The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 21

The entrance to the vault was just like all of the other Remnant ruins: shiny and cryptic with plenty of blue light. Olivia opened the door and they ran to the usual gravity elevator. Dropping in, she was struck how commonplace it felt already, all of these marvels. "Okay, Remnant vault. Let's get you up and running." She murmured.

"This is going to be dangerous." Vee told her.

"Hasn't everything?" Nunok rolled his eyes.

"Did you read the Pathfinder's reports on the vault on Eos?" Vee said, serious. "Purification fields eliminating organic matter? Remnant robots everywhere? This is like everything we've faced rolled into one."

"Vee's right." Lyora said, "Once you reset the vault, we are going to have run faster than we have in our lives and under fire. Nunok..."

"I know, I know." He sounded cross, "I'm not athletic, I should stay behind. It's fine. I'll wait here in this chamber for you all to return."

They were immediately attacked by Observers floating down. Shooting them down, they ran through section after section, using consoles to set up connections and working out puzzles as they went along.

It didn't seem to take long at all to reach the final chamber. There was a console on the raised platform, before a column of glowing white fluid that seemed electrical in nature. "Don't touch it." Lyora cautioned them.

"So I guess activating this console starts what Ryder described as the 'purification field'." Vee said uncertainly.

"Sounds like fun." Nina said dryly, cocking her gun.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia stepped up to the console. She activated it. With a jolt, the stream of liquid flashed red and then vanished. "Run!" She yelled. The four women sprinted for the door behind them, only to watch in horror as it slid shut.

"No!" Nina cried out, banging her fists futilely on the metal.

Remnant forces were closing in on them and smoke appeared in the distance, billowing and swirling, and moving closer. "Take down the remnant!" Lyora shouted, throwing biotic projectiles, "Maybe then the door will open!"

Guns blazing, Olivia stayed kneeling, her heart thudding as she shot down the robots. Finally, the door slid open. "Run, now! Go!" She screamed as they hurtled across the platform, the smoke closing in behind them. They gunned down more Remnant and then Olivia ran, laser fire all around her, for the console. Two shots bounced off her armor, knocking her sideways, but failed to penetrate her shields.

She slammed her hand down on the console, feeling it ripple and pulse beneath her palm in a way that was almost familiar now. The doors closed upon the smoke, trapping it in, protecting them.

With that colossal bang, they were safe.

She sank onto the ground, her legs trembling. Suddenly her comms crackled into life. "Taylor, this is Kiiran Dals from the research station." Her voice was confused, hopeful. "Did you just do something? All of our instruments just recorded a surge."

"We reset the vault. We did it!" She said breathlessly. This was going to make one hell of a story. David at HNS was going to have a field day.

"That's a jest. It can't be..." There was a pause. "That's not a jest. The vault going through a reset would explain all of the readings." She laughed, "I can't believe it! You need to come back to Pelaav so that we can talk."

They were laughing, all of them as they walked slowly from the vault. "We survived!" Lyora looked more relaxed than Olivia had seen her in a long time. "The planet will be stabilizing. We did it! Millions of lives will be changed because of us."

Nunok was leaning over a plant with his scanner, "As far as I can tell, the vault is performing biological repairs. This is crazy!"

"Picture this place in a few years." Nina marvelled, "Mum would die to work here, see the change in the plants."

Back at Pelaav, Kiiran came running out to meet them. "You people have done something remarkable on this planet!"

She was followed to their surprise by Esmus, the first sage they had met on Mithrava, "You succeeded where Zorai failed."

"Esmus? What are you doing here?" Lyora asked.

"Renewing old bonds." He sighed, "Talking to all of you was enlightening. Here you are, aliens, working for our people when we ourselves had given up. We sages have isolated ourselves for too long. Perhaps it is time for a new balance."

Taavos appeared, the Roekaar, watching them with a mixture of respect and surprise. "We all need balance, I think." He remarked quietly.

"Taavos." Olivia greeted him, "I didn't expect to see you again, but I'm glad that you're here."

"I've learned a lot in a short time. The Roekaar's hatred of aliens is simple, clean, but I am learning that nothing is so simple or certain. I wish the friends you had to kill had been able to see this, to understand."

The scientists told Olivia to extend an invitation to the Nexus to send teams to join them, and make Pelaav a joint research station. Needless to say the Nexus leadership were thrilled.

It had made the news by the time they returned to the Nexus. David Qar wasn't allowed to enquire into why Olivia could activate the technology, but was allowed to report on their success.

Olivia needed rest, and she lay in her quarters alone, typing up reports to be published. She planned to stay on the Nexus for a while. She'd had enough adventure for a while, and her injuries were aching. The others had been reassigned to other duties. Lyora and Nunok back to lab work, Vee back to security.

Her parents had been offered work on Eos. Laura's expertise in crops was needed there, and her father as a doctor was always in demand. They were leaving at the end of the week, and Nina was going with them for a time.

It felt strange, Olivia thought, falling into old patterns of hanging out with her friends at the bar. She and the others walked her parents and Nina to the shuttle. "You take care of yourself, firefly." Her dad whispered, hugging her tightly. "I'm proud of you."

Vee and Nina had drifted to one side. "Hey Vee, you want to grab a drink maybe next time we're on the Nexus?" Nina asked, weirdly awkward, "I mean, feel free to say no, it's just it sounded cool and I don't know my way around really and..."

"Sounds great, Nina." Vee cut in. Olivia hid a smile.

"Hey sis, no getting killed without me." Nina grinned. "I know what you're like."

"Hurry back." Olivia murmured.