!“Understood Nexus Control, y- I know N- what did Addison say?” Kallo’s clipped words echoed through the Tempest, and Cora couldn’t help but smile. The Salarian’s frustration with the Director of Colonial Affairs was nothing new, what with her constant badgering of the Pathfinder team, but ever since Ryder had set up the outpost of Taerve Uni on Voeld the pestering had only got worse. “No- no we’re at maximum capacity; she’s got ice runners for that business. No, we’re leaving now thank you.” The ship lurched as they pulled away from the Nexus.

With a slight chuckle, Lieutenant Harper stretched and got up from her bunk. It had been just over 2 months since they arrived in Heleus, and the crew of the Tempest had begun to feel like family to the biotic huntress. They were just all so different, and Cora had never felt this connected to a group of people before, not even with Taelin’s Daughters back in the Milky Way.

The Milky Way. She couldn’t help but frown a little as a trickle of emotion began to seep through her mind. Over 634 years later and Nisira’s words still hurt, the icy touch of rejection still bringing tears to her eyes. She had known it was coming of course; the Valkyrie Program was by definition temporary, but even so, Cora couldn’t help but wonder why, after 4 years of bloodshed, she had been unceremoniously dropped from her purposeful life as a huntress.

“Lieutenant Harper?”

SAM’s voice broke though her rumination, the dull orange glow of her omni-tool lighting up her dim corner of the crew quarters. “Yeah?”

“You have [18] new emails. Would you like to read them?” Cora couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Turns out that even being second-in-command to Ryder had turned her into a magnet for unwanted communications.

“Anything important?”

“Not particularly, Lieutenant, though there is one message that appears to be worthy of attention.”

“Oh yeah, who’s it from?”

“The sender’s name is given as “Knight”, perhaps sensing that Cora didn’t know anyone by that name, SAM jumped to what was clearly a foregone conclusion, “Would you like me to delete this message as well?”

Before she could even answer, the sound of the crew doors flying open made Cora jump to her feet as her biotics flared to life, illuminating a very scared looking Liam Kosta.

“By the Goddess, Kosta, learn to knock!” Letting her biotics calm, she began reciting asari prayers under her breath.

“Woah, didn’t mean to startle you! Just looking for something is all,” backing away slowly, Liam went to his bunk, rummaging though a small tin box that had been hidden under his pillow.

“Lt. Harper? What would you like me to do with the email?”

Her mind elsewhere, Cora waved her hand noncommittally, “Sure SAM, read it for me.”

Liam perked up, brown eyes rising from his box to meet with Cora’s hazel ones, “Hmm? What’s going on? Hang on, lemme guess…,” Pausing for effect, he waggled his eyebrows mischievously, “more fan-mail?”

Before Cora could charge over and slap him, her comm crackled to life once more, “authcode0078_trsl_{function--888}_fatal.runtime.Yttras%%&GH)))” SAM’s voice sounded distorted and echoey, like he was speaking from inside a deep metal well.

“SAM? Everything okay?” Cora asked, trying to keep her voice level and calm. When only silence responded, even Liam could see that the ex-huntress was beginning to show signs of worry.

After what seemed like hours, SAM’s voice lilted back over the comms. “Lt. Harper, the email that you recieved contained a piece of malignant code,” Liam and Cora both paled slightly at that news. “Due to my direct connection to that message’s data, the code may have been transferred to all connected omni-tools in the local area. Isolating damage.” Liam shot a slight glare at Cora, unspoken accusations slicing into her. How could she let this happen?

“Problem detected. Translator software irrevocably damaged.” Liam and Cora both stared at each other for a moment, trying to understand what this meant, before realization dawned on both their faces simultaneously.

“Well… we can both understand each other, right? So maybe SAM’s wrong?” Even though he attempted to hide it, Cora could hear cracks of doubt splintering through his words, “Oh god Ryder’s going to killÂ us!” Fortunately, the Pathfinder was fast asleep, the trials of her job taking it’s toll on her.

Behind them, the doors once again slid open, and Vetra skulked into the room, eyeballing the two human’s before opening her mouth to speak. For a split-second, Cora thought that maybe the translator crash hadn’t affected the Turian, but her hopes were quickly dashed when rough, multi-pitched words clicked from the smuggler’s mouth.

“Karhkha askgarnarn?” With a laugh, she went back to what she was doing, trudging out of the room holding a box of spare parts.

Cora and Liam looked at each other again, searching one another’s faces for any sign of reassurance. Seeing no such thing, the latter let out a shaky sigh, “Was that Turian-ese? Or perhaps Turlish?” Seeing the biotic relax slightly, Kosta continued, “Personally, my money’s on Turi. Got a nice ring to it, y’know?”

Groaning at the ex-cop’s sorry excuse for comedy (as well as the thought of how much trouble she could be in), Cora walked out of the room, eyes briefly straining under the bright lights of the ship’s main corridor. In her head, she went over each crewmate, and which one’s she might be able to communicate with.

Liam, Gil, Suvi and Sandy were all obviously going to speak English, and Cora knew just enough of the most common Asari dialect to hold a conversation with either Lexi or Peebee, but beyond that she was lost. Krogan and Turian languages were notoriously hard to pick up, with the latter requring anatomy that Human’s simply do not have. Jaal’s native tongue (Shelesh, possibly? Cora couldn’t quite recall) was barely understood by anyone, and as for Salarians, their primary language was apparently far too fast to be able to be understood without translator software.

“Jaahalla, sovenaar Cora sarv?” The melodic words of a rarer Asari dialect broke Cora from her thoughts, and she turned to the source of the noise. The Peebee’s small blue form stood in front of her, gazing up at the huntress’ face expectantly. “Jana? Yivvah sorvella. Sovenaar. Cora. Sarv?”

“U-um…” She was at a loss. Whatever language Peebee was speaking in was unfamiliar to Cora. Some words sounded similar to others she knew, but beyond that she had no way of understanding what an increasingly frustrated Asari was saying. “U-uh… hey there, Peebee!”

Eyes widening for a moment in confusion, the small Asari’s brow quickly furrowed in confusion and then joy, “Sove Karna Cora? Ooooo! Esnarvallei fthayei j’sharv corsallia… oh! Nakaleisira sarv Cora...” Cora had no clue what Peebee was saying to her, but knowing her it couldn’t have been anything good. Before she could turn and leave, the doors to the medbay slid open and a furious looking Lexi stormed out, eyes locked onto the other Asari.

“Janarva Pelessaria! Sove sarv asari jh’coneveh!”

“Esth thellia Lexi, Cora sove Karna…”

“Tah?” Lexi glanced at the bewildered Lieutenant over her shoulder, a look of confusion mixing with amusement at whatever Peebee had just told her.

The younger Asari nodded enthusiastically, eyes darting from the Doctor to Cora.

“SAM?”

“Yes Doctor T’Perro?” Eyes widened again, breath visibly hitching in the Doctor’s throat as she spun to face the huntress.

“Corsei, corsei, Cora jana sorveil?” Fear was plastered onto her face as her eyes searched Cora’s face, searching for a way of communicating.

“U-um.. J-ja esv SAM…” It was no good; Cora’s knowledge of Asari language only really covered strategy.

The three of them stood in quiet for a minute, brains scrambling to grasp the strangeness of their situation. Just as Peebee looked like she was about to speak, the doors to the galley slid open.

“Urlshanarg, cucajk?” Drack’s beady eyes took in the scene in front of him as he wearily awaited a response. “Urlshanarg, cucajk?”

“Corsei, Drack lestavarra. Tah sove Karna!”

The krogan looked on blankly, his gruff features moving barely an inch before, all of a sudden, he burst out laughing. The floor itself shook as the ancient warrior was engulfed in a fit of hysterics. “Hahahahaha! Kakarahnka?” Seeing the incredulous looks on the three women’s faces, his laughter only intensified.

Wordlessly, Drack set down a plate of drinks on the table, and looked expectantly at the gathered crew. Suvi, Kallo, Gil, Jaal and Vetra had been summoned by SAM to the galley, and there they had been told to stay quiet and sit down with Lexi, Cora, Peebee and Liam. So far, no-one had said a word.

“Mar siiiiin, déÂ a tha a ‘dol air adhart an uairsin?” To Cora’s surprise, the strange sounding words came from the science officer, who had been glancing around nervously since she sat down. “Agus carson nach eil Sandy an seo?” Cora had always assumed Suvi spoke regular old English, but here she was speaking… Scottish? Whatever it was, it sounded old and rare.

“Karkahangga? Nahclk… ko…” Vetra was the first to respond; the tone of her sub-vocals sounded similar to confusion. She was clearly unsure about what was going on, obviously used to hearing everyone speaking Turian. Or Turi… Turish?

“Uh, what’s going on guys?” Gil chimed in, equal parts bemusement and confusion peppering his words. At least she could understand him, Cora thought to herself.

“Well, according to SAM some malware got into our network. Took out our translation software, hence the language barriers popping up left right and centre.” Liam shrugged, eyes rolling over to look at the guilty Lieutenant.

“So, Suvi?” Gil raised an eyebrow at the panicking science officer.

“Tha…? Uh, yes?” So she does know a littleÂ English, Cora noted, though it’s heavily accented.

“Gaelic? Really?”

“Um… yes? I… ah, speak only a little English.”

Further quiet fell over the room, the only sounds coming from Lexi and Peebee, who were muttering to each other in the corner, discussing Goddess knows what. Cora felt uneasy. The usually jovial crew had been rendered to an uneasy silence, the language barrier effectively blocking any of their normal, easy banter. Kallo was especially quiet, eyes locked on whoever was talking with a strange intensity.

Lexi spoke up after what seemed like an eternity of silence, “Corseilla Karna, Peebee esv Ja gyarva hyeth esf?” Whatever she had said, Peebee nodded in agreement and they both got up and left.

“Karkarahgnuhn Vetra?” The low rumble of the Krogan’s voice caught the Turian’s attention. Cora raised an eyebrow; it almost seemed like the two understood each other?

“Korkarahgnuhn Drack, krogarna cronstst cucullhar…” The two stared at each other, scowls battling one another in a war of looks. Slowly though, smiles crept across their faces, and before Cora could even process what was going on the two had frog-marched out of the room, cackling insanely.

“The hell just happened?” Liam looked around the room, eyes wide as dinner plates. Suvi and Gil laughed at Liam’s confusion; obviously he had never seen two aliens realizing they shared a language.

Minutes turned into hours as the group continued talking. Jaal had gone off with Kallo, both eager to continue working, and Sandy was still fast asleep in her room. She was still sleeping off the excitement on Aya, and even now things still hadn’t returned to normal. Suvi had been struggling as well, that much was obvious, though why she in particular was so distraught had continued to elude the analytical mind of the Deputy Pathfinder.

With a dismissive shake of her head, Cora refocused on the ongoing conversation between the bewildered Scot and the two other humans. Liam and Gil were trying to help Suvi improve her English, knowing full well that she wouldn’t want to feel left out. A kind gesture, even by Cora’s standards.

“No, it’s du-oh-guh, DOG. Try again?” Liam had been trying to teach Suvi to say dog instead of the Gaelic equivalent, but the Scot had seemed distracted. Not that Cora could really blame her; she wouldn’t want to have foreign language lessons forced upon her either.

“Oh fer God’s sake Gil, I’m just goin’ teh say dog from now on, kay?” Suvi raged, though her regularly lilting English had returned. Cora’s brow knitted together, question on her lips, but before she could say anything a blue form blurred past her.

“Alright guys, you can thank me later,” Peebee smirked, her voice oozing with satisfaction, “translators have been rebooted, though fair warning; we’ve lost the entire Hanar lexicon. Not sure if that’s really a big deal though, so yeah…”

Lexi stalked in after her younger colleague, tutting as she continued Peebee’s boasts “Of course it’s a big deal, but that’s not the main issue we’re facing. The Pathfinder’s omni-tool implant is behaving oddly; we can’t reboot her translator.”

Liam shrugged, “So? We’ll translate for her in the meantime, right?”

“I don’t think you fully understand Kosta. Until we find a way to repair her translator…”

“We won’t be able to understand her, or vice versa.” Peebee finished, letting her and Lexi’s words sink in.

“Okay, it’s not ideal, but she speaks Engli-”

Lexi interrupted, “Actually, Cora, we have no idea what language she speaks. According to her file, she’s monolingual, but there are large gaps in our data…”

“From her time as a pirate?” Suvi offered. Liam’s eyebrows joined with his hairline at that fact, but he stayed quiet. Cora was surprised too, but she set it aside; another question for another day.

“Yes, so when she wakes up be prepared for anything, okay?” Lexi searched their faces for any sign of doubt or worry, knowing all too well that this could only further harm the Pathfinder’s reputation with her crew.

“Understood Doctor.” Cora straightened up, marching out the room as the other humans began filtering out.

“Doctor T’Perro, the Pathfinder is awake.”

“Thanks SAM,” her voice seemed unsteady, full of nerves, “I’ll just finish up with Cora, then I’ll be round to see her.”

“Understood, Doctor.”

Cora flinched slightly as a needle was stuck into her forearm; her daily dosage of vitamins. It had been hours since the translators had come back online, but the experience was still fresh in her mind. The fresh melodic sounds of the Asari, the low growls and chatterings of the Krogan and Turians, the strange rhyming words of Jaal’s Shelesh and the familiar (yet still alien) phrases of Suvi’s Gaelic. It had struck her just how different they all were; all so alien to each other, yet still a family.

And now she’d have to confront her Pathfinder, who’d likely be even more scared than usual. Cora had to bite back a sudden swell of rage within her. Pathfinder. A barely holding together drug-addict with more self-destructive habits than a Volus with an exhibtion fetish. A joke, nay, an insult to the title!

“Lieutenant Harper, I am detecting an increase in heart rate and hormone levels consistent with feelings of stress or anger. Are you okay?”

Cora sighed, and out the corner of her eye, she saw Lexi quickly write something in her file. Damn it huntress, stay calm!

“If we’re all done here, shall we go pay our illustrious Pathfinder a visit?” Lexi raised a brow at Cora’s embittered tone, but said nothing, pinging Suvi’s omnitool with a message.

Suvi felt a pang of terror as she walked into Sandy’s room with Cora and Lexi. The last time she had come in here she had almost sparked a mutiny and it didn't help that things between her and the Pathfinder were in a precarious situation as well.

Thinking back to Lexi and Peebee’s announcement earlier on that day, Suvi found herself thinking about Ryder’s language. A silly thing to think about really, but still her curiosity was nagging at her. Perhaps she’ll just speak in plain old English? Or perhaps something a bit more exotic, like French? The scientist felt more than a little flustered at the idea, but she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind, reminding herself of Ryders vulnerability; now is not the time to go all doe-eyed over a woman you barely know!

“Good morning Ryder,” Cora started, pausing when Sandy’s bloodshot eyes widened in panic. Okay then, thought Suvi, definitely not English. “There’s been a slight… issue with the translators.” The Pathfinder's gaze intensified, shifting from Cora to Suvi, then from Suvi to Lexi. Her mouth was opening and closing as a look of confusion began to spread across her face.

“Sandy?” Suvi went and sat down next to the scared-looking woman, taking a trembling hand in her own, searching her eyes for any clue as to whether she understood a word they were saying.

“M-madha yahduth huna?” Desperate fear dripped from Sandy’s every word, and she shifted uneasily, “Hal tama ‘iiqaf almutarjimin?”

“Cora, any idea?” Suvi turned to face the Lieutenant, who had already buried her face in her omni-tool, fingers a blur as she trawled old databases.

“Yup, one second.”

“Suvi, madha yhdth?” The mention of her name caught Suvi’s attention, seeing Sandy staring up at her with expectant eyes.

Before she could respond, a self-congratulatory whoop came up from Cora, “Arabic! That’s rare, I thought it had gone extinct?

A weak chuckle came up from the despondent form of the human Pathfinder, “Aftarid ‘anahum aiktashafuu anani atakalam alearabiatu? Aistaghraqat waqtann kafiaan!” There was something enchanting about how Sandy’s words rolled off her tongue, it seemed so much more natural to hear her like this...

No, bad Suvi now is not the time!

“Just pulling up a rudimentary translation tool, one second. Aaaand here we are!” Suvi looked back over at the biotic, her fingers a blur as she typed a sentence into the input box. With a strong push of a translate button, an electronic voice filled the air, reading Arabic words in a monotonous, robotic tone.

Almost instantly, Ryder broke out into a fit of laughter, “’Faqad tarajue almutarajimun lifatrat wajayzatin, waealaa alrghm mn ‘an jamieana mutarajimun ean aleamli’? Kunt ‘aetaqid ‘anah baed 150 eamaan min hadhih altiknulujia alty jan ladayhim kl dhlk maerifat!” Whatever she was laughing at, it was infectious, and before too long Suvi and Lexi had both started laughing as Cora looked on, looking thoroughly unamused.

“Well Pathfinder, you seem well enough. We’ll leave you to rest.” And with that, Cora and Lexi both left the room, leaving Suvi and Sandy together.

On the bed.

Suvi felt her cheeks flush a dark red as she realised her situation, a reaction that earned another wry chuckle from Ryder. The Scot looked down at the relatively relaxed woman on the bed, and took a moment to drink in the view. Her long, dark hair was tousled and messy, lazy strands lying across her cool, tan complexion. Two dark blue eyes stared back at her as a lopsided grin spread across the Pathfinder’s face.

Now’s probably the best time to leave, before you do something you regr-

She leaned down to the prone Pathfinder, pressing her pink lips to Sandy’s reddish-brown ones. A slight moan escaped Sandy’s mouth as the two pulled apart, their eyes meeting once again. 'THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SUVI? ' she screamed internally, heart racing as she began to panic.

Perhaps sensing the scientist's fear, Ryder whispered, “La tafeal hdha balnsbt ly Suvi, ‘illa ‘iidha kunt taeni dhlk…”, her eyes floating away from Suvi’s to rest on a point past the Scot’s head.

Unsure how to communicate her feelings, Suvi rose from the bed, casting one final look at the hurt Pathfinder before running out of the room, eyes tearing up as she heard a sob from behind her.