The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 53

"Kendra." Scott said softly. "Again."

"No." Olivia whispered, that awful sense of dread taking root once more in the pit of her stomach. "How did she escape? Evra and Yoval promised me!" She cried out. Her cheeks paled as the implication of this sank in. "They're dead? Aren't they?" Her voice shook and she sat down on the floor.

"I think so, yeah." Scott answered. He sat beside her, wrapping an arm about her shoulders. She leaned into the warm, solid comfort of his presence.

"How could this happen?" Anger and grief shook her voice. "She was helpless! She was trapped! For once, we had won!"

"And we'll win again!" Scott told her.

"Will we?" She asked bleakly. "Maybe you were right. We should have just murdered her. If we had Evra and Yoval would have still been alive."

"You don't know that." He murmured.

"She's my own personal nightmare, constantly coming back to haunt me."

"I'm not going to let her hurt you, ever again!" Scott insisted, kissing the top of her head. "I promise. We'll find Sara, and we'll shut her down, once and for all."

"She must have wanted to use Sara's implant." Olivia mused. "I would have been the better choice but I was on Aya. Too hard to reach." She rose, telling Kandros through her omnitool, "Ask him why Kendra wanted Sara."

Kandros asked the question and they stared through the glass, holding hands.

Spender was almost green in the face as he blurted out everything he knew trying to save himself. "She said she'd found something. Almost infinite power, and resources. Healing capabilities beyond our own doctors, strong enough to preserve life longer, weaponry...that's what she told me."

"She's making a play for the ruins." Scott said. "For the Remnant base. Damn it! We only left that place alone out of respect for the Angara, and she's killed them for the power source."

"I'll call Nina." Olivia offered. "See if she or Vee have noticed anything." She headed around the corner for a little privacy while she called her big sister.

"Hey, Liv!" Her sister looked bright and tanned. "How's it going? Any news on Sara?"

"Actually that's why I'm calling." She quickly summarised the situation: Kendra blackmailing Spender to kidnap Sara. "The shuttle he put her on was heading for Eos. You guys haven't had any unexpected landings?"

"Not in Prodromos, but it's a big planet." Nina pointed out.

"Have you seen anything near those ruins?" She didn't need to say which.

"Well actually, over the last week we've had a developing situation."

"What kind of situation?"

"A Kett one. And before that mercenaries."

"This just gets better and better!" Olivia burst out furiously. "What are the Kett doing?"

"Funnily enough, they're fighting the mercenaries over those ruins."

"Why didn't you report it?" Olivia shook her head.

"We did!" Nina said defensively. "I couldn't get hold of a pathfinder and I wasn't going to tell you and let you go all action hero again. But we informed Tann and he said the situation would be handled."

"Yeah but he's as much use as an Elcor reciting Shakespeare!" Vee sniggered in the back of the call. "Hi Liv!"

"Hi," Olivia laughed shortly. "Vee's right. Tann hasn't even mentioned that the Kett have a foothold in that part of Eos."

"I just figured no one could get into the complex anyway. I mean, there's only you, Scott and Sara with the ability. Kendra was supposed to be a captive." Nina still sounded defensive.

"I don't blame you." Olivia said, "but we'll be coming for a visit. I need you to get as much intel as you can."

By the time she had hung up and walked around, Scott and his team, Lyora and Nunok, Kesh, Kandros and Addison were all standing ready. Scott stepped forward in front of the others. "What did she say?"

"Definitely the ruins, they've been overrun." She explained the Kett situation.

"Why is nothing ever simple?" Liam groaned.

"Kett are easy." Pee-Bee boasted, "we can take them."

"We'll head for Prodromos." Scott ruled. "Assess the situation and then neutralise the Kett."

"And kill Kendra and save Sara." Lyora's face was hard.

***

Prodromos was on edge as they arrived, the Tempest filled to the brim with people. Olivia hugged her parents tightly and her sister. August Bradley was deep in conversation with the Pathfinder about defences for the settlement. She smiled, sensing Scott's impatience. He didn't want to be the organiser. He just wanted to get out there and find his sister.

"You know Firefly, you could sit this out, just for once." Her dad suggested without much hope.

"I wish." Liv shrugged. "I'm the only one who's managed to get in and out of that place. They need me."

There was a large group in Bradley's office arguing as she entered over what to do. "We need to protect this place!" Someone was shouting, "They could move in at any time. We need more fire support and the Pathfinder here."

"That's not an option." Cora pointed out. "We need to go on the offensive."

"Why not let them just kill each other and then go?" Vetra hesitantly suggested.

"Because they've got Ryder's sister." Liam answered.

"But it means even if we defeat the Kett and make our way through the ruins, only the Pathfinder and the Firefly can go through from what I've heard." Bradley sighed.

"Exactly." Nina cut in. "And they could be injured and walking into an ambush. Who knows what that woman has lying in wait?"

"I was wondering if I could take a few people through." Olivia offered hesitantly.

"That would hurt you." Lexi said immediately.

"But it would mean there was a team to fight through Kendra's defences. She won't be expecting that." Liv argued.

"It's a discussion for later." Scott shouted over the din. "For now, we need a plan to even get us to the base. We have no idea what's happening in the ruins."

"They were small." Lyora shrugged, "I don't think there could be much down there anyway. Most of the Kett and Mercenary presence is on the surface. There's all kind of prefabricated buildings appeared on the surface."

"It'll be a fight."

Olivia drifted away as the others continued to argue logistics. Her dad was waiting for her with a hug. She explained to him what was what. He sighed, taking a seat. "I would never have designed this implant if I'd known it would cause such problems." He gave her a long look. "Trying to take a lot of people through though...you won't manage it. Physically. The implant won't take the strain."

She nodded. "I was thinking maybe it could be tweaked a little? Boost it's ability to interact with Remnant technology?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You're talking about last minute experimental surgery on your brain, Firefly."

"It's possible." Nunok said, appearing in the doorway. "Ly and I had always planned to do it. I can get an assistant to send me the data."

"This is crazy, Olivia." Her dad frowned.

"I know. But we don't have a choice. How quickly can we do this?"