a bite of the sandwich, pleased to find that he can still stomach his favorite Gianno’s special after yesterday’s events. As he chews, careful not to get any tomato sauce on his shirt, he plucks a sticky note from his own pad and scrawls out: Thanks, Pop Spotcket. Love u, dear xoxo and tosses it over to Spot.

A moment later, Spot snorts indignantly, “‘Pop Spotcket’? Really? Does anyone actually use those anymore? The only person I know who has one is my niece and she’s eleven.”

Albert rolls his chair so he’s in Spot’s cubicle, sandwich still in hand, “I have one, asshole. They’re useful. Anyway, thanks for the sandwich. How’s it looking at Gianno’s?”

Spot sighs wearily, placing a stack of papers down and turning from his computer to look at Albert, “Eh. They’re closed today. I stopped by this morning to pick up some evidence left at the crime scene and one of the waiters asked if I wanted anything and I remembered that you didn’t get to finish your lunch yesterday so…”

“Thanks, man,” Albert says, mouth full. Spot wrinkles his nose and tells him not to speak with food in his mouth. Albert rolls his eyes, “Anyway, evidence? What’s new?”

“Nothing really,” Spot says, “Just Wiesel’s receipt from his last meal. Wasn’t really much on it, but it gave us a sure timestamp that lines up with our original record, so at least that’s set.”

“Good,” Albert shoves the last bit of sandwich into his mouth, licking his fingers.

“Yeah. Saw our boy there, though.”

Albert raises his eyebrows, “Higgins?”

“Mhm.”

“How’s he?”

Spot shrugs, “Didn’t talk to him. Kid looked like shit. Well, more shitty than yesterday if that’s somehow possible. Kept sending cute little glares my way, fucking ray of sunshine, that one.”

“Christ,” Albert grimaces, “I’m convinced he’s a player in this debacle somehow. I mean, he seemed genuinely surprised when he found out the vic was Wiesel, but too many strings lead to connections on his end.”

“Yeah,” Spot agrees, “I dunno, I say we dig a little into Wiesel’s other relations as well. I feel like there’s a gap here somewhere.”

“Toxicology came back,” Albert says after a pause.

Spot looks at him, eyebrows raised, “And?”

“Sarin poison in the blood. Stab wounds were post-mortem. Someone wanted this shit to look messier than it is.”

“Interesting. I wonder who’d go through the trouble of poisoning, then following up with a physical attack. ‘Specially in a public place. S’kinda risky.”

“That’s what I was thinking, but whoever it was, clearly knew what they were doing.”

“Clearly…”

XXX

Albert never understood why there was such a wide variety of milks in the world. And why, in this moment, he can’t find any simple fucking 2%.

He scans over the selection again, bypassing the almond and oat milks and skimming over the fritzy lactose free shit. There’s strawberry milk and chocolate milk on display and even horrifyingly enough, mint milk, but no fucking 2%. It’s not even like this fucking bodega is big enough to warrant having so many milks.

He just wants some damn normal person milk!

“Excuse me, detective.”

Albert doesn’t startle. He doesn’t. He’s a trained law enforcement officer and detective. People like him don’t fucking startle. But, he is on high, professional alert when he turns around to see Antonio Fucking Higgins standing behind him, eyebrows raised in what’s probably amusement and hands shoved in his pockets.

Albert makes a strangled noise, eyes working on their own accord as they trail down Higgins’ body. He’s sweaty, looking like he just came from some sort of workout, and a pair of tight adidas running pants hug his legs in all the right places. He’s in a tank top today, somehow doing his arms more justice than the grey shirt he’d been wearing yesterday. A hat sits backwards on his head, doing little to tame the curls that are trying to sneak out of the stupid hole where the strap meets the fabric. He looks hot and it’s unfair and Albert’s never been ashamed of his sexuality, but right now he’s wishing that he could reign in his gay ass a little bit because aside from the fact that Higgins is a bit of a prick, he’s also a suspect and that’s, like, number one in the Book of Nope for cops of any kind.

Higgins is still looking at him, but now there’s a small crease of concern between his eyebrows, “You alright, man?” He asks, “You look kinda like you’re having a heart attack. Do you have any chest pain? Your left arm feel numb at all?”

Albert shakes himself, morphing his expression into something he hopes looks less like Gay Panic, “Yeah, sorry, I-” He splutters a bit, then shuts his mouth with a click.

Higgins scoffs, “I just need milk, man, you mind?”

Albert starts, hastily stepping out from where he was definitely blocking the milk selection and watching as Race grabs a carton of-- fucking 2%. How did he find it so fast? How did Albert not see it? He’s supposed to be the one trained to look for details others don’t see!

Trying not to flush, Albert reaches out and grabs a carton as well and Higgins looks at him again, laughing, “You were standing here for a long time, dude, I thought you were gonna murder the milk for a second.”

“Couldn’t find the 2%.” Albert mumbles, blushing harder when Higgins laughs louder.

“Real good reconnaissance there, detective.”

When Higgins is laughing, his face changes into something a whole lot more pleasant. Not that it was ever unpleasant (the dude’s got a jawline of a god), but some of the hardness in his eyes and shadows on his face go away and for just a second, he looks like the 25 year old he’s supposed to be. It’s nice, Albert thinks, ignoring the way alarm bells are going off in his head.

“Shut up, Higgins, I’m tired. Some of us have to read about murders all day, so excuse me if my milk finding skills aren’t the most refined.”

Higgins’ face softens and the smile in his eyes turns into something else that Albert doesn’t want to dissect, “Race.”

“What?”

“Higgins is my dad, not me. And I don’t like the name Antonio very much, so if we’re gonna be talking more, be it over murder or milk, call me Race.”

“Race?”

Higgins--Race--winks, “That’s a story for level five amici.”

“Oh, okay.”

They pause for a moment and even though Albert’s not drunk, his inhibitions seem to flutter away from him against his will as he blurts out, “Drinks sometime? Would- uh- would you wanna get drinks sometime?”

And fuck-fuck- SHIT- what are you doing Dasilva? What the fuck?

Race considers him for a moment, “Not that I wouldn’t hit that,” he nods to Albert’s body and Albert flushes. Damnit with the flushing! He’s 26, not some flouncy high schooler, “But I don’t think that’s a good idea, detective.”

Albert nods, “No, yeah, honestly I don’t know why I asked- uh-”

“Relax, don’t have an aneurysm, it’s okay. I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

“No no, you’re right. Absolutely.”

There’s another pause, then Race smiles apologetically, “I gotta go get the rest of my groceries. Take care.”

Albert cringes internally at how fucking painfully awkward this exchange has been, “You too,” he says, watching Race retreat to the wine aisle. He takes another moment to gather himself, then goes to the checkout line.

XXX

Albert turns up the volume on his TV, pleased with the quiet solitude of his apartment for the night. He doesn’t love living alone, but it’s been a long couple days and he’s been looking forward to a night to himself since he’d woken up that morning. Just him, some thai, and the Animal Planet playing reruns of ‘It’s Me or the Dog’ all night. Fucking self care.

He’s just yelling at some dog owner on the TV for feeding his pug 24 eggs a day and watching as Victoria Stilwell chews out the greasy fucker when his phone rings on the coffee table in front of him.

Groaning, Albert mutes the show and chugs down a few sips of beer, before picking up the phone and answering with an annoyed, “Someone better be dying.”

There’s silence on the other end and Albert pulls the phone away from his ear to check the caller ID. It’s Spot. Shit, someone might actually be dying.”

“Spot? Everything okay?”

Spot sounds sheepish when he says, “Well no one’s dying, technically…”

“But…”

“There was another murder.”

“Shit.”

Race went straight home after the bodega, right? RIGHT!??!? stay tuned ;)

thanks saph for ‘pop spotcket’

thanks for reading, chiefs

hmu to be added to my tag

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#newsies #newsies fic #ralbert #spot conlon #racetrack higgins #albert dasilva #hehehe #murder boys #and #detective boys

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avaquet · 7 years ago

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A.N.D.R.O.M.E.D.A. Chapter 2- The Arrival

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11882625/chapters/26963214

Edit: The read more link didn’t work, hopefully it does this time, I apologize in advance

Summary:

Sara finally wakes up in Andromeda, but an unexpected event occurred that might make the journey feel like a mistake.

** This chapter is long. About 10k words.

Notes:

~~I watched a person bounce off the ceiling gently. The only things that weren't floating was the medical beds that were connected to the floor and the sides of the walls and up to the ceiling. Thankfully, I stayed in one general place the whole time. More of a horizontal levitation than floating somewhere.~~

*This chapter can be skipped, as it is the same as the beginning of the game but with a few twists and more internal thought and emotion. There is extra dialogue in areas, but the beginning of the game still has the same premise.

634 years later. Date: 0 hour 0 day

Andromeda galaxy, Heleus cluster. Destination: Habitat 7, Eriksson system.

I gasped and jolted up. Light had filled my vision and I was horizontal instead of vertical. It had only felt like a couple of seconds had passed. Were we really here? I saw lights and further away scientists waked up more people. "Holy shit." I muttered. "We made it." Two scientists came over when I tried to stand up. I was excited but also a bit light headed, I had fallen back down onto my pod.

A male scientist grasped my shoulders. "Deep breaths. You're gonna want to take it easy."

The female scientist typed on her datapad.

"I've been taking it easy for 600 years." I tried to retort.

"You mean 634 years?"

"Ryder, Sara. Recon Specialist, Pathfinder Mission Team." She had read from her datapad.

I sat in silence while I was being checked over. Thoughts had still been hazy, my body had felt like it had just woken up directly from sleep paralysis. I was warmer than when I went into cryo, but still a bit chilled.

"Pathfinder Team, eh? The ones finding us a home."

The feeling of fatigue had hit me. I dropped my head and was struggling to keep my eyes open. Everything just seemed so damn foggy. I tried taking slow and deep breaths.

"Can you make it somewhere tropical? Nice warm ocean, summer year-round..."

Maybe they had noticed that everything that they said flew over my head. I tried keeping my eyes up to look at them but failed most attempts.

The male scientist helped me up by my arm. Legs felt like Jell-O. "How about we get her a cup of coffee, first?" The female scientist grabbed my other arm and we walked slowly.

Ugh, coffee. "Do they have anything else?"

"Not a coffee fan?" I shook my head. "Ah. Sorry, Sara. Coffee is the only thing on the menu."

"Energy supplements?" I stumbled a bit and they had caught me.

"Your body just woke up from a 600 year nap. Completely turned off, even most brain functions. Your body would appreciate liquids and easily digestible paste."

So that's why it didn't actually feel like 600 years. How could I dream or even knew time existed without proper brain functions? Yeah okay, I'm waking up. "How long?"

"Until?"

"I can eat properly."

"Depends. Dr. T'Perro will be taking a look at you in the med bay."

"Uh, who?"

"Lexi. Dr. Lexi T'Perro."

"Sounds like an asari name."

"She is an asari."

Well, okay. That makes sense.

We had approached the end of the cryo bay and into the blinding light of the med bay. I had straightened up a bit more and my walking balanced. The giant hologram hadn't changed. Still played the same photos with a voice in the background talking optimistically about golden worlds, Pathfinder Team, Arks, and everything else related to the Initiative. Another person had come by to drop off the coffee and the two scientists sat me down at the med bay table before they walked back to the cryo bay.

As I drank the coffee with disgust, I watched the pictures on the screen flip through again. An image of a waterfall and a small lake surrounded by green, blue, yellow, and purple plants had caught my attention. Seemed peaceful and lovely, but I knew it wasn't Habitat 7, those pictures were different.

"The selection process saw the Andromeda Initiative evaluate thousands of potential habitable planets-" I zoned out the hologram screen voice. I like a good attitude, but it just sounded so fake, annoyingly fake. Like an instrument trying to play the highest note but failing.

The picture had changed from a peaceful sound to an asteroid field of some kind. Now that I thought about it. These aren't the same pictures we saw in the debrief. There was no asteroid field or picture of that waterfall. Does the VI update as time goes on? How are we getting the updates? Does the Ark have a long range scanner? Was that a planet of some kind or was that asteroid field always there? That looks like an asteroid hitting a planet, but, damn I hope I'm wrong.

I was so lost in thought as I was slumped over the bed, ignoring my coffee, and stared at the vid screen, that I didn't notice the asari walk right past my view and stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Sara Ryder? Let's get you checked out." I heard her voice, soft spoken and very gentle. Calm.

I looked up at her. "Huh?"

"I said, let's get you checked out." I straightened up as she scanned me. "Look here." The orange glow from her omni tool scan was a bit much for my eyes currently.

People rushed past us. A quick tempo ghosted the room. The sound of footsteps against the floor like large ants playing drums. The room was noisy and incoherent. Colors flashed in my mind, a mix of blue and white swirling frantically, while a yellow splashed into the mix. Like a rushing waterfall being beaten by the sun. Would prefer that sound over this. The vid screen was still talking as well. Not the wake up call I was expecting, but at least I woke up.

Lexi felt under my jaw and around my neck. Made my lower face feel a bit funky. I stretched my jaw afterwards. I looked back over at the vid screen.

"Now you are a part of the first wave of arks arriving in Andromeda: our new home for humanity." Basically, the VI told us not to mess up, or we all die. Great.

Lexi scoffed as she typed in my info into her datapad. "Makes it sound so easy, doesn't it?" She sounded just as annoyed by it. I was glad I wasn't the only one.

I glanced back up at her with a smirk. "I hope not. I signed up for a little adventure before we settle down." I do like adventure. Annoying VIs and people, not so much.

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, buckle up. Sounds like you'll get your wish."

"Really?" She tilted her head. "Yeah? Okay." I hoped for the good adventure and not one filled with death and destruction. Like what happened back in the Milky Way when a reaper attacked the Citadel. Thankfully, I wasn't on the Citadel for that. I want to delve into caves and explore unknown waters. Scan trees and plants. Play in the mud looking for bacteria samples. Finding out the evolutionary history of a planet and the mysteries within the mantle. Running from wild storms in an unknown jungle. Just thinking about all of that caused me to smile deeper.

I noticed more people rushing around, double checking and double taking. Backtracking. Lexi looked down at her datapad while she held up her hand. "Over here, now." I looked at it as she watched me intently. She moved her hand across her body and m eyes followed. "The Pathfinder wants you all on your feet right away. He said 'mission-ready within the hour.'"

"Any idea why?"

"No, but I'm guessing that's where your 'adventure' comes in." She did not seem amused. I purse my lips in response and looked away while she updated her info. "Okay." She walked out of the way over to the nearby console. A man in the opposite bed from me smiled and waved. I smiled back but my attention was at Lexi. "Everything checks out. Just one more thing before I send you on your way... Let's test your SAM implant. SAM, are you monitoring?" My brows furrowed in curiosity. "SAM? Are you online?"

I heard a hologram open behind me. A blue pixelated orb glowed behind me. A male voice, barely monotoned, but obviously computer generated started talking. "Yes, Dr. T'Perro. Good morning, Sara. Are you feeling well?"

"I just need a second to get my bearings. Uh... what's this about my implant?"

Lexi turned around. "A routine check. After being in stasis, we want to make sure the connection's still live."

I tilted my head up in understanding and looked forward again.

"As the team's mission computer, your well-being is my primary concern." SAM assured me.

"Assuming the implants work as advertised. SAM sees what you see-in theory. We won't know for sure until we get you in the field." Oh, that's comforting. "How are you doing, otherwise?"

A bit overwhelmed, tired of talking, tired of sitting, tired in general. I slumped back over and stared at my coffee for a minute before answering. "I'm ready to get to it." Though, I didn't sound enthused.

"Readings confirmed." SAM announced. "I detect an increased level of adrenaline in your system. The neural implant is functioning properly."

I stretched my face and popped my neck. "Probably because of the coffee. Not used to it." I sat the cup down. I hadn't drank all of it, but apparently I drank enough. "Or maybe it's the nerves." I muttered.

Lexi approached me. "You're all done. Let's get you on your way." She placed her hand on my shoulder as I stood up slowly. "Though you may want to hang around while we revive your brother." She pointed at his stasis pod. "It always helps to see a familiar fa-"

The lights around us flickered. A deep and flat noise sounded from the Hyperion. I looked around, heart raced. "I... don't like the sound of that." Eyes widened as I became more alerted. The noise rang throughout the Ark and the lights flickered more.

A loud bang and static sound carried throughout the ship. Suddenly, the Ark seemed like it had been hit. Everyone was knocked off balance and fell to the floor. My hands hit the floor hard and my nose touched the ground. I saw Lexi's datapad fly out of her hands as she fell to her side. My hands throbbed from the impact.

The Ark shook violently as lights frantically flickered and electrical connections sparked. Some screams were heard. I tried to calm down my rapid breathing, but there's nowhere to run or hide in space. If we were under attack, the Ark had no defenses and 20,000 people in stasis. The shaking made it impossible for anyone to stand up. My hips and knees kept knocking into the floor that caused more pain. I heard a few electrical sockets pop and consoles fried. Glass broke and the sound of violent electricity sparked along the metal walls. Like nails scraping against glass or chalkboard. Colors flashed in my head from the sound. A mix of red and yellow cracking against each other in a battle of dominance.

The Ark seemed to settle for a moment and the lights stabilized. We all tried to get to our feet, but gravity had shifted. A cryo pod came screeching down my way. I flattened myself against the floor, unsure of how to avoid it and then it flew over my head. I realized I was floating. Gravity didn't just shift. It turned off. I was lucky, the pod could've hit me in the head full force.

I grunted as I floated upward. Disorientated. People span around, were upside-down and every which way direction. "What's happening?" Lexi said.

"I don't know. Just hang on!" The man who waved at me earlier was doing violent fast back flips in place in the air, trying to dodge the top of the overhang from the bed. Hopefully he didn't hit his head.

The captain came over the loudspeaker, "Engineering, report!"

Doctors and scientists gave out advice to the floating people.

"Gravity in cryo bay is offline!" Someone replied to the captain.

"I'm almost inside! Hold on!" A familiar feminine voice came over the loudspeaker.

I watched a person bounce off the ceiling gently. The only things that weren't floating was the medical beds that were connected to the floor and the sides of the walls and up to the ceiling. Thankfully, I stayed in one general place the whole time. More of a horizontal levitation than floating somewhere.

I watched as a familiar face came through the door on the other side of the room. Her hair, standing up almost straight, both sides of her head were shaved. As I saw her before, Cora always had her hair to her left side. She swung around the door frame and cautiously got to the console. "This is Cora! I'm at the cryo bay! Brace for a reset..." She had hit a few buttons and everyone came crashing down to the floor. She landed on her feet, and I body slammed into the hard, cold floor from about ten feet up. Pain shot through my body, and I felt some joints pop releasing pressure.

I had landed on my lower body and my forearms and elbows. Everything stung. I made a gasped grunt sound.

"Everyone okay?" Cora looked at us.

"I think so." Lexi looked at me and shrugged.

"What happened?" I breathed out.

Cora walked over to us. "We're not sure. Sensors are scrambled." We slowly stood up. "But it's good to see you're up. Feels like centuries since we spoke."

I planned to comment on her little joke but my dad had taken over the loudspeaker. "This is the Pathfinder. Mission teams, continue preparations. Cora, Ryders, report to the bridge."

"You heard him, let's get-"

"Uh," a scientist calls over from Scott's pod, "we have a problem over here. It's Scott Ryder."

My heart sank immediately. His pod was sparking and obvious damage marks were all over. I felt the lump that had formed in my throat and my body had gotten a large rush of adrenaline. Oh fuck... is he... no. Please, no. My mouth gaped open. I ran over to the pod, followed by Cora and Lexi. I held onto the nearby console, ready for the worst of news.

"What's wrong?" Cora asked.

"I don't know. Have to check it out." Lexi responded.

The scientist held up his hand, "Give it a second for the processor to sync."

"Did the seals break?"

My heart pounded against my chest. My arms and legs shook as it felt like my blood went cold. I felt the burn in my eyes forming tears. My brother... Scott, please! No...

"No. Physical integrity looks good."

I had felt the rush of relief at that moment. My blood felt warm again, but my body still shook and my heart was still screaming.

I wobbled over and swallowed hard.

"Sara." Lexi looked at me.

"Is my brother okay?" I choked out. I let a few scared tears fall when I sniffled.

"Scott's fine. His vitals are strong, but the revival procedure was interrupted."

"What does that mean?" Before she could answer, I snapped, "When can he wake up?"

"We don't want to rush it. SAM?" She pulled out her omni tool, ready to write down info.

I walked up and ran my fingers across the safer parts of the pod.

"My connection to Scott's implant was suspended. However, his pulse, respiration, and brain activity are all normal." SAM responded. I let out a deep breath and placed my palm on the pod for support.

Lexi had put her hand on my shoulder so I'd stand back up. "To be on the safe side, we'll need to keep him in a low-level coma for a while, then let his body regain consciousness naturally." I continued to look down at his pod. "He'll be fine." She assured me.

My smile was shaky and my tears had dried. "Glad to hear it." I responded as normal as possible.

Cora stepped up. "Thanks, Lexi. Keep us updated. Ryder, I'll wait for you at the door whenever you're ready to go."

I wasn't ready to leave just yet, but Cora walked off.

"How do you want to handle this?" The scientist asked.

Lexi responded, "Keep him in the pod for now. Round the clock monitoring. We don't know if he's in true stasis anymore."

"Right. So parts of the body could be waking up."

"But others aren't. We can't be sure just yet."

I approached the pod again and placed my hand on the outside again. "Scott, please. You're strong. You can do this."

"Don't worry, Ryder. We'll take care of him. He'll make it." Lexi assured me.

I nodded when I stood back up. How many more are in his condition? I need to check some pods. The pod next to Scott's was fine.

"And if necessary, add boosters to the line. We can't risk pulmonary arrest." Was the last thing I heard from Lexi before I had walked away. I need to continue forward. Especially for Scott.

I headed for the cryo bay to check more pods. A woman checking out the vid screen saw me and said, "It sounds amazing, doesn't it? Right up until you lose gravity."

"Yeah. What do you think happened?"

"Oh, I have no idea. I've dreamed about this my whole life. I sure hope it matches the brochure."

"Are you doubting?"

"Well, we did hit something that we didn't see back in the Milky Way. And Hyperion lost gravity for a moment there."

"True. What's going on over here?"

"Just making sure the information VI is working. You can test it out if you want. Some things have changed since the briefs."

I guess it would be good to refresh my knowledge. I approached the screen and it talked. "Hi, there. I'm Jien Garson, founder of the Andromeda Initiative. I'm here to welcome you to a whole new galaxy. The good news is, the hard part's over. We're here! If you have any questions now, just ask."

I really didn't want to be talking to this thing, but curiosity did spike me. The pictures from the briefs were different, and maybe the VI has status updates I should know about. "Update me on the general info of the Andromeda Initiative."

"The Andromeda Initiative encompasses all colonization efforts, including arks, Pathfinders, outposts, and the central support hub, the Nexus."

I placed two fingers on the bridge of my nose and muttered, "This is not what I meant." I looked back up. "Status update."

"The current location of the Nexus is: unknown. Status of outposts are: unknown."

My brows had furrowed in response. We should've known about the Nexus by now.

I was interrupted by the VI of Garson again. "I'm Jien Garson, founder of the Initiative." I know this by now, I didn't go through seven weeks of training to not know your damn name.

The lady came back over with her omni tool out. "That's not supposed to play."

"I think it's important we take a moment to reflect on the principles that brought all of us together." It continued.

"I think it's important for you to shut up for just a moment." I gritted my teeth.

"It started with a vision of a better future- a vision that you shape." I felt like banging my head against the wall.

"Stop talking."

"Life in Andromeda can be anything we dare to dream, and I'm proud to help make those dreams come true."

"You're a nightmare right now. VI, change topics."

"It's not responding properly. Hold on." The woman responded.

"Drop me a note sometimes. I'd love to hear how we're doing." The VI screen responded.

"You know what?" I raised my voice. "So would I."

"Your current location is Ark Hyperion, housing the human population. Ark Paarchero, the salarian vessel, confirmed departure in 2185." I groaned. This was not the information I was looking for. I chuckled. This is not the droid I'm looking for. "The asari ship, Ark Leusinia, confirmed departure that same year, as did the turian Ark Natanus, embarking in 2185."

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Heyes. You?"

"Sara Ryder. Think this thing will be fixed soon?"

"Gods I hope so. It will be extremely beneficial to people waking up if it wasn't so frustrating right now."

"Yeah, and I need to be ready soon for the Pathfinder."

"The Pathfinder is responsible for exploring and assessing new worlds for outpost placement and settlement." The VI had taken my words to mean a question. All I did was facepalm. "Each ark is led by a Pathfinder who represents their species."

"No, really?" I replied, sarcastically.

"The active-duty Pathfinder assigned to Ark Hyperion is: Alec Ryder. Current duty roster shows you are assigned to the Pathfinder mission team, Specialist Ryder."

"Tell me the current mission status, then."

"At present, Ark Hyperion has arrived in the Heleus Cluster. Further mission updates are offline due to technical difficulties."

"Oh that was helpful."

"As Recon Specialist, you are tasked with supporting the authentication of golden world sites through exploration, mapping and scientific analysis. Currently, you are to report for duty on the command bridge."

"Yes, I know. Is there any new data about the golden worlds?" Like those pictures?

"The selection process saw the Andromeda Initiative evaluate thousands of potential habitable planets within the galaxy." I threw my head back and rolled my eyes in frustration. "After discovering an unusually high ratio of potential candidates or 'golden worlds,' the Heleus Cluster was selected as our destination. Now you are a part of the first wave of arks arriving in Andromeda: our new home for humanity."

"Yes I know! Current data on the golden worlds... please."

"Once the Pathfinder team's assessment is complete, Habitat 7 has been selected as the most likely candidate for colonization."

I groaned. "So, data unknown then? No more, please."

The info wall screen turned back to flipping through pictures. Now that headache is done with, I need to check on the other pods. I sped walked to the cryo bay and scanned the pods for vitals. A man was slumped over coughing, a scientist helping the man to his feet.

"Nice and easy, just take deep breaths." She calmly told him.

"Was I... floating?" He asked.

She nervously laughed. "Had a bit of a hiccup with the gravity."

"What... day... when is it?"

"It's been 600 years. We're in Andromeda."

"Damn. It worked?"

"So far, so good. How do you feel?"

I worked down the line of cryo pods checking vitals. So far everyone seems okay.

"Like I've got the world's worst hangover."

"Lucas Greer, correct?"

"Yeah."

"They need you on the Pathfinder mission team. Let's get you ready to go."

"So soon?"

"Probably has to do with whatever knocked out the gravity." Shit...

For the rest of that conversation I was out of earshot. Was still going down the line of pods checking each one. Can never be too sure. I approached another conversation between a scientist and a man just out of cryo.

"Woah, that was... weird."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't remember dreaming or anything. One minute I'm in the Milky Way getting ready to sleep, and the next..."

"You're two million light years away."

"No joke- we really flew that far?"

"We really did. Welcome to Andromeda."

"Got any food? I'm starving."

"We'll start you on some liquid protein."

"No pancakes?" I'm more of a waffle person. The little squares hold so much that are so bad for me.

"Your digestive system has't handled solid food in over six centuries. We need to go slow."

"Right. Man, just hearing that out loud, six centuries."

"Yup. All without pancakes."

"What about liquid pancakes?"

"Sorry- it's mushy, milky stuff. Tastes like paste." Ew...

"Well, you're not getting a tip."

I had approached the end of the bay and a pod was sparking. The technician called for support, I scanned it, thankfully no one was in it. Thankfully I wasn't in it, because that was my pod, and it was completely fried. What if... if that was me, I would've been dead. No, no, don't think about it. I'm alive. Now I need to report. I walked out of the cryo bay and back into the med bay.

I bumped into someone. "Sorry I'm-"

"Message from Captain Dunn." She handed me the datapad. "It's regarding the situation." Then promptly walked off to other people.

Seems urgent. I turned on the datapad to read:

Attention Hyperion personnel:

After a 600-year voyage, the good news is we're exactly where we're supposed to be: We have arrived in the Heleus Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy, year 2819. All stasis medical personnel should report to duty immediately. Give the Pathfinder Mission team revival priority, and prep the members for field reconnaissance.

Reports of an unusual celestial phenomenon in the cluster are being investigated. Updates to follow.

Captain Dunn

That took me aback. 2819? Damn. I placed the datapad on the nearby medical bed.

"Did that just happen? The world turned upside down? Is this a dream?"

Oh, Mr. Floaty man. I walked over and crossed my arms. He acknowledged me.

The doctor scanned him. "It left a nasty bump on your head. Let me look."

"First few minutes in Andromeda, and we're already crashing the car." He chuckled

"What? Did you expect this to be easy?"

"No, but I figured any scars could wait 'til we land. Well?"

"Well what?"

"My head, Doc."

"No obvious contusions to your brain. Looks nice and pink."

He sat up immediately. "Wait wha- the cut's that deep?"

The doctor chuckled. "No, just kidding. Checking for a concussion. Your cognitive awareness seems okay."

I chortled. The other man scoffed. "Uh... right. Where'd you get your degree, Doc?"

"Oh, no need. They'll let anyone be a doctor around here. High demand."

"What?" The high pitch in his voice made me snort. He looked over like I was insane.

"Good. Your auditory response seems normal, too."

"Ugh. I need some more coffee. They have more, right?"

"Aren't you on the Pathfinder team?"

"Yeah."

"Then you've probably had enough. No time for pit stops." The doctor looked at me. "Enjoy your nap, Ryder? Don't think I'll need sleep for the rest of m life."

"Maybe another five minutes, or a decade wouldn't have hurt." I responded.

He laughed in response. "Doctor Carlyle. Harry Carlyle."

"Ah, you know me it seems."

"Sara T. Ryder? Yup. Dr. T'Perro checked you out, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Ryder!" Mr. Floaty talked up. "Hell of a wake up call, huh? Wasn't expecting that five minutes after stasis."

"Makes two of us. How's the head?"

"Sore. In pain. Thanks for checking in, though."

"Hang in there, alright?"

"Yeah. You, too."

"Talk to you later, Carlyle."

"Hopefully not because you need a patch. Talk to you later."

It's no surprise to me that people know my name. My dad was an N7 officer, started SAM, and is the Pathfinder of the human ark. The only bad side is, I don't know anyone else here. Damn, that means the only people I can truly talk to is either the Pathfinder or stuck in a coma. That thought had hit hard. As far as I knew, all of my closest friends were in the Milky Way. Talk about a completely new start. I felt intimidated, scared, and challenged. Socializing was not my biggest skill and always made me nervous. Now, around close friends it always felt like I had the confidence level of a bull. Cracking jokes left and right without a care in the world. If someone had looked at me weirdly, then I wouldn't have cared. But now... it felt different. I guess it didn't really sink in exactly how much I had left behind. I imagined Dad would be too busy to talk. Scott is in a damn coma, and all these people... as nice as they seem... I don't know them. And how do they automatically view the Pathfinder's daughter? Daughter of an N7, a genius who made SAM. How do they see me? How much more difficult will socializing be? Finally, how many people will be disappointed to learn my true self?

The thoughts zoned out when I saw a datapad flashing unread underneath a flipped table. I grabbed it and read the following message from Jien Garson:

Hello, Traveler, and welcome to your first day in Andromeda! This is the dawn of a new era for all of us. As you recover from stasis, know that you're in good hands. In a few short hours, you'll be leaving the Hyperion and joining thousands of your fellow colonists as you chose your fortunes and build the new life you've always dreamed about. It's been a long wait- but I promise you it will be worth it.

Jien Garson Founder: Andromeda Initiative

I placed the datapad onto the medical bed. It wasn't something I needed to read, because I could already tell that things weren't going to plan. I walked towards the exit.

"Well, the gravity loss probably means something tripped the generators." There was a conversation between two men in medical beds.

"What would cause it?"

"Something big. The generators are durable. It would take a hell of a lot to overload them."

"Well, on the bright side, no projectile vomiting to worry about. No one's eaten in over 600 years. So, what'd they tell you about the situation?"

"The obvious. Suit up and get ready to go."

"Same here. Did they tell you where we're going?"

"Nope. Just to have the shuttles prepped to fly."

"Man, we're a long way from home. Still getting used to it."

"Where're you from?"

"Toronto."

"Earthborn, huh? Colony man myself. Eden Prime."

"Wasn't there some trouble some time ago? Fighting?"

"Yeah." There was solemnness in his voice. "Lost a few friends. I had figured it was time for a fresh start."

"Well, welcome to your new life, eh?" He had noticed me listening in. "Hey, Ryder. Morning or afternoon?" He yawned. "I don't know."

"I don't know either. Just know its 2819. Want to take bets on what date it would be on Earth?" I responded.

"Hey now, it's too soon for that kind of thinking." The other man said. "Good to see you, though, Ryder." Then he yawned and I involuntarily copied. "Heh. Still waiting for my coffee."

"Seems like the Pathfinder team isn't getting any coffee."

"Oh damn, really? Shame."

"Has to do with figuring out what the hell happened earlier."

"Strange, ain't it? I wonder what the noise was."

"Didn't you get the datapad? Some strange phenomenon."

"Oh, better go check that out, then."

"Yeah, see ya."

"Bye, Ryder."

I was finally at the door to leave and Cora was waiting for me. She asked if I was ready when I had opened the door. When the door had opened, many people came flying down to the left side of the room over by a conduit Everyone had asked what was wrong, I looked over to the smoking conduit as it built up in sound. Then it popped with a fire. Sparks went flying everywhere and the ground shook, I caught myself from falling. Shit.

Cora and I ran over to the front of it. The large conduit over by and higher than the stairs was surrounded with smoke. A woman stood on top of it calling attention to herself. "Whatever hit the ark fried everything! We have to balance the power load, or it could explode!"

"We don't know where the fault is!" One of the technicians beside me responded. People were coughing from the smoke, and so was I.

Cora leaned over and whispered to me, "You have a scanner right? On your omni tool?" I nodded. "Ryder could help find it, she has a scanner!"

"On it!" I took out my omni tool on my left hand and opened the scanner. The orange glow turned to a small screen like an x-ray and a large horizontal grid light came out from the other side of the tool. Cora went to get readings on the second conduit. I saw an outline of an internal component and pressed the scan button on the screen.

SAM responded, "The phase coil is operating normally."

"It has to be here!" I moved the scanner up and found another component.

"There's no indication of a fault in the axial coupling." The omni tool itself provides general information of whatever I scan, but SAM will always provide more analysis and detail from the scans that I do.

Cora yelled across the room to keep looking. I moved over to the right and up a bit to the other side of the conduit. The scanner had read that there was no current present int he compensator relay. It was nonfunctional.

"Relay 2-C shows damage from a temperature spike." SAM analyzed.

"Found it! A bad relay!"

I looked around and all the room was busy frantically typing on consoles, trying to make sure things don't go more wrong. "Ryder!" A technician caught my attention. "Up the stairs, right next to the conduit, is a console. Can you reset the relay there? If I leave this console, the whole cryo bay could go dark!"

Oh shit. I didn't waste any time. I sped up the stairs and to the slight ledge to the console. When I got to the hologram of buttons and readings, aka the console, I took out my omni tool and connected the circular part from my palm to the circular port on the console, allowing SAM to make the necessary repairs to functionality through my device.

"There! It's reset!"

The alarms had turned off and the smoke cleared. People slowly stopped working at various consoles to calm down.

"Rerouting the current..." Various technicians spoke across the room.

"The grid's recovering!"

"It's working!"

"Readings are in the green!"

"Thank god. That could've been the end of everyone in the cryo bay." Shit... that also means Scott...

Cora complimented my efforts. "Now we can get to the tram."

"Tell the captain this won't hold for long." A man shouted as he crossed the room. "We're using duct tape and rubber bands here."

I focused my efforts in continuing forward. My mind couldn't stop thinking about Scott, and the further I traveled from him, the more I wanted to go back and sit with him through it all. The more things seemed to go wrong, the less I wanted to be here in Andromeda. There was no home. No place to curl up. No warm bed, or midnight calls to close friends. I mean, soon we will build a home, we just need to land on Habitat 7 first. Is it wrong that I feel so skeptical about this? We woke up and ten minutes later the Hyperion hit something, then Scott's pod malfunctioned, then one of the conduits controlling the entire damn cryo bay practically explodes. Please, tell me this isn't something to regret.

I was at the top of the stairs and opened the door. A small hallway bled before me. Red lights singing alert painted the reflective grey and white ground and walls. A person was sitting up on the floor, another cared for them. Another person ran across the room to the console on the other side. Even such a small and empty space was frantically trying to fix itself.

Cora scoffed. "That was close. Barely in Andromeda and we're already scrambling."

"The adventure has surely begun." I tried to smile.

"Not sure your dad will see it that way." She whispered back. She had picked up a datapad tossed away on the floor. "What's this?"

"What does it say?"

"It's a general tracking log. And it doesn't look good." She handed it to me. "Take a look."

Automated logs Report run: 2819, identifier QPA-Z

**Year/event**

(2185) Departure.procedures: confirmed (2185) Stasis.lockdown.engaged: confirmed (2186) Anomalous.comm.sensor.readings: report logged (2347) Trajectory.drift.detected: report logged (2347) Trajectory.course.correction: confirmed (2411) Arks Paarchero/Leusinia/Natanus: condition green (2437) Sensor.array.fault.detected: report logged (2437) Sensor.array.fault.repair: FAILED (2819) Trajectory.destination: confirmed (2819) Destination.location.proximity: confirmed (2819) Stasis.revival.engaged: confirmed (2819) Nexus/Arks Paarchero/Leusinia/Natanus: not detected (2819) Sensor.faultAHOIE;*^IANE**&KFLAJOF*^^ KH (2819) ERROR

"We should head to the bridge." I sat it back down on the floor.

"Agreed." Cora had opened the door that lead to the tram. Since the arks were so huge, trams were made for easier and faster travel across main areas. It's a small room with one main hologram console of a map and a few rows of seats facing the middle. I connected my omni tool to the console and the map popped up on my tiny screen, bold circles in rooms with the name of the room besides it. I pressed the one that said habitation. The tram took off slowly at first.

An uneasy feeling had settled in my core. Everything had felt wrong. Something was going to go horribly wrong. I couldn't shake it. It wasn't my fear for Scott, or whatever we hit, it was just something else.

"Are you alright, Ryder?"

"I can't be the only one, right? Everything just feels off and wrong."

"Well, we did have a rough start and are in a completely new galaxy. It could be that. But, I feel it, too." I sighed and looked down. "Hey, we gotta keep going, right?"

"We have to. Because if we don't, we are technically stuck in a worse situation. Just digging our graves." I watched my feet, when I lifted my toes, it made a slight bump in the shoe. It was some sense of familiarity.

The ride was silent except for the hum of the tram. It stopped as slowly as it started at the end. Cora and I got up and walked out, passing two doors and walked across the main habitation deck. It was more hectic in here than anywhere else. We dodged the runners and had gone up the stairs to the main door that lead to the bridge.

As soon as the door was opened, a man ran across our view yelling for helm control to report. The room was a barrage of flashing lights, scurrying people, and at the helm was my father and the captain looking out the observation window.

"We're drifting!" Another man ran past us.

"Flight controls aren't responding!"

This is bad... this is very bad.

I had noticed a strange orange and grey web-like structure across the window that was outside of the ship. The orange glow of the structure pulsated, and the more I looked the more I realized how huge it really was. Millions if not more kilometers of this strange stuff surrounded us, but it wasn't moving, just pulsing, like some sort of trap.

"First priority is stopping these outages!" Captain Dunn ordered.

"Mainline power's been knocked out! We're on reserves, Captain! They won't last!"

This web... was all we could see against the blackness of space. Some energy pockets in the web made it look like dots. This seemed impossible to navigate through. This does not look good...

"What's our position?" My dad walked across the room to stand up by Dunn.

"Unknown- we lost telemetry!" A pilot responded.

"SAM, we need eyes out there." His voice as commanding and monotone as always. Always painted a boring grey.

"Attempting to adjust sensor array." SAM said.

Dunn faced Dad. "Alec, please... you may be Pathfinder, but this is my ship." She retorted.

"Captain, the protocol's clear: in the absence of communication with the Nexus or the other arks, we proceed to our appointed golden world. Solid ground." He emphasized the last bit.

"If it's even out there! Nobody said anything about running into an energy cloud- and that's just a wild guess what we hit!" There was a moment of silence, two pulses emitted from the cloud, brightening up the room for a moment. "Alec, I need to assess the damage. Stop the bleeding. We've got 20,000 people asleep on this ship... Let's give them a chance to wake up."

Cora leaned over to whisper, "Can you blame her?"

It does seem safer. Right now, everyone that's asleep could die from a simple electrical malfunction. We're in the dark. "She's the captain. It does sound safer. And I'd think she gets the final word."

"Well, he might-"

Dad turned around, annoyance in his eyes and pointed at us. "This isn't about having the final word."

Cora straightened up, "Yes, sir."

Dad moved his eyes over to me, a hint of frustration hit me like a wave.

"We're coming through!" The pilot announced.

Everyone looked out the window. Pass the pulsating cloud lie the planet. "My god..." The captain sighed.

The planet had rings around it. When the planet was in full view, the web was gripping it like a hand. Where the web touched the planet, had black and red burn marks around it. Habitat 7 looked dead. My heart felt like it had dropped. The other side of the planet that we could see, that was untouched, looked landable, or seemed, as everything was covered by a thick layer of swirling clouds. I felt my face tense when I felt like crying. Nothing was going to plan.

"Is that our golden world?" Dunn continued.

"That's Habitat 7, 'New Earth' if we're lucky." Dad went up to the hologram console in front of the window to pull up a scan of the planet. "All of our long-range scans told us it was in the green zone. Perfect for human settlement."

"It doesn't even look the same." Cora countered.

"Well, we don't know exactly how bad it is yet. Still seems like the best shot for a new home." I tried to stay positive.

"Maybe." Dunn looked at me. "There's just a lot on the line."

"SAM?" Dad asked.

"The energy from the phenomenon is damping our sensors. Planetary conditions are unknown."

Dad took a minute to think before concluding, "We're marooned. Twenty thousand souls adrift at sea. And when the power runs and stays out... We need to know if that's safe harbor."

"And if it's not?"

"As Pathfinder it will be my job to find an alternative. It's what we trained for. But if this goes well... we're already home."

"All right. Just make it quick."

"Harper, the rest of the team should be awake by now. Have them spin up two shuttles. Planetfall in thirty."

"Yes, sir." Cora and my dad had left the bridge.

Dunn walked closer to me. "A stubborn one, isn't he?"

"Stubborn runs in the family, I guess. I might've rubbed off on him."

"Just as long as he knows what he's doing. It's not like the cavalry's coming to save the day." Dunn went back to her post. "I need an ETA on our sensor repairs. We're blind out here."

I took a moment to get lost in the view. The black and orange burns sang an ominous choir in my head. The white clouds seemed like a mask to the darkness beneath them, swirling to one center, like the eye of a hurricane. I moved my eyes away. I needed to get moving.

The good thing about these clothes the Initiative gave us, is that it's an okay underarmor. Not the best gear, but neither is the actual armor that they provided. I took the tram over to the shuttle bay.

I sat down in one of the seats, alone, listening to the sound of the tram. A zig-zag dark and light grey paint my mind in tempo of the hum. I had leaned over and rested my elbows on my legs, head dropped down. I let silent tears splash my bare hands. I was scared, anxious, lonely, and regretful. My hands shook and I had felt dizzy. I don't get sick or nauseous easily, but it translates into other feelings to tell me something. Last time I puked was over fifteen years ago, not counting the journey. I gained a phobia of it after watching my brother almost die because some of it got trapped in his lungs. Witnessing a trauma can be just as terrifying as being in it. Scott on the other hand, he doesn't have the phobia. Scott...

What if I stayed in the Milky Way? What if I never joined the military like my dad pressured me to? I never wanted to. I don't want to kill. Defense is fine, but who said that I'd be good at a job like that? Or a job like this? What the hell was I thinking? What if I do something horrible and accidentally kill or allow someone to die? Tears fell faster. I made a face trying to keep it all silent, despite being in an empty room. Despite my mother always telling me that my sensitivity, empathy, sympathy, makes me a stronger person. What if I disappoint Dad? That's when I made a sound. The emotional pain from the what-ifs had hit me. I then regretted every bad thought of dad, every bad word. I love him. I look up to him, and he teaches me a lot. I felt like a damn spoiled brat ever talking back to him.

The tram slowed down. That's when I dried my face. My skin gets flushed easily, but not without reason, crying, even slightly, will cause my face to turn red. Drying my face never hides everything. I stood up and walked out of the tram into the locker room or armory. My locker was up by Scott's and Dad's. I saw Cora on the other side and three other men from earlier suiting up. I started with the armored pants, boots, chest and arm pieces, then the gloves. The hard parts of the armor aren't that resilient nor do they cover much. My waist, back of my thighs, most of my arms were exposed. Well, still covered by the under armor. I went across to the shelf to find the military grade omni tool. Cora came around looking for something as well.

"Scott's going to hate that he missed this." I muttered.

"Are all the Ryders adrenaline junkies?" She stood up.

"It's in our blood. You know, I was born a minute ahead of him." I smiled. "And I have never let him forget it."

Cora patted my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll pull through."

I backed up. "He has to if he wants to hear the stories."

"So, let's give him one. Oh, and you'll want to find a helmet. And maybe stop at the good luck rock."

"Uh... what?"

"Old superstition of your dad's." She walked over by the door. "Oh and, don't forget to read the Pathfinder Team field manual on that crate over there." She pointed. "Just to brush up on protocol."

I picked up the datapad, short and sweet it read;

Introduction

As a member of the Pathfinder Team, you play a critical role in the Andromeda Initiative's efforts to establish a foothold in the new galaxy. The team has many challenges:

-Golden world site verification -Reconnaissance and mapping of unknown territories (planetary and celestial) -Scientific analysis and discovery of new phenomenon -Potential first contact with extraterrestrials -Establishing diplomatic relations with local inhabitants -General support of settlement outposts

I looked over at the other two lockers. Scott's was on the end, and Dad's next to his. Scott's locker remains untouched and full. "Get better, Scott. We are all going to need you. It's time for you to actually head out and experience something." I smiled. Scott was stationed at a mass relay his entire time in the military. He wanted to explore so badly but couldn't because of his position. Then Dad's career went south and given an honorable discharge for creating SAM. AI being highly illegal in the Milky Way. Our positions in the military came to a halt. No one trusted us, so we left. What's the point in staying if you're not going to get anywhere? Or, the fact no one trusted us with their lives. Scott and I were only in the military for about a year and a half or so. I got to go on some expeditions and was placed on a peacekeeping force. Was I any good? Hell no. Thankfully, there wasn't much action, and I was only in a couple of battles. I was never an officer or in charge, they put me in a glorified security position and I still hesitated. I know three things; how to shoot a gun, how to put on armor, and how to duck.

Then I looked over at Dad's locker. He's already suited up. Obviously. Why did you put me on the Pathfinder Team? It makes no sense logically. I have almost zero experience, I am young, weak, small, emotional as all hell. Why me? Is it because I'm your daughter and you wanted me to come along? Dad, you're making a horrible decision. Please, don't let me hold you back...

I backed away from the lockers. I walked around to the out of place rock up against the back wall. It was huge and there was a light shining on it. I made a face when I scanned it.

SAM provided an analysis, "Alkali feldspar and quartz. Commonly known as granite."

"A good luck rock? Granite, huh?"

"Your dad was mountain climbing back on Earth. It caught him from falling."

"Wait, the rock caught him from falling, so he took it?"

"Yeah, not sure how he got it out."

"What if someone else falls and there's no rock to catch them?"

"Well, he's a bit superstitious. Even has lucky socks.

"Socks aren't going to kill somebody if they're missing."

"What's done is done, Ryder. And with the way things are going today, we need any luck we can get."

"Wonder why I never knew about this. How long ago was it?" I was jealous that a woman I never even knew existed before the Initiative, knows more about my own father than I do.

"A few years before launch. I don't know exactly when."

I frowned. "Alright." I had turned around to see the other side of the locker bay area, three other men hanging around. Two were by a small radio playing some tunes, and the other was checking out his gear by his locker. He looked at me and nodded. "Ryder. Fisher."

"Hey Fisher, how're things?"

"Eh, just making sure my armor is good. Can never be too sure."

"Ah."

"I uh, heard a rumor that your dad and the captain aren't seeing eye-to-eye on this."

I shrugged. "Dunn wasn't thrilled with the idea for the expedition. My dad persuaded her, as you can see."

"I also heard that you weren't a big fan of it, either."

"Well, this is her ship. I think it's her call."

He chuckled. "You got guts going against the old man. But we are the Pathfinder team, and the team should answer to the Pathfinder. At least that's how I see it. And bonus to your dad for being an N7. He's got the best aim. I'd go wherever he goes."

Yeah, but he still chose me to be on the team, so his logic must've died. "See you on the shuttle, Fisher."

"See ya."

I walked over to the music. It set the tempo for how fast I went, and painted an endless scene in my head. It was techno styled and I felt like nodding my head to it. I might've done that without realizing it.

"Hey, Ryder." The man talking to Greer said.

"Hey, uh..?"

"Kirkland." He scoffed. "We talked a little before launch, or you did at least. Not sure if you know Greer."

Greer waved. "Hey. Your dad say anything about what's going on?"

I shook my head slightly. "He was all business. Prep and ready to go. Those might've been his exact words."

"Short and sweet? Alright, will do."

"I gotta go get my helmet. See you guys on the shuttle." They continued their conversation when I walked past them.

My helmet was on a shelf up by the wall. It had my name on it. I picked it up and checked the fit. I heard the air seal work with my armor. Everything checked out okay when I took it off. I just held it in my hand, I'd put it on before the shuttle launched. "Got it."

"The Pathfinder is now requiring sidearms. I've opened the armaments locker."

My heart dropped. "Are we uh, expecting trouble, SAM?"

"A precaution. Please arm yourself, Ryder."

It's just to be safe. It doesn't mean there's going to be any fighting. Just like we wear helmets in case the air isn't breathable or things go south. It's just to be safe. I had approached the weapons locker on the other side of the room, thankfully this room is small because I've been all over. There was another field manual covering a different topic. It was by a couple of pistols;

**First Contact Protocol**

In the event any member of the Pathfinder Team encounters intelligent alien life, it is imperative that 'first contact' protocols be strictly observed. The Andromeda Initiative holds the principle of peace and cooperation among our highest Ideals. Aggressive action against extraterrestrials is only permitted when hostile intent is clearly demonstrated and Pathfinder team members are at obvious risk of injury or death.

I had to keep telling myself it was just precautions. "Better safe than sorry." I picked up my pistol. It was a cheaper kind of pistol, but it's what we had.

Cora was waiting by the shuttle bay doors. We walked out together. Short hallway, then the shuttle bay, which was huge.

Cora chuckled. "So, just another boring day at the office, huh?"

"Oh you know, just setting foot on planets no human has ever set foot on. The usual. I can't wait."

"I know what you mean. I always wondered what it was like when old Earth explorers crossed the ocean. Only the guide of stars and dead reckoning with them."

"And a map with a little caption off to the side that said, 'Here be dragons.'"

"Well they made it. And maybe we'll finally get to see a dragon."

"Oh man, I hope so."

"I hope we don't get eaten if we do. You ready?"

"As ready as I can be." We walked further into the room.

We saw Carlyle packing supplies into a crate, but he was also in full armor. "Doctor Carlyle, with everything going on, I'd think the ark needs you more than we do?" Cora stopped with her arms crossed.

He closed the lid and stood up. "Pathfinder wants a medic on hand. And if that's home down there, I'm happy to knock on its door."

I smiled. "I hope so, too. You got a quote ready? 'One small step...'"

He picked up the crate. "I think your dad will be handling that honor."

Dad had come out of one of the shuttles to make a speech. "All right, team, button up. We leave in five."

Cora stepped forward. "Sir, we broke out the weapons as per request. Anything we should know?"

"Seemed prudent, given the situation. We'll be down a man with Scott out."

I looked away in a frown. Dad had approached me causing me to look back up.

"I heard what happened. Your brother's strong. He'll make it."

"He wouldn't want us to worry because of him." As much negativity I had with my dad, I still looked up to him. I listened to everything he's told me. Everyday when I was little, I would send him emails because I missed him so much. When he got the chance he would respond. Mom even caught me sleeping in his N7 jacket one night because I had a nightmare. He had taught me a few golden rules;

Mission needs to take priority for the safety of the people.

Always try to save as many people as possible, even if it's just one.

Honesty and truth will always help long term efforts while lying and cover ups will always hurt in long term efforts.

There are exceptions to every rule, use your best judgement.

Dad nodded. "You're right. The mission comes first. Though I doubt your mother would've seen it that way. I promised her I'd get you two here safely." He gave a grin and walked back up into the shuttle as a platform. "Okay team, listen up. I chose each of you for the Pathfinder team, not just because you're talented and passionate. But because you're dreamers, like me. We dream of exploring the unknown, of finding the edge of the map- and then discovering what lies beyond. When people look back on this- and they will- they'll remember that we didn't give up. We kept dreaming. That our first, few faltering steps in Andromeda were the beginning of everything they know. We only get one chance to be first. So, let's go make history."

His speeches always inspired me. Cora walked onto his shuttle with him and Mr. Floaty lightly punched me in the arm. "I've been waiting 600 years for this." It took me a minute to follow Mr. Floaty to the second shuttle, I was still in awe.

We had put our helmets on when the shuttles launched out. Dunn wishing all of us good luck. Outside of the ship, the pulsing web of energy was practically everywhere, but we had a straight shot to Habitat 7. Fisher was the pilot for my shuttle. Mr. Floaty and I stared out the window. The ark looked like it was tangled in that mess. There was comm chatter between the shuttles up front that I wasn't paying attention to.

"Woah, will you look at that?" Mr. Floaty said. I should really get his name.

"Whatever it is, it caused the Hyperion to get stuck."

"It appears to be an unstable mass of dark energy." SAM analyzed.

"If you say so." He responded.

Dad warned us to stay clear of it. No shit. The shuttle bounced as we went through some of the mass we couldn't avoid, and then switched to cruising speed. The sound of the engines and light push from the sudden change in speeds was familiar.

"Ryder. We didn't have a chance to meet back in the Milky Way. Name's Liam Kosta, security and response specialist."

"Good to meet you, Liam."

"Hard to believe we're finally doing this."

"Yeah. Nerve wrecking, but living the dream."

We began our deceleration to the planet. The shuttle glowed a fiery red and orange, which meant there was still an atmosphere, that's good.

"Here we go..."

It felt like a bumpy session of unwrapping a gift. There was some trouble entering the atmosphere but we made it through.

When the orange cleared... It all looked dead. The sky was grey and white, only mountains without green to them. Fear struck my eyes. It was a nightmare.

"Holy..." Liam was taken aback.

"Shuttle two, are you seeing this?" Cora asked.

"Copy that." I answered. "Looks like hell."

Ionization levels were rising, oxygen below human requirements. It's like the world was shat on. And then-

Liam dropped his arms. "Uh... the mountains are floating." There were pieces of rocks and mountains just floating in the air by the shuttle. They looked like giant arrowheads and spearheads, all sharp, ridged, and jagged.

Oh no... no, no, no... This can't be right. How? My heart rate increased.

"Look! Port side!"

A large structure, in the shape of a boomerang with half of it underground, and other buildings like it but smaller lay before us. It was a ways away, but, that was advanced engineering. Aliens. "Has anyone seen us?" I ask.

Liam looked at me. "What if they're not friendly?"

Dad answered by quoting part of the field manual.

Something was wrong. The shuttle started shaking and turning, the engines strained. A flash of bright light and Liam and I lost our balance. Alarms and warnings went off on the shuttle. We were on fire. Everything started sparking and electrical pops and small explosions. Another lightning strike hit us. Liam and I fell to the port side window. We were going down. I felt like screaming but held it in.

The window came off. Liam got sucked outside but he was barely holding on to the side of the shuttle. "Whoa!"

I tried to reach over to grab him, but couldn't. "Liam!"

"Ryder!"

We hit a floating rock. Causing the shuttle to explode and send Liam and I flying out the window. Liam was further from me but we were both screaming. Parts of the shuttle came falling with me. I felt the heat from fiery parts pass and hit me. Liam was out of sight. I screamed and flailed. I could feel my whole body shaking and I was surprised I didn't pass out from terror, I almost did. I was falling straight through a section of floating rocks, frantically trying to miss them and get my jump-jet working. My body was spinning in the air as I tried to go feet first.

"Acceleration increasing." SAM warned.

"No shit!"

"Your jump-jet is malfunctioning."

"Please SAM! Get it working!"

"Approaching terminal velocity."

I saw the top of the mountain I was approaching. "SAM!" Here's where I die...

I closed my eyes to prepare, when I felt my jump-jet power on. I still hit the top of the mountain with a lot of force that I felt throughout my body. I rolled down the side, passing over bumps and small cliffs and dead plants. I finally hit the ground with my face and heard a crack from my helmet. I rolled over onto my side, ignoring the searing pain, and saw a large crack across my helmet, leaking air. The air I was breathing, wasn't breathable. "Shit!" I pulled out my omni tool and opened a mini-facturing repair protocol, and a scanner like beam emitted from the tool and I positioned it over my helmet, allowing it to seal the crack and the internal air was stabilized.

I lay there, breathing fast and hard with dry swallows, trying to get the dizziness to pass. My entire body was in pain, I could feel a headache forming, and I was sure I at least bruised half of the bones in my body. I rolled over and shakily stood up. Trembling at my feet, I held my side as I struggled to stand up straight. I was on a large cliff overlooking a dead planet. It was foggy, I was in almost unbearable pain, everything looked dead and the plants that somehow survived looked malformed and dying, huge lightning strikes struck everywhere from cloud to ground. It was all grey and hazy. It looked like a nightmare.

This has to be a nightmare, this has to be! Oh fuck... please just be a nightmare... please! I fell to my knees.

"This... this isn't a nightmare."

Notes:

As I have said before, all rights belong to BioWare.

*You may be wondering if the chapter can be skipped, then why did I put it in? Simple answer, my mother and friends are interested in my fanfic but cannot play the game themselves

#Sara Talia Ryder #sara ryder #andromeda fanfiction #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect andromeda #me:a #me:a spoilers #spoilers

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