Chapter Text
Hot sand, whiskey, stale beer and a hint of sulfur.
Ryder savoured the heady mix of scents as she stepped through the doors of Kralla’s Song. The smell couldn’t be called pleasant, exactly - but Mara Ryder loved it, just as she loved the smell of each new planet she set foot on.
She had been practically paralyzed with fear of failure when she first woke up in the medbay to learn her father had made her the Pathfinder. She had also suffered a crushing guilt that Cora had been passed over for the title, and had had to resist apologizing to Cora every time she saw her, for fear of rubbing salt in Cora’s wound. But as time went on, and her team’s list of successes continued to expand - the outposts on Eos and Voeld, the successful rescue of the Moshae, and the burgeoning promise of a new relationship with the angara - Mara become more confident in her role as the Pathfinder. With her growing confidence, Mara’s underlying passion for discovery and adventure had emerged.
As Mara made her way to the bar, she reflected on how lucky she was to have such a complementary team. It felt like her teammates either epitomized a part of her personality that she cherished, or represented some aspect of herself that she wanted to develop further. There was Peebee’s wild adventurousness; Suvi and Lexi’s twin passions for scientific discovery; Liam’s drive to find a harmonious home; and Vetra’s deep-seated caring nature and need to provide (if only Mara had more of Vetra’s street smarts!). Mara admired Jaal’s passionate, family-oriented nature, and Drack’s survival instincts coated in a gruff exterior sheltering a tender heart. She loved that she could banter jokingly with Gil even after a crushing loss, and that Kallo was always there with a nostalgic story or an interesting factoid to keep her grounded. And of course, SAM: always there to analyze every rock and leaf, to fail hilariously at making jokes, and to save Mara’s life.
Yep, I’m in good company here. Who’d think such a varied band of misfits would make such an awesome team?
And yet, while lying in bed sometimes, gazing out into the stark beauty of the galaxy, Mara sometimes felt that despite having the best group of friends and teammates a woman could ask for, something was still missing. She had come to love her Pathfinder role, and she knew nothing would ever come in the way of her duties - but she sometimes felt… Okay, let’s be honest, a little stifled sometimes.
Thanks to her team’s accruing victories, sometimes Mara felt that her Pathfinder status was starting to hide who she really was. As a natural introvert, there was a part of Mara that would always be uncomfortable in the spotlight. And since her Pathfinder duties frequently involved being the reasonable mediator, not to mention representing the Andromeda Initiative in the best possible light, Mara sometimes (only half-jokingly) rued the fact that she would probably never again be able to just enjoy seeing a jerk get as well-deserved beating. Nope, now I have to try and settle the argument before anyone forms a fist. I’m sure Drack would say that sometimes a punch is the best way to settle an argument, but I’m sure Director Tann would not agree…
Shaking her head a little, Mara tried to focus on her current mission: meeting an intelligence agent named Shena for leads on finding the Archon. Mara settled herself at the bar, arms crossed, her analytical mind subconsciously scanning the faces and body language of the other occupants, while continuing to look casual and inconspicuous. Or at least, as casual and inconspicuous as a clean and well-dressed human can look on Kadara. Mara wished ruefully that Drack or Vetra had advised her to wear her crappy lounging outfit rather than her leather jacket and scarf.
At least I have the right hair for this warm climate. Mara had worn her dark hair in a close pixie cut for years - a practical choice for a soldier/field researcher, but also a definite aesthetic one, as the short cut complemented her slender neck and oval face, and her short, side-brushed bangs allowed her green almond-shaped eyes to shine.
“You look like you’re waiting for someone”.
Suddenly, a man stood in front of her. Mara’s face remained impassive due to long training, but she couldn’t deny that she was startled. She hadn’t consciously realized it, but she had been expecting an angaran contact. This is Evfra we’re talking about, after all.
Then Mara took in the man’s face - and it was as though an electric shock shot through her body. She felt a swooping sensation in her stomach, and her breath stalled in her chest for a moment. She could feel her cheeks getting hot.
It wasn’t just his looks. With his hooded bronze eyes, strong chin and hazelnut complexion, and trim but muscular physique, he was certainly handsome - come on, Mara, be honest in your own head - he’s fucking sexy. But it was more than that. He had a knowing smirk on his lips and a playful glint in his eye that screamed intelligence and cunning. And what sucks me in more than an intelligent man?
But it wasn’t just the bright, crow-like intellect in his eye either. What the fuck did I just feel? With some embarrassment and wonder, Mara realized that she’d felt a shock of immediate, sudden connection with this man. It was as though their eyes met, and they both suddenly just… knew something about each other. They both recognized something kindred in each other, even though they had never met.
Speaking of introductions…
Mara gave herself a little mental shake and coolly accepted the drink that the handsome stranger proffered. He extended his hand to her, and even as they shook hands, his eyes never left hers, and that knowing smirk never left his lips.
“Shena. But you can call me Reyes.” He quirked an eyebrow. “I hate code names”.
Jesus, that voice. It was going to be her undoing. The voice was deep, lightly accented, and fluid like melted chocolate… and like the smirk, knowing. Cunning. His voice stirred a certain feeling of recklessness in her, a wish to throw this mysterious, unexpected stranger off a little bit, make him feel slightly wrong-footed like she was.
Mara firmly shook his proffered hand. “I was expecting someone more… angaran.” Mara kept her chin raised in challenge, her expression neutral, but her heated gaze traced over Reyes’ face and chest more slowly than was strictly professional, lingering appreciatively over his lips and his taut stomach before returning to his eyes. And is that a stirring in the 'quads' region that I see?
Reyes’ smirk widened to a true smile at her brazenness, and he chuckled. She couldn’t help it: her own impassive lips finally broke into a smile as well. That uncanny feeling of connection doubled, and Mara could feel her heart thumping in her throat, and a warmth spreading from her stomach to the juncture of her thighs. Easy, girl, we hardly know him…
Before this dangerous nonverbal flirtation could go any farther, Ryder took a deep breath and consciously resumed her impassive, professional mask.
Reyes leaned comfortably against the bar. “The Resistance pays me to supply information… among other things.” He quirked his eyebrow again, awaiting her reaction.
Mara frankly wasn’t fazed by smugglers; after all, Vetra had technically been a smuggler (no comment on whether she still was - Nexus might be listening!), and that had no bearing on her true-as-gold character. But Mara decided to stick to the professional response, as her body’s crazy reaction to Reyes was unnerving her somewhat. “So you’re a smuggler.”
Reyes shrugged and nodded towards the balcony. Mara joined him and they leaned against the railing, overlooking a magnificent sunset. In other circumstances, this would be pretty damn romantic, Mara thought. Ugh, shut up, brain, we’re working!
Reyes seemed to have picked up on Mara’s intention to stick to the professional, as all hints of playfulness and flirtation were gone from his manner. “Your man, Vehn Terev, was arrested by Sloane Kelly, leader of the Outcasts. Word spread about what he did to Moshae Sjefa. The people are calling for his execution… and Sloane, she’s a woman of the people.” This last phrase was conveyed with clear sarcasm, Mara noted with interest; clearly Reyes knew a thing or two about Sloane. That could come in handy down the line, if he knows more.
Mara narrowed her eyes as she looked out over the landscape, savouring the sharp mountains and unusual coral-like shrubs. “Dress it up however you want, she’s a criminal.”
Reyes followed her gaze. “You work for the Initiative. Sloane was part of the uprising on the Nexus. I doubt she’ll give Vehn up easily.”
Mara turned to face Reyes, eyebrows raised. “I’m taking him, with or without her permission.” Attraction aside, Mara took her duties very seriously, and she needed Reyes to understand that she would do whatever was necessary to cement an alliance - and friendship - with the angara. Mara was never one to shirk away from a little subterfuge if needed.
Reyes looked over at her with mild surprise and respect, his eyebrows slightly raised. A slow smile spread across his full lips as he dipped his head towards hers slightly. Mara caught her breath - his face was close to hers, as though they were co-conspirators, his lips close enough that she could feel his whiskey-scented breath on her face as he spoke. “We’re gonna be friends, you and I.”
Mara’s green eyes met his bronze-coloured ones. Again, there was that heat, that sense of familiarity, of connection… Why am I feeling this weird affinity with this man? I don’t even know him! Does he feel it too? And overlaying it all, thick as butter on bread, was that insane sexual attraction that left Mara’s head - and other body parts - feeling buzzed.
Reyes then broke the spell, moving slightly away and speaking again. “There might be another way to get to Vehn.” He pushed back from the railing, as though preparing to go. “You work Sloane. I’ll talk to the Resistance.” With no further ado, he turned and began to walk away.
Mara turned, her eyes following his stride with unabashed appreciation: confident, relaxed, a slight swagger, his shoulders broad and his neck browned from the sun. “How do I contact you if things go south?”
Reyes turned, not pausing in his stride, and with a small smirk, gave her a tiny wink before continuing on his way.
Mara turned back to the view for another moment, a ridiculous smirk growing on her own face. That guy is a Fuckboy with a capital F, she thought to herself with amusement. Definitely not dating material. Can you imagine? Cora would have a fit!
Wait a second, when did Mara’s brain suddenly start thinking about dating? This trip to Kadara was about work. Her ovaries would have to settle the hell down while there was still information to be gained.
Despite the pressure of the current mission, Mara gave a contented sigh. She savoured the golden Kadara landscape, all rolling hills and cerulean sulfur pools wreathed in (admittedly toxic sulfurous) mist, and thought that perhaps this was the most beautiful planet she’d yet seen. And wondered… After everything we’ve done so far, all the incredible places we’ve seen and interesting people I’ve met… How is it that now, this moment, is when I feel the most alive?
As Mara turned to leave, a hard voice suddenly called, “Hey! You have to pay!” Mara looked over at Umi, the asari bartender, and realized… That jackass stuck me with the cheque! Ugh, a fuckboy indeed.
Mara swiped her fingers quickly over her omni-tool, leaving a generous tip, and wondered why, rather than being justifiably annoyed, she just relished the idea of seeing him again and one-upping him.
******
Reyes Vidal strolled casually through Kadara Port, nodding cordially at the vendors and greeting the Outcast guards pleasantly. All the while, all he wanted to do was laugh out loud with delight. Fuck me, it’s been too long since something surprised me out here.
Reyes was a busy man; maintaining friendly 'trade' relations with Outcasts, Collective, and non-affiliated exiles alike, as well as careful and reliable intelligence operations, was truly a challenging full-time occupation that required constantly maintaining a carefree and affable facade. But a facade this truly was: it had been a long time since Reyes felt like anyone knew who he really was.
He was grateful to his angaran friend Keema, whose lush and flirty persona often caused people to underestimate her intelligence and cunning, and who was the one person on this planet that he could call a real friend. However, most of his public interactions with Keema necessitated that he adopt his friendly but neutral facade, and so even with Keema, half the time he felt like his real self was buried, hidden under layers of deception.
The truth was that Reyes had a dark streak, made darker by witnessing Sloane Kelly’s casual abuse of the local angara and hapless exiles alike. Sometimes he felt like that ancient Earth superhero Batman, working in the shadows for the betterment of Kadara, while pretending to be nothing more than a simple smuggler. Except that based on those paper “comic” artifacts that are worth so goddamn many credits, Batman never killed anyone…
That was one qualm that Reyes definitely did not have. There was no doubt in his mind that sooner or later, someone in Kadara Port - someone important - was going to die.
Reyes shifted his brooding mind to something infinitely more pleasant: this new Pathfinder - Mara Ryder, of the Tempest.
Tempest, indeed… Reyes had to admit that he was frankly shocked upon meeting the sultry, confident - nearly cocky - Mara Ryder. He had been expecting a stick-in-the-mud, holier-than-thou, by-the-book Nexus soldier who hadn’t ever really seen true suffering and wouldn’t tolerate anything off the beaten path. After all, from his intelligence gathering, he knew that this Mara Ryder had not been awake during the uprising, had not witnessed the bloody brutality of those first few months after the exiles were kicked off-ship. She didn’t see the krogan charging into those crowds of desperate civilians like they were nothing more than bowling pins. And she didn’t see the Nexus leadership callously hold out on the krogans after they saved their asses. And yet, despite her relative lack of experience, there was something in her eyes…
Reyes would not have called himself a romantic. And yet, when Mara first turned her face to his, when their eyes first met, he had this uncanny sense that he knew her. He could have sworn that there was just an understanding between them. There was something about her confident, flirtatious gaze that felt so familiar to him. Almost like looking in a mirror, of sorts… And holy shit, the sexual energy she’s giving off. When she had dropped her jade-coloured gaze and perused his body so casually, so confidently, it had been enough for him to get a hard-on on the spot.
Reyes had no shame in this; he was a man who was confident in his sexuality, and it was frankly not unusual for him to get second - and third - looks when he frequented the bars. But the combination of Ryder’s confidence, her own apparent comfortable sexuality, and her shining intelligence and passion made Reyes want to take things slower than his usual jump-into-bed approach. I think I actually want to get to know this Pathfinder Ryder. And not just in that archaic Biblical sense. Of course, Reyes wanted to feel Mara’s smooth curves under his hands, to slide his fingers over her golden skin and make her gasp with pleasure, but unusually, he also wanted more than that.
He wanted to figure out if his crazy sense of connection, of familiarity, was mutual.
Reyes stepped into his 'office', i.e. the private room in Tartarus, and pulled up his omni-tool to call Evfra’s people. As he waited for the connection to go through, he smiled, feeling more cheer and anticipation than he had in months. Maybe this job could actually be fun…