The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 1

Andromeda. It seemed a distant dream for many. For Olivia, it had become an annoyance. The Andromeda Initiative was founded in 2176 and had already launched its main hub a year earlier, almost a decade after the project began. It was a civilian, multi-species project with the aim of sending scientists, explorers, and colonists to the Andromeda Galaxy. It was a one-way trip. No one would be coming back. She would never see any of them ever again...her parents, sister, people she had known years. She had chosen to stay behind, despite their protests.

Both of her parents were in the Initiative, and were leaving with it when the Hyperion would go. Her father was Dr Martin Taylor. He was initially a medical doctor, but became involved in cryogenics, and cryogenic medicine. After publishing several books on the subject, her father was approached by the Andromeda Initiative. They wanted his expertise, to help the 20,000 or so people who would travel to another galaxy in cryosleep. He was a kind, patient man, but wrapped up in his work and his books. 

Her mother was different altogether. Laura Taylor was shrewd, tall and tanned from a life outdoors. She was a botanist, from a farming family, and her career was one dominated by the science of making things grow. She would be another pillar of the Initiative or so her parents liked to claim.

But Olivia Taylor had no intention of being part of it. It seemed such an enormous risk to a young woman who was barely beginning her own adventures. She was small, slim, fresh out of university on Earth at the age of 21, with a degree in media. She had no job, unemployed, living off sporadic money from her parents and occasional freelance articles that she could sell. She lived in London with her boyfriend, Francis. He was an artist, with messy hair, blond and a straggly beard, which she hated. His eyes were dark, flashing when he lost his temper. 

And that day, he was furious. "What the hell is this, Liv?" He snarled at her, waving a datapad in her face. His face was sweaty, a reddish tint to his eyes. Olivia sighed inwardly: he'd been dusting up again with red sand. She'd tried it before, in a misguided attempt to be like her biotic, perfect, older sister. But Francis was an addict.

The drug, when taken nasally, produced an intense euphoria, and short-term telekinetic abilities. It was refined from element zero on Mars originally and was powerfully addictive. "Well if you'd let me look at it and not shove it in my face, maybe I'd be able to tell you." She snapped, immediately regretting it.

"You lied to me!" He shouted. A mug on the counter behind her shot off, smashing into pieces. Olivia flinched.

"Please, just...just calm down." She pleaded. The chairs were rattling against the table.

"Don't tell me what to do!" His eyes were unfocused. He always got angry on that stuff. Most of the time, she would leave when he got this bad, but that day he was blocking the door. 

He raised his hand as if to strike her, and the last thing she saw was the blue glow of a biotic attack before she slammed against the wall, pinned for a moment before dropping to the floor.

She rolled over, seeing the back of his head as he walked out, the door sliding shut behind him. A few months ago, this would have made her cry. By then, she was just resigned. She would have bruises, she was sure of that. A few more to add to the kaleidoscope of bruising across her skin, the couple of scars from cuts.

She loved him. She hated him. He couldn't live without her. He needed her. It was toxic, and wrong, but she couldn't leave. Where else would she go? Not back to her parents. They were going to Andromeda. And they had no idea what her life was like.