The Firefly (Mass Effect Andromeda)

Chapter 44

Evra De Eer had never liked the desert planet. But Jas De Shorshav had been a friend and mentor for as long as he could remember and so he hadn't had much of a choice. At least Yoval Tad was coming. She was an old friend and a good soldier. The seven on the team had hunkered down in the ruins. They were deserted, no ancestral machines trying to kill them.

Once they had been much bigger, they were all sure of that. But the power source remained, and it could power whole cities the scientists theorised. Ivef Eese Ta, one of those scientists, and Sorga Safav, one of the engineers had teamed up on a side project, mapping the areas they could get to.

Evra felt claustrophobic in the ruins. The toxic atmosphere meant they couldn't stray far without dying, and so there they were, seven disparate people trapped in a tiny set of rooms, camped out and eating rations. The researchers at least were enthusiastic. He and Yoval were less so.

On the fourth day, he insisted on digging further in. He just needed some space. Olro De To, the other scientist came with him. He was a weak man, Evra thought disdainfully. Incredibly bright, but lacking in courage and common sense. He wondered how he had ended up on the expedition in the first place. They had explored in sullen silence until the glow of a working console distracted them.

"Well?" Evra said impatiently, "You're going to use it?"

"No!" Olro protested. "That would be imbecilic. No, we need to know what it does first. We'll get Ivef and the others down."

So they had. Ivef started scans and they indicated the power source they sought was directly below the console.

Weeks passed. The scientists were irritatingly cautious. They had not attempted to use the console. The engineers were trying to get below it, but excavation progress was also progressing slowly. Tempers were starting to fray at the lack of progress.

Yoval and Gafro Gere Xif, the second engineer, were sleeping together. They would deliberately pair off when excavation work happened and not return for hours, shunning all company. Evra had tried to cover for Yoval, but Jas had realised and banned them from seeing one another. It hadn't worked and things were getting worse: arguments and fights breaking out.

"Have you seen Yoval?" Gafro asked him one day.

"Not since this morning. Why?" Evra replied. Minutes later, the shouting began.

"...wasn't your place to do it! We had no idea what would happen!" Olro was shouting. Evra and Gafro exchanged glances and started to run, skidding down into the ruins.

In the console room, Olro and Jas stood, shouting at one another. "Stand down!" Jas barked, "I am the leader of this expedition. It had to be done."

"What's going on?" Gafro asked.

"He and Yoval snuck down here to try and use the console!" Olro's eyes were bulging with anger.

"Where is she?" Gafro glanced around.

"I tried to head Olro off while she activated it. She must have run off." Jas said. Gafro frowned, calling out for the woman. There was no answer.

While the others argued, Evra and Gafro searched the ruins systematically, becoming gradually more agitated. There was no sign of Yoval anywhere. "She can't have just vanished into thin air!" Evra shouted, exasperated.

But she had. She was just...gone. Evra and the others, angry, confused, had called a group meeting. Gafro didn't turn up.

"He must be sulking." Jas sighed.

"I'll find him." Evra said, heading down himself. There was no sign of the engineer. He'd vanished too. Evra returned to the surface camp with a horrible sense of forboding. "He's not there."

"What do you mean he's not there?" Olro snapped. "Where can he have gone?"

"I've been up here all day." Sorga pointed out, "He's not gone past me. He's not left the ruins. He has to be around here somewhere."

Panic was starting to set in. Where were they? Was something preying on them, lurking deeper in the ruins?

"This place is cursed." Ivef started to cry. "We should never have come here."

"Don't be ridiculous." Jas shouted at her.

"We should leave." She moaned, hugging herself, "Before we disappear too."

"Not until we complete the mission." Jas's tone brooked no nonsense. "We're so close to reaching the power source. Sorga, you must get underneath the console. Finish what you and Gafro started."

"The Remnant shielding is proving impenetrable so far." Sorga sighed. "But alright. Maybe Gafro and Yoval will turn up yet."

Four days later, Evra and Olro stood together in the console room. Neither had slept properly in days. "I wish we knew what it was all for." Olro's voice was much quieter, oddly calm, Evra thought. "It's like a horror story. We're all just waiting for the next person to go."

"Go where?" Evra asked, watching him closely.

"Through the console." Olro's voice was almost dreamy. "It has to be. They both have the Ancestral ability. Yoval was using it when Jas left the room and she vanished. Gafro went down here and vanished too."

His hand rested on it.

"Maybe it's my turn. Maybe it's my turn to see what it's all about."

"Olro, no!" But the scientist had activated the console. His body faded and flickered and simply disappeared. Evra cried out, racing up to the others. They thought he was crazy at first, but it made too much sense.

The four remaining clustered around the console. "We have to save them." Jas said to Evra, "We can go through."

"And what about us?" Sorga said furiously. Ivef was crying again. "We don't have the ancestral gift. If you go, you're leaving us behind. What if you don't come back?"

"We'll be back." Evra promised. He didn't keep that promise.