[ Despite appearances, Reyes doesn't always haunt that back room at Tartarus. Some nights, he's buried here in reports and handling correspondence, but other times he's roaming the market topside and cutting deals for supplies. Sometimes he's out in the field, investigating another incursion from the Outcasts or the kett; sometimes he's having meetings in other seedy backrooms and alleyways, consolidating power and information; sometimes he's just grabbing a bite at a hole-in-the-wall noodle shop, or sleeping wherever the hell he sleeps. (Compulsively secretive, he's made a point of never taking anyone back there, so, well, it remains an open question.)
As soon as one of his scouts passes on the message that the Tempest has been sighted descending on the docks, though, he wraps up his business and makes his way back to Tartarus. Get me something from the top shelf, he tells Kian, only to get a stony stare in return, before Reyes heaves a theatrical sigh, taps his omni-tool, and sends over a few credits to cover it.
He's still standing by the bar, elbow propped against the counter and chatting to Kian, by the time Ryder eventually makes it down into the slums and walks in the door of the night club. Reyes waves a lazy hand at her, as if he hasn't been waiting, as if he didn't have eyes on the Pathfinder and already knew exactly when she was headed over.
It's not like he has a certain vested interest in monitoring this Pathfinder in particular, or anything. ]
[ there's always a reason to come back to kadara, which makes it even easier for sara to make an excuse to go to tartarus. normally, she'd bring someone from the crew with her but this time she slips away before any of them can get the chance. she'd rather not have to actually explain she was just going for reyes. though, from the look on peebee's face she had figured it out.
she doesn't go to tartarus right away, she doesn't want to be too obvious. when she makes it into the club, she's in her light armour, her hair in it's typical messy ponytail, carnifex pistol at her side. sara knows that she isn't popular here and she still has to be on her guard.
when she sees reyes she lights up and smiles qs she makes her way over to him. this is probably a bad idea and she doesn't know what it is about reyes that makes her want to be here - to be here with him. maybe it was just getting a break from being a pathfinder, a chance to actually catch her breath and not act like she actually knew what she was doing. ]
You look like you're waiting for someone.
[ she teases, a half smile as she looks him over before she turns and greets kian. ]
[ reyes huffs a laugh: ] Oh, I'm never going to live that one down, am I?
[ "please, tease him more," kian adds, and reyes waves a dismissive hand at the bartender, while he lets his gaze trawl over the pathfinder from head to toe, taking her in. it's part-appreciative, part-pragmatic: the smuggler can never turn off his instincts and so he casts a quick glance at the holstered weapon and immediately recognises the carnifex model, approvingly.
it's smart to stay armed and to stay on her toes, no matter how tartarus is ostensibly reyes' territory and she ought to be safe here. because kadara was still kadara, and the port was rife with knives and blaster pistols in alleys; it was one of the things he loved best about the place. ]
I splurged on something from Kian's top shelf for us. Better than the usual swill and moonshine here. I promise it's not toxic— much.
Nope. [ she grins at him. the line was charming but she can't help herself. she also can't help but enjoy his gaze on her and it's different from the looks she normally gets. looks of expectations, looks of hatred, looks like she was some sort of hero, looks like they knew her before they even had given her a chance to speak. it was exhausting, and the weight of it was enough to make sara feel like she was going to snap sometimes. but that wasn't an option - she had to keep going, it wasn't just humanity that was depending on her but almost an entire galaxy, she couldn't snap.
it was nice to just be sara, even if it was for a little bit. ]
Don't worry, I intend to. [ she says to kian before she looks back at reyes with raised brows. ] You're spoiling me Reyes, can't help but wonder if you're up to something.
[ it's an easy, breezy admission — probably reyes shouldn't be quite that upfront about it — but there's a cheekiness to his smile, a perpetual mischievousness in his eye. just enough that you might wonder whether he's joking or not. just enough that it has you wondering how honest he is about how dishonest he is. but he takes the two glasses and pours the drinks for them, and it's a generous pour. picking it up, he holds up his glass in a toast to clink it cheerfully against hers. ]
I'm simply buttering up my favourite Pathfinder, in the event I need to call in some more favours about pesky raiders out in the wilderness. [ after seeing her expression: ] Don't worry, I don't have any right now. This really is just me enjoying your company.
[ she was one of the most important people in the initiative. she was useful. she was a contact he needed to keep. all of which went into the cold calculations of the charlatan, in wanting to keep her around.
but she was also wickedly smart and funny and kept him on his toes, and always said yes and to whatever fresh bullshit he dropped on her doorstep. so. maybe that part was reyes himself— also wanting to keep her around. ]
[ she doesn't know what it is about reyes that intrigues her so much, it was dangerous. she shouldn't trust him, she probably shouldn't even be here. but she wasn't supposed to do a lot of things including be the pathfinder. and even then she was always pushing it, always giving tann a headache (though that was often intentional).
she takes the glass from him and doesn't hesitate to clink it with his before taking a sip. ]
Your favourite Pathfinder? You've been holding out on me Reyes, I thought I was your only Pathfinder. Should I be jealous?
[ she puts on a mock offended tone. honestly, she does sometimes wish there were more pathfinders it would make her life that much easier. it would at least take some of the pressure, sara never saw herself as a leader that was always her father maybe even scott. she just wanted to explore and she was doing that, just not in the way she ever thought she would.
her expression softens when he says that he's enjoying her company because she is enjoying his too. ]
Oh, haven't you heard? Avitus Rix and I have become the very best of friends. We go out for drinks at Kralla's Song constantly. He's invited me to his bachelor party.
[ pure bullshit, delivered through a shit-eating grin. reyes has never met the turian pathfinder. but he knows the name; has a file on the former spectre sitting alongside all his other files on the initiative VIPs and persons of interest within this cluster. there's been so much chaotic last-minute reshuffling of all the pathfinder roles, the old ones dying and replacements having to be found on short notice, including amongst the ryders.
best to not touch that particular bruise, though. ]
Oh yeah, I can see it now. You, Avitus, a private room, some dancers and a major headache for Kian.
[ she tilts her head and matches his grin, before she downs the rest of her drink. honestly, she's needed this - a break, a chance to breathe. she hasn't even had time to properly grieve for her father or worry for her brother, ever since waking up and finding out she had been made pathfinder it was constant go, go, go. sara still didn't understand why her father had chosen her. she had always felt that he liked scott more between the two of them - scott was the good one, the good soldier, the good person and sara loved him for that. she was the one getting into trouble, who was told to take things more seriously and now the fate of humanity and maybe the galaxy was on her shoulders. ]
Reyes Vidal's favourite Pathfinder. I've been called a lot of things lately, but this is a title I can live with.
Get it emblazoned on a plaque. I can probably program the 3D printers to print you a trophy. You can mount it in that beautiful ship of yours— and show it off the when you finally take me on the grand tour you haven't offered me.
[ he says it lightly. just testing the waters. he still hasn't seen the inside of the tempest, only the sight of its exterior when it lands, and the murky edges of a room holo-projected in their semi-regular comms calls when she checks in— but he's not sure how ryder's crew feels about the woman's seedy smuggler contact. if he'd even be welcome to step foot on initiative territory, such as it is.
if only they knew the half of it. ]
If you ever did show me around, I solemnly swear I wouldn't steal the ship out from under your nose.
[ sara gets the hint, it's hard not too. she has no idea how her crew would react if she had brought reyes back, it wasn't as if any of them had made it a secret that they didn't trust him. liam would probably jump head first at any chance to say 'i was right about him,' vetra would shadow them, cora would likely not so casually mention her time with the asari commandos once they were in earshot. it almost makes sara want to bring him aboard for that alone. it wasn't that she wanted to spite her crew but it would be hilarious for their reactions. and honestly sara could use the moment of levity, she's done her best not to show anyone on the tempest how exhausted she was. would it matter if they actually knew? she was the pathfinder, it wasn't as if she had a choice or could run away from any of this. not when the human race and so many other species all seemed to be depending on her.
still, a corner of her mouth quirks up in a smirk. ]
That's tempting. I also don't know if you're cute or delusional for thinking you could steal my ship.
this year remains The Most so i remain The Slowest i am so sorry
Don't phrase it like that, Ryder, or I'll start to see it as a challenge. And if there is one thing I can't resist, it is a challenge.
[ sticky hands, light fingers. he'd been a pickpocket running around underfoot in his earliest days in the slums, filching enough to pawn and help his family pay the bills. a full-fledged initiative-owned survey ship would be a step up... but, yes, a delusional step up. ]
That said, I have zero interest in being gunned down by your friendly krogan or local turian. Something tells me I shouldn't mess with your crew.
[ reyes takes another sip of his drink, and then reaches out to pour them refills, the glasses sliding across the stained counter. ]
If your crew ever did feel like picking up some additional trade transport gigs, though...
[ "trading". oh, it's definitely smuggling. ]
don't be, bc it's the same for me /sobs. can life just CHILL?!
[ she smirks a little about the comment on the crew. she understands why they don't trust him but at the same time she wishes they would. it isn't as if reyes is any less trustworthy than some of the others they've worked with. there were so many secrets within the initiative, sara wasn't sure if she trusted any of them yet. ]
That's probably a wise move. I think a few of them may be waiting for an excuse to shoot you.
[ she raises her eyebrows before she takes a sip of her drink. ]
Why do I get the feeling Tann will be on my ass if I agree.
[ which really might be the reason she needs to agree. it wasn't so much that she wanted to piss tann and the other's off but she wanted them to know that being a pathfinder had never been her choice, it was never something she had wanted to do. and because there was no way out of it she was going to do everything her way, whether they liked it or not. ]
Ah, yes, Jarun Tann. Your very favourite person in this cluster and clusterfuck. I completely understand you not wanting to disappoint him, ever.
[ reyes is grinning. as if sara hadn’t already complained about the director, on late nights when they’d both had a little too much to drink and her tongue had been loosened, when the initiative’s bureaucracy and straightlaced protocol had been driving her up the wall. it was the wild west out here. nothing about the colonisation had gone as planned. to survive, they all needed to adapt.
and, to that end, reyes had transformed himself.
his fingers curled around the rim of the glass, he surveys her. and then says, a little more seriously: ]
It’s supplies. They need intercepting from pirates in order to go to Kadara instead. You and your outposts can take a cut from what we retrieve.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
→ pathfounds; she's a pretty thing on a high, high shelf.
continued from.
[ Despite appearances, Reyes doesn't always haunt that back room at Tartarus. Some nights, he's buried here in reports and handling correspondence, but other times he's roaming the market topside and cutting deals for supplies. Sometimes he's out in the field, investigating another incursion from the Outcasts or the kett; sometimes he's having meetings in other seedy backrooms and alleyways, consolidating power and information; sometimes he's just grabbing a bite at a hole-in-the-wall noodle shop, or sleeping wherever the hell he sleeps. (Compulsively secretive, he's made a point of never taking anyone back there, so, well, it remains an open question.)
As soon as one of his scouts passes on the message that the Tempest has been sighted descending on the docks, though, he wraps up his business and makes his way back to Tartarus. Get me something from the top shelf, he tells Kian, only to get a stony stare in return, before Reyes heaves a theatrical sigh, taps his omni-tool, and sends over a few credits to cover it.
He's still standing by the bar, elbow propped against the counter and chatting to Kian, by the time Ryder eventually makes it down into the slums and walks in the door of the night club. Reyes waves a lazy hand at her, as if he hasn't been waiting, as if he didn't have eyes on the Pathfinder and already knew exactly when she was headed over.
It's not like he has a certain vested interest in monitoring this Pathfinder in particular, or anything. ]
Of all the gin joints in all the galaxy,
[ he says, with an impish grin. Incorrigible. ]
no subject
she doesn't go to tartarus right away, she doesn't want to be too obvious. when she makes it into the club, she's in her light armour, her hair in it's typical messy ponytail, carnifex pistol at her side. sara knows that she isn't popular here and she still has to be on her guard.
when she sees reyes she lights up and smiles qs she makes her way over to him. this is probably a bad idea and she doesn't know what it is about reyes that makes her want to be here - to be here with him. maybe it was just getting a break from being a pathfinder, a chance to actually catch her breath and not act like she actually knew what she was doing. ]
You look like you're waiting for someone.
[ she teases, a half smile as she looks him over before she turns and greets kian. ]
no subject
[ "please, tease him more," kian adds, and reyes waves a dismissive hand at the bartender, while he lets his gaze trawl over the pathfinder from head to toe, taking her in. it's part-appreciative, part-pragmatic: the smuggler can never turn off his instincts and so he casts a quick glance at the holstered weapon and immediately recognises the carnifex model, approvingly.
it's smart to stay armed and to stay on her toes, no matter how tartarus is ostensibly reyes' territory and she ought to be safe here. because kadara was still kadara, and the port was rife with knives and blaster pistols in alleys; it was one of the things he loved best about the place. ]
I splurged on something from Kian's top shelf for us. Better than the usual swill and moonshine here. I promise it's not toxic— much.
no subject
it was nice to just be sara, even if it was for a little bit. ]
Don't worry, I intend to. [ she says to kian before she looks back at reyes with raised brows. ] You're spoiling me Reyes, can't help but wonder if you're up to something.
no subject
[ it's an easy, breezy admission — probably reyes shouldn't be quite that upfront about it — but there's a cheekiness to his smile, a perpetual mischievousness in his eye. just enough that you might wonder whether he's joking or not. just enough that it has you wondering how honest he is about how dishonest he is. but he takes the two glasses and pours the drinks for them, and it's a generous pour. picking it up, he holds up his glass in a toast to clink it cheerfully against hers. ]
I'm simply buttering up my favourite Pathfinder, in the event I need to call in some more favours about pesky raiders out in the wilderness. [ after seeing her expression: ] Don't worry, I don't have any right now. This really is just me enjoying your company.
[ she was one of the most important people in the initiative. she was useful. she was a contact he needed to keep. all of which went into the cold calculations of the charlatan, in wanting to keep her around.
but she was also wickedly smart and funny and kept him on his toes, and always said yes and to whatever fresh bullshit he dropped on her doorstep. so. maybe that part was reyes himself— also wanting to keep her around. ]
no subject
[ she doesn't know what it is about reyes that intrigues her so much, it was dangerous. she shouldn't trust him, she probably shouldn't even be here. but she wasn't supposed to do a lot of things including be the pathfinder. and even then she was always pushing it, always giving tann a headache (though that was often intentional).
she takes the glass from him and doesn't hesitate to clink it with his before taking a sip. ]
Your favourite Pathfinder? You've been holding out on me Reyes, I thought I was your only Pathfinder. Should I be jealous?
[ she puts on a mock offended tone. honestly, she does sometimes wish there were more pathfinders it would make her life that much easier. it would at least take some of the pressure, sara never saw herself as a leader that was always her father maybe even scott. she just wanted to explore and she was doing that, just not in the way she ever thought she would.
her expression softens when he says that he's enjoying her company because she is enjoying his too. ]
no subject
[ pure bullshit, delivered through a shit-eating grin. reyes has never met the turian pathfinder. but he knows the name; has a file on the former spectre sitting alongside all his other files on the initiative VIPs and persons of interest within this cluster. there's been so much chaotic last-minute reshuffling of all the pathfinder roles, the old ones dying and replacements having to be found on short notice, including amongst the ryders.
best to not touch that particular bruise, though. ]
Still. You remain my favourite.
no subject
[ she tilts her head and matches his grin, before she downs the rest of her drink. honestly, she's needed this - a break, a chance to breathe. she hasn't even had time to properly grieve for her father or worry for her brother, ever since waking up and finding out she had been made pathfinder it was constant go, go, go. sara still didn't understand why her father had chosen her. she had always felt that he liked scott more between the two of them - scott was the good one, the good soldier, the good person and sara loved him for that. she was the one getting into trouble, who was told to take things more seriously and now the fate of humanity and maybe the galaxy was on her shoulders. ]
Reyes Vidal's favourite Pathfinder. I've been called a lot of things lately, but this is a title I can live with.
no subject
[ he says it lightly. just testing the waters. he still hasn't seen the inside of the tempest, only the sight of its exterior when it lands, and the murky edges of a room holo-projected in their semi-regular comms calls when she checks in— but he's not sure how ryder's crew feels about the woman's seedy smuggler contact. if he'd even be welcome to step foot on initiative territory, such as it is.
if only they knew the half of it. ]
If you ever did show me around, I solemnly swear I wouldn't steal the ship out from under your nose.
no subject
still, a corner of her mouth quirks up in a smirk. ]
That's tempting. I also don't know if you're cute or delusional for thinking you could steal my ship.
this year remains The Most so i remain The Slowest i am so sorry
[ sticky hands, light fingers. he'd been a pickpocket running around underfoot in his earliest days in the slums, filching enough to pawn and help his family pay the bills. a full-fledged initiative-owned survey ship would be a step up... but, yes, a delusional step up. ]
That said, I have zero interest in being gunned down by your friendly krogan or local turian. Something tells me I shouldn't mess with your crew.
[ reyes takes another sip of his drink, and then reaches out to pour them refills, the glasses sliding across the stained counter. ]
If your crew ever did feel like picking up some additional trade transport gigs, though...
[ "trading". oh, it's definitely smuggling. ]
don't be, bc it's the same for me /sobs. can life just CHILL?!
[ she smirks a little about the comment on the crew. she understands why they don't trust him but at the same time she wishes they would. it isn't as if reyes is any less trustworthy than some of the others they've worked with. there were so many secrets within the initiative, sara wasn't sure if she trusted any of them yet. ]
That's probably a wise move. I think a few of them may be waiting for an excuse to shoot you.
[ she raises her eyebrows before she takes a sip of her drink. ]
Why do I get the feeling Tann will be on my ass if I agree.
[ which really might be the reason she needs to agree. it wasn't so much that she wanted to piss tann and the other's off but she wanted them to know that being a pathfinder had never been her choice, it was never something she had wanted to do. and because there was no way out of it she was going to do everything her way, whether they liked it or not. ]
♥
[ reyes is grinning. as if sara hadn’t already complained about the director, on late nights when they’d both had a little too much to drink and her tongue had been loosened, when the initiative’s bureaucracy and straightlaced protocol had been driving her up the wall. it was the wild west out here. nothing about the colonisation had gone as planned. to survive, they all needed to adapt.
and, to that end, reyes had transformed himself.
his fingers curled around the rim of the glass, he surveys her. and then says, a little more seriously: ]
It’s supplies. They need intercepting from pirates in order to go to Kadara instead. You and your outposts can take a cut from what we retrieve.