The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 17

Scott had heard that Olivia was awake. Harry claimed she had no idea about how she had survived. Cora and Pee Bee had been nagging at him to go, to carry on with their mission. There was a deep need in him though, to see her. His dad was gone, his twin in a coma. For a while, he believed he had lost Olivia too. What was she to him? He couldn't be sure. All he knew was that devastating vacuum of loss when he'd thought her dead.

When no one was around, he slipped into her room.

She looked so fragile in the bed, sitting up with the support of soft cushions. Her red hair was long, falling loose about her shoulders. A smile crept across her face as their eyes met, hers bright, alive, despite the trauma. The injuries were hidden by blankets. "Scott," She breathed. "You waited to see me?"

"I had to know if you were alright." He replied, perching on the side of the bed. "I didn't want to leave. How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She admitted, "And confused. I'm glad to see you. They say I'll need a while to recover." She paused, "You came to find me?"

"I was worried about you." He sighed, feeling a little anger ignite inside of him, "What the hell were you thinking, running off to Eos?"

"I thought I was helping." Her smile faded. "I should be dead. Why am I not dead?"

She knew. His heart stopped. "Dr Gaari did a good job."

"Don't lie to me, Scott." Her gaze sharpened on his abashed face. "Trust me with the truth."

"You were dead." Scott told her, "I saw the blood, I saw your body. Lyora saved you. She injected you with the Firefly prototype. It kept you preserved long enough to get you here."

"I'm part Remnant?" He heard the shock in her voice.

"You're still you." He said, reaching out without thinking for her hand. She slipped her fingers around his own. Hers were clammy and cold. "You're the same Olivia who puts others ahead of her own safety, the same Olivia who punched an idiot in a bar, the same Olivia I..." He took a breath. "I can't do this."

"Scott?"

"I care about you, a lot. You're beautiful, and fun, and I think about you all of the time. But I spend half my time wondering if you're okay, and if you're in trouble. It nearly pushed me over the edge, seeing you broken and bleeding. I have enough going on. I just lost my dad and my sister. I have a galaxy to save."

"I never asked you to worry about me!" She said, suddenly angry. 

"But I do anyway." Scott rose, pacing in front of the bed. "It's hell. It's distracting me from what I need to do."

"What are you saying?" She said tiredly.

"I need to stay away from you." Scott declared, "I can't let myself care about anyone too much, not when there's so much at stake."

"Then go." She said steadily, her expression a mask of steel. "I don't want to be a burden to you, Scott. I never wanted that."

"I didn't mean..."

"I know what you meant." Olivia said bitterly.

*

She was still crying when a figure stepped into the room. She seemed jarringly out of place there, the woman in her Initiative uniform, her blond bob straight, a smile on her face. "What are you crying for?" Nina Taylor asked. Olivia gasped, the sight of her older sister taking her aback. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Her smile widened, sitting down on the bed, and gently hugging her.

"What are you doing here? When did you get out of cryo?" Olivia spluttered.

"This morning." Nina said. "I'm still trying to catch up on everything that's happened. I was surprised enough when mum and dad told me that you were awake, and then they said you'd been shot?"

"And now I have alien technology in my brain." Olivia said bitterly. "I'm just a big mess."

"You know?" Nina asked, wrong-footed, "They said you didn't know."

"Scott told me, the Pathfinder. Right before he left." She added angrily.

"I'm sensing tension." Nina said wryly.

"You got that right." She paused, "Why are you awake? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

"More security for the outposts, I'm assuming."

It took her a long time to recover. Her parents were there constantly, her sister too. Lyora and Nunok and Vee, now re-established on the Nexus, came every day. They felt guilty, she could tell. In all honesty, she had just been glad to see them alive. Lyora would have a few scars from the grenade. Olivia spent a lot of those first weeks sleeping on and off, and then slow and gentle physiotherapy. She kept writing throughout, doing her articles.

She was in a wheelchair for a while, then used a crutch, and finally, could walk again on her own. She was on a short, supervised walk when Lyora came racing in with the news that Ryder had found the Asari ark. Her people were coming home to the Nexus and soon. It was a big coup for the Initiative, the discovery that one of their missing species were safe. Olivia couldn't help but feel proud of Scott, even if she was still angry with him.

He'd not been in contact since that day she had woken up. She'd not messaged him either. Lexi had been in touch, fussing over her health, and Liam too. She'd chatted with him for a while, taking care not to ask after Scott. She knew it was petty, but she didn't care.

"I'm so happy for you, Ly." Olivia smiled. "You'll have a lot of friends there."

"It sounds like they've been through an awful time." She winced, "But they're here now, and that's what matters." They sat comfortably together. Things had been a little strained. Olivia didn't blame her friend for injecting her with the technology; it had saved her life after all. But Lyora seemed somewhat guilty about it all, and largely avoided the subject.

"Can I ask you something?" Olivia finally said. "What happened to Kendra?" She asked Lyora.

Lyora gave her a long look. "It was weird." The asari said softly. "You released her and I honestly thought she would shoot us both and run."

"She fought with us. She got injured I remember, when the grenade went off." Olivia said, trying to piece together her memories of that night. "I was hurt and she pulled me to safety."

"We got inside." Lyora said, "You were dying. Using the tech to save you was her idea. We lifted you into the cryo pod. And then she said she was going to finish off the remaining kett to make sure they didn't break into the lab." She shrugged, "I knew she was going to run. It was easier to let her run than pick a fight when we were all so badly hurt."

"I wonder where she went."

"There was a vehicle missing when we left." Lyora told her, "So she obviously escaped. Goddess knows what she'll get up to. She's dangerous, a killer. But we'll find her, eventually."