The Ark Hyperion floated adrift in space. The crew began awaking, medical starting waking the Pathfinder team, “pod #634 this one is it.”
'Beep...Buzz...hum'
*Gasp!*, Ryder sits up awake looking around, "we made it." Smiling she tried to stand up and immediately sat back down from the dizziness.
"Whoa, take it easy." Two med-techs come rushing toward her.
"Been taking it easy for 600yrs" Natalie noted in frustration and eagerness.
"Ryder, Natalie Recon Specialist Pathfinder Mission Team," one tech says reading from her datapad.
"Pathfinder Team huh, the ones finding us a home?” The other asked Natalie.
“Can you make it somewhere tropical?" She hugged her datapad, dreaming of the options and possibilities the brochures had back in the milky way.
"Let's get her some coffee first." Both help her out of her cryopod the rest of the way and around the corner to medbay for further evaluation.
Natalie sat on her assigned cot for what seemed like forever, yet no one came to check on her, or examine her.
God how long does one have to sit here and wait, she was antsy to get going. She sat and listened to the Andromeda prompt at least 20 times it felt, "Natalie Ryder?" This blue Asari doctor came walking up to her, she felt her neck and moved her head around for mobility, "look here," Natalie followed her finger, still listening to the prompt, “makes it sound so easy don't they?"
"I hope not, I was hoping for a little adventure before settling down."
"Well buckle up, the Pathfinder wants you all mission ready to go here."
"Yeah?..Did he say why?" Curious to see if the Doctor knew anything.
"No...But I guess that's where your 'adventure' comes in...Over here now," she pointed with her finger. The Asari noted Ryder was eager, but unsure if that was good or bad at this time, "everything checks out, let's just check your SAM implant, SAM you online?.. SAM?"
'Yes Dr. T'Perro, Good morning Natalie how are you feeling?' the AI came online over comms for the first time for Natalie since she went into stasis.
"Like a 600 year popsicle I hope we packed more coffee." She laid her cup down on the bed beside her.
"Everything checks out, though you may want to wait around while we revive your brother it helps to see a familiar fa-" there was a slight shimmer and rattle sound that made Lexi stop talking and look up at the ship.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Natalie looked around as the ship as well, it started to make some cracking noises, then there was a vibration, “what was that?”
“I don’t know,” Lexi wondered the same thing, then a shift started and next thing she knew Ryder was yelling ‘LOOK OUT!’ and threw her to the ground just as a cryopod flew over her head, such a close call that would have taken her head off for sure. What was going on, gravity went next, Ryder still had hold of her as they floated upward and bounced into the console next to the medbed Ryder originally was sitting on prior to this incident. She heard a groan come from Ryder as they hit the console, “Are you ok?”
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be feeling that in the morning though.” Ryder hit the console hard on her back and side, but she protected the doctor and that was what mattered.
‘I’m almost inside, hold on...This is Cora, I’m at the Cryo Bay.. Brace for reset!’ Cora’s voice came over Comms as she floated into Cryo from engineering.
“What happened?” Natalie asked Cora, as she got herself and the Doctor upright off the floor.
“I’m not sure, sensors are scrambled, but it's good that you’re up...seems like centuries since we’ve spoken.” Cora walked over toward Ryder and the Asari doctor.
*THIS IS THE PATHFINDER CONTINUE PREPARATIONS, CORA, RYDERS’ TO THE BRIDGE*
“You heard him let’s…” Cora turned to head to the bridge.
“Ahh, we have a problem over here..it's Ryan Ryder..” one of the medical techs called out.
They all ran over to Ryan’s pod, Lexi was asking about the seals, and other technical things before Natalie got over to Ryan's pod. She tried to wrap around what just happened and the fact that her brother isn’t going to be getting up, and how badly banged up his pod looks it worries her.
“Natalie,” Lexi can see it on her face.
She looks to Lexi, “Is my brother going to be ok?”
“Ryan is fine, his vitals are fine,the revival procedure was interrupted.” trying to assure her best she could.
“When can he wake up.” scared she might be losing her brother, not like this, not after mom.
“we don't want to rush it,SAM?” Lexi looked to the AI for readings.
‘My connection to his implant was suspended but his vitals are all normal.’
“We’re going to keep him in a low level coma just to be on the safe side for now.” She touched Ryder’s arm, “He will be fine.”
Cora chimed in, “glad to hear it Lexi, Ryder I’ll wait for you by the door when you’re ready.”
Just as Ryder was turning to walk away from them to head to the door Lexi stopped her one more time, “Ryder!”
“Yeah,” Natalie turned to face her
“Thank you, for earlier...for pulling me out of the way of that cryopod. I was so caught up in what was going on I didn’t see what was going on around me and clearly missed it...so thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” She smiled at her.
“Good luck down there.” Lexi smiled back and Ryder headed to meet Cora at the door.
This strand of energy across the ship that we all could now see as our little flight ship pulled away from Hyperion and headed toward Habitat 7 was incredible. It looked like static electricity, it knocked our arc drifting off course, was it what caused our Golden world to look different than what the scans showed 600 years ago? She hoped it still looked as it did then.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The ride started to get choppy but that was normal entering an atmosphere, but floating rocks and lightning spikes...those weren’t normal… “Oh Shit!”... “LIAM!!”
“RYDER!!” lightning struck their shuttle, splitting it in half, Natalie and Liam were sucked out of their shuttle, she was falling at an accelerating rate, all she could hear was Sam in her ear...her jump jet wasn't working, she was crashing to the ground fast.
“SAM..get it working!” he finally got her jump jet online just as she impacted with the side of the mountain and rolled down it…”OH SHIT!” she cracked her mask and the air she was breathing in was bad, she used her omni-tool to fix the crack and laid there a moment. She already bruised her ribs earlier on a console and now she just equally bruised the other side and a hip on the mountain, if she made it back to the Hyperion tomorrow morning was not going to feel good.
She stood up, and took a look around, and what she could see was incredible and scary all at the same time...there was no way this is home...this was Hell. “This is Ryder come in...Hyperion?...SAM?...Come in!”
“Save your breath Ryder. SAM’s offline.” Liam came stumbling up behind her, thank God he made it but where was the rest of her team?
“Did we seriously just do that, or are we dead and don't know it?” they climbed some rocks and came across part of their shuttle and noticed Fisher along the path. “Wait look,” Ryder knocked Liam down and they peered over the rocks, their beyond their shuttle were two alien forms, armed and scavenging.
“Shit, what do we do?” Liam antsy and gun out ready to go.
“Follow Protocol.” she put her hand on Liam's gun and looked him in the eyes.
“Yeah and then what?” Liam waited gun ready for this to go south
Ryder stood up, gun holstered and hands up to show no hostility, the alien said something to her, “We can't understand you, we just want our man.”
“What’s the other guy doing?” The one started hitting Fisher, “ They’re beating him!” Liam was done waiting, he went in hot and fired on the two aliens.
“Going hot!” Ryder went to drop behind a rock and cover, one or two bullets already blazed by her helmet, one grazed her shoulder. They took the two out and checked on Fisher.
After catching up with the rest of their team, watching Kirkland get shot, finding out the alien species on this planet aren't friendly, they met up with Cora and the other shuttle. “They aren’t friendly Cora we’re on our way to you now sit tight.” Liam and Ryder jumped in and helped Cora defend their shuttle and once they were in the clear she looked for her dad, “Where’s my Dad?”
“He went scouting ahead while we fixed the shuttle.” Cora loaded her gun. Liam walked up and unloaded on one of the aliens, “Liam enough!”
“I know it's just these assholes killed Kirkland” Liam stood over the one he just unloaded a whole clip into.
“I understand.” she looked at her upset crewman.
Hayes and doc walked up, “guys, I fixed comms, before they got me.” Hayes was badly wounded and doctor Cayle was attending to her.
“You’re a lifesaver” Cora praised her.
“SAM you there.” Ryder opened her omni-tool.
‘Pathfinder needs to speak with you’
After talking with the Pathfinder they decided they had to do something about the weather before anyone was going anywhere, they met up with the Pathfinder to help him at the tall building where most of the lightning seemed to be centered on. It was a hardy fight and she wasn’t sure at times what her dad had in mind but all he kept saying was push forward even though there were enemies around her, behind her...they were surrounded...they pushed toward the center...the tower that laid before them. Once stationed on the platform, her father said he needed to interface with the console and they had to hold off them off him long enough for him to do so, Liam took one side, Cora the other, Natalie moved between the two trying to help best she could then her dad yelled he needed her, “GO AHEAD WE HAVE THIS!”
“We have to get this door opened...put your back into it” she and her dad pushed up on the door frame and it released.
“You really think we can take this thing down” they both started to walk in.
“Now we’ll see if we can have a conversation.” Alec Ryder walked further into the room.
“Nothing on this planet has listened so far...just...be careful..” worried after her dad she said what she felt needed to be said, in case she never got to again, especially with how things went today with Ryan, and her shuttle...nothing was certain.
“Worried about your old man?...don’t worry i won't tell anyone, come on these are the moments that make it all worthwhile.” Both walked up to the display console together.
Her dad interfaced with some sort of mechanical technology that sent something through the walls and the floor but instantly Natalie could feel a change.
Natalie stood outside the Monolith after what her dad just did to reset the inside. The lightning had stopped..the sky was clearing up...we did it.
“All be damned, it's working...you did it.” She looked at her dad.
“There’s hope at least.” he seemed content.
“That's all anyone is looking for.” he should feel more for this moment, why didn't he.
“Not if we stand around looking at sunsets….lets-” this rumble from behind them had both turn to see what it was just as a gust of smoke and wind and all the debris behind them hit them knocking them back and off the platform.
When Natalie came to she couldn’t breath, she is gasping for air, she knows this feeling, it is just like when she first crashed on this planet the taste of the air around her SHIT her helmet has fully cracked open and there is no fixing this one...she is going to die...she heard something in the distance and sees a glowing light, she starts to make it out...it's her father, “I need an emergency extraction.”
“Shuttle is inbound 3 maybe 4 minutes.” Cora stated over comms
“We don't have that long,” Her dad crouched over her, removing her helmet tossing it aside, then his own and placed it on her, “Deep breaths, SAM begin transfer.” was the last she could make out before she started to fade out and his smile was the last she saw as she drifted off.
(Back on the Hyperion)
“Lexi! Get Medbay ready!” Captain Dunn yelled over comms.
“Yes Captain,” what has happened she wondered. Then she heard it, comms were left open.
(On the shuttle)
She awoke a moment with Cora over her, “Move she’s going into Cardiac arrest,” they loaded her onto the shuttle.
She came to for a second on the shuttle and saw Harry and Cora, “Her pulse is weakening, tell the ark to prep medbay..C’mon” Flashes formed in her memory...were they memories...of what...whose...
She awoke again this time on Hyperion, “Pulse is dropping, we’re losing her.” the memories flashed again…
“It's a seizure the brain can’t handle the connection,” Lexi..Lexi was there… “Get her to SAM node!” Lexi was now running things and trying to save her, she wasn't about to let this girl die. “SAM what's the reading?”
‘Ryder’s implant is overloading, I suggest a hardwire connection’
Natalie reached her hand up…. “DO IT!” Lexi grabs hold of her hand.
Few hours passed, Natalie came to the sound of her heart beating and the buzzing of SAM behind her.
‘Welcome back Natalie’
“What happened” she attempted to sit up, those ribs she forgot about earlier were made known and she had a splitting headache.
‘You were clinically dead for 22 seconds’ SAM advised her.
“Did the rest of the team make it?” she held her wounded side.
“You’re awake! Guys get to SAM node Ryder is up!” Liam stood up from the floor mat he had been resting on, from the looks of it he had camped and slept by her side all night. That was touching.
“Look here,” Lexi pointed, “ and here,” Natalie sees her father’s helmet and stopped following Lexi's finger...her heart was in her throat.
“My father..where is he?” her head still focused on the helmet.
“It was your life or his...and he chose you, I’m sorry Nat...this must be a blow,” Cora tried to be comforting.
“This isn’t fair, I didn’t get to say goodbye.” Natalie reached for the helmet, Lexi handed it to her. Natalie sat there looking at it.
“None of us did...but your dad said when his day came he wanted to go out among stars no one had traveled.” Liam comforted Cora. Natalie almost forgot out of anyone Cora was about the closest to her father, maybe more so than her.
“Why are we in SAM node,” Natalie realizing now that they weren't in the Medbay.
“SAM is now a part of you, on a level we don’t entirely understand,” Lexi chimed in, “It played havoc with your brain.
“SAM?” Ryder looked up waiting for an answer.
‘Your father transferred authority of Pathfinder to you’
“Shouldn’t that be Cora?” Confused with SAM’s response.
“In theory, in reality you’re the new Pathfinder.” Cora sounded defeated.
“You can't be serious,” Ryder denied it.
“What’s the matter? I think you’re up for it.” Liam encouragingly said
“That’s easy enough to say, I barely survived the last mission, hell technically i didn’t survive it.” Still unwilling to believe it, Ryder sat there.
“It’s all academic anyway, SAM’s linked to your brain on a deeper level now, trying to untangle it could kill you.” Lexi stated so matter of factly, looking at her board. They all talked about their next step and it was making Lexi angry, Ryder just came back and she technically died and they are already plotting what they were going to need to do, “She needs to rest first!”
“She has two hours, we’ll be at the Nexus by then.” Two hours wasn’t long but at least it was something I guess. Everyone left the room, leaving Ryder and Lexi there, all Lexi could hear was Ryder mutter, “Why me,” and a piece of her felt for her.
“Ryder I need you to rest now please,” she watched her lay down and close her eyes and watched her vitals pan out to a steady pattern that indicated she was sleeping. As Lexi left the room she glanced back at this broken human being who practically has lost everything and yet is so strong and now will be taking on the whole galaxy...untrained and unknowing..what was in store...she closed the bay door.