The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 25

Olivia opened her eyes, feeling nauseous and groggy. She lay on a steel bed in an unfamiliar room. It looked like a lab of sorts, similar to those she remembered from the Project. Her arms and legs were held in place with ragged leather restraints, crude and cruel, cutting into her skin as she struggled momentarily, testing their limits.

Her armour had been removed, and she wore only a t-shirt and trousers, her feet bare without her boots. She turned her neck wildly, looking for Scott. She saw Lyora lying on a similar bed, a tube going into one arm. Her friend was unconscious, but her chest rose and fell steadily. On the bed next to Lyora was Nunok, in a similar state of unconsciousness.

"Ly!" She called out, her voice hushed and urgent. There was no response.

"You're awake!" A voice, breezy and bright said. A young woman rounded the corner. She was slim and lithe, pretty. Her dark hair was getting longer, scraped into a tiny ponytail, scars the only thing to mar her appearance. Instead of armour, she wore a shirt and lab coat.

"What the hell am I doing here, Kendra?" Olivia asked the woman they had been hunting. "What have you done to my friends? Did you really set all of that up?"

"I've been on Kadara for a while, conducting research. This place has been my home since I was exiled." She laughed. "It was coincidence I came across that bumbling idiot. He was raving with fever, wandering the Badlands. I was going to take him as a test subject when he mentioned your name. I...persuaded him to tell me what he knew and I learnt of his inane grudge about you and the Pathfinder. I knew you were looking for me, and I wanted you to find me...but just you."

"So you gave Jeff all of those mercenaries?"

"Hired muscle is cheap on Kadara." Kendra shrugged, "But yes. I told him I would help him kill the Pathfinder. We lured you both in and I told him to kill everyone but you."

"Why me?"

"I have plans for you." She smiled. "I took those two alive too, for old time's sake. Gaari did let me go free when the Kett attacked on Eos after all."

"And the others?" Olivia asked. "My sister? Where is Scott?" Olivia asked. Kendra was silent. "Where are they?" She asked again with increased urgency, thinking of him lying on the ground, injured, blood oozing from beneath his armour.

"The Pathfinder is dead." Kendra said bluntly. "I drugged you and shot him myself. The rest were still fighting inside the building. I had no interest in whether they lived or died."

Olivia choked on her words, unable to breathe in the maelstrom of emotion that threatened to drown her. He couldn't be dead. He was the Pathfinder. He was the best humanity had to offer. Tears ran unbidden from her eyes. "You're lying!" She snarled. He'd been helpless, a traitorous voice in her mind said. He had been an easy target on the ground. "He'll come after me! Scott won't let you do this!"

"Your friend is gone. The others won't find you now, if they live. Trust me." Kendra said bluntly. "You're going to disappear soon. But first, I need to tell the truth. Your friends have been lying to you, your precious Pathfinder too. I know you sense it. You're an astute person. They kept things from you, things about your implant."

Olivia, crying, shook her head.

"We all knew your father. Martin is a brilliant man." Kendra began, and then told the story of how Olivia's father had initially developed the Firefly implant. "You didn't think the name was just a coincidence, did you? You were always destined to be the Firefly. I brought the implant here myself and the Project team used it as the basis for their research. Dr Gaari and Dr Calon knew exactly who you were when you first met. Gaari knew you were the best candidate for the Project and so actively sought you out. She ran covert tests on you and used you to further her own research."