The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 35

Leaving the infirmary had been far easier than Olivia had expected. Nina had given her access to the terminal, and it had been child's play to send the message, using the encryption that Kendra had taught her. 

Since being taken by the Kett, her old self had seemed to erode away, leaving behind a committed agent to Kendra's goals. She had taken a vial of sedative that they had left in a hospital cabinet, probably in case it needed using on her. Then when Nina wasn't concentrating, she injected her sister's arm.

Nina had looked at her, shock and betrayal in her eyes as the sedative entered her bloodstream. She staggered, knees buckling, and crumpled to the floor.

With her injuries, Olivia stood no chance of lifting the woman into the bed, so was forced to limp past her, stealing the pistol at her hip. They'd left clothing in one of the lockers near her bed, and so she changed briskly out of pyjamas, ignoring the multitude of cuts and bruises across her body as she pulled on a t-shirt and trousers. She stole her sister's jacket too, awkwardly removing it from her unconscious body and slipping her own arms inside.

That hid the gun nicely, she thought to herself, pulling the hood up and leaving the hospital room. She passed the cryobay on her way to the tram. Glancing to one side, she saw Harry through the open doors, busy with a holopad. He didn't see her.

She kept her head down, unnoticed by Nexus personnel on the way to the tram. That was when she spotted Scott, huddled in a corner, talking to himself, or more likely, to SAM. His back was to her.

A man bumped into her on his way past, tapping Scott on the shoulder. "You're talking about my daughter." She heard her father say.

"Dr Taylor." Scott turned. "How did you...?"

Neither saw her as she hurried past them, reaching the doors to the tram and diving on, sitting with her head down and her back to them. They're going to be looking for me soon, she realized.

People were watching her on the tram on the way to the atrium. She could sense their eyes on her bruised face. She must look a mess, she supposed. Perhaps they thought she looked dangerous. Certainly people were edging away from her. No one could possibly see in her the girl who had been a television reporter.

As it pulled in, she was first to stand, first off the vehicle, keeping her head down as she weaved through the crowds. She made it as far as the docking bay for a cargo freighter before a voice shouted her name. The bay was empty, that's why she had chosen it, so that no one would see her board.

"Liv!"

She took the gun from inside the jacket before turning slowly. It was Scott, and behind him Drack, and Lyora beside him. "It's time for me to go, Pathfinder." She said coldly. "I don't want to have to hurt you." She raised the gun, her hands steady.

"Kendra has messed with your head, Liv." Lyora said urgently. "I know this must be confusing for you, but we're your friends."

"You're a liar!" Olivia snarled, suddenly furious, "You used me! You were never my friend." She saw Lyora flinch. "Kendra freed me from all of your lies. Together we'll find Meridian and make this galaxy better."

"She's well and truly gone." Drack drawled, his hand twitching to a weapon.

"No." Scott snapped. "Don't hurt her. This isn't her fault." He kept walking towards Olivia, even as she brandished the gun.

"I will shoot you, Pathfinder!" Her eyes blazed.

"I don't think you will." Scott replied. He had no weapon, she noticed, nothing at all. Did he really think she wouldn't fire? She had to do it, she had to, for Kendra! But why did everything in her protest, her muscles locked and trembling, finger on the trigger refusing to move?

She fired once, the gun jerking oddly and the blast striking the floor. Scott jumped aside, unharmed. She could feel his eyes on her, the intensity in them unsettling her.

"Ryder..." Drack said.

Scott ignored him. "Think Liv, think about that day when you saved my life when I got hit by the rocket. You dragged me outside and then what? What happened?"

"I...I don't know. Someone drugged me."

"So when you woke up, where were you?"

Her eyes closed for a moment. There were flashes of memory: tied down on a table, Kendra talking. There was pain. "What's happening to me?" Olivia gasped, staggering. So much pain. The Kett ship. The Archon. She'd just let them hurt her, she'd kept her mouth shut for someone who had brainwashed her. For a second she saw everything clearly.

It was long enough for Scott to lunge forward and twist the gun from her grip, sliding it along the floor behind him. He took her hands between his own, warm and reassuring. "Olivia? What do you remember?"

Her eyes opened. There was a flicker of remorse that she had been going to hurt him. A memory struck her vividly, making her gasp again. Scott shook her gently. "She had him killed...just to make me come here. Francis..." Tears ran down her face. She had loathed him by the end, and loved him, but to have him murdered simply in order to manipulate her was monstrous.

"I'm sorry, Liv." Scott said. "We're going to fix this, I promise."