The team regrouped in an orderly fashion, forming a perimeter around the science team as it was evacuated in the first of the two shuttles that were sent out for evac. A pair of members of Team 2 stayed with the science team as an escort and the rest of Fireteam Echo bordered the next shuttle, the Kett threat neutralized over the course of the skirmish, their bodies left out in the dirt. The science team had enough time to extract the data they had been trying to collect or at least anything that was present in the room they had been sealed in, and there was a sense of relief on the short flight back to Prodromos; none of them had expected to survive once the Kett arrived. In their eyes, APEX has proven to be their angels and a proof that the Initiative would do anything to protect their own. Echo came back to Prodromos as heroes, and the team was given the rest of the day off, with a few of the team having to seek medical treatment or equipment repairs to equipment. For Tazen and Sabinus, most of their night was spent writing after-action reports and evaluating members of the team.
 
The next two weeks went by fairly normally, patrols and training drills were the order of the day, and while Echo kept close to Prodromos in case they got called out for another mission, it was usually another team that was called out for minor Kett incursions, but nothing quite as dramatic as the hostage rescue. After the two weeks, the duty roster changed up, and Fireteam Echo was lined up for a return trip to the Nexus for a short shore leave and a new assignment for the team. While the situation on Eos was somewhat stable, there were other regions in the Heleus Cluster that were still hotspots for enemy activity. APEX only had so many personnel and shuttles at their disposal, so deployments could see teams sent across the cluster at a moment’s notice based on necessity. And so, after a somewhat exciting formation of the newest Fireteam, Echo was boarding the next Kodiak shuttle out of Prodromos for the long flight home back to the Nexus. 

The Nexus as it stood now with the resources opened up by [i]Hyperion’s[/i] docking brought new life to the station. Noticeable only by those who had been awake before the arrival of the Human Pathfinder. More noticeably was the Angara ambassadors beginning to pop up on the Nexus as first contact was established. Gossip and word of mouth spread like wildfire, faster than Nexus News could follow up with legitimately sourced news. Any of these hotspots for gossip information were on the docks, the newly formed bar Vortex Lounge and common areas like Cultural Exchange center. Most recently the hottest bit of gossip was the Initiative’s First Murderer case and trial.

Returning back to recycled air and temperature controlled Nexus was a relief to some. Growing used to the arid air of Eos, or growing to resent the harsh conditions. 

Being back to the hub it opened up opportunities for APEX teams to go shopping in the marketplace, catch up with family status whether they were awake or in queue for thawing out. The Hydroponic Gardens saw an increase of security, vocally distraught colonists were beginning to organize there. Many more were, understandably, upset the stasis queue hadn’t sped up with the settling of Prodromos.

APEX personnel had temporary residential blocks set aside for their shoreleave, a place to sleep and have a little privacy. Whatever residence they held before has since changed hands with the shuffling of colonists, the footlocker of their belongings being shipped to Prodromos. Armour and weaponry was checked in at the Militia headquarters. 

How they decided to spend shore leave, the Nexus was open to them. 


[hr]

For the commanders of Fireteam Echo, they weren’t free quite yet and after dismissing the team found themselves down in militia headquarters, sitting in a spartan office across a table from the militia and APEX commander Tiran Kandros. The turian had once been Sloan Kelly’s right-hand man, and since her defection to the Exiles, he had been the one to shore up the lapse in leadership and proven to be an effective and reasonable man for the position. There wasn’t many aboard the Nexus who didn’t approve of his appointment.

The commander’s eyes were dancing across a datapad, his thumb occasionally manipulating one of the controls at the bottom of the device. “I feel a congratulations are in order. First mission with a team you had not had time to train or prepare for combat and comprised of several individuals who had only recently been revived from cryogenics and you end up getting send for an emergency rescue operation without any time for preparation or intel. Aside from a few minor casualties that only required minor medical attention, your team performed admirably. Anything you’d like to add to the report?”

Sabinus shook his head. “Nothing on record. The team’s comprised of individuals who come from different backgrounds and doctrines, nothing standardized for the vast majority of them. This lead to an uneven application of force and I feel a lot of wasted potential. Team One hit the ground hard and engaged the Kett largely as individuals, and I feel communication could be improved. That said, everyone followed orders, and our Angaran Liaison seems pleased with the posting and our methods of eliminating the Kett. I feel that most of our shortcomings can be mitigated through training and familiarity, which should come more naturally now we have all fought together. The Kett were disorganized and seemed like they weren’t expecting resistance or fast response to their provocations, I think we got lucky in that regard. An organized resistance with entrenched hostiles and there definitely would have been more casualties on our end.”

Kandros nodded, looking over to the salarian of the duo. “How about Team Two, Tazen? How would you describe your infiltration team’s performance?”

“Hmmm, how I would describe Team Two’s performance sir?” Asked the Salarian, deliberately echoing Kandros’ question. “From a military standpoint I can say nothing but good things, the team worked well together and we managed to accomplish the mission. That might have been due to the fact that Noratus, Volintis, and Matthews were in the same merc outfit, but I can attest that Noratus seems to adapt quickly enough to working with strangers, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Matthews and Volintis possess the same kind of ability.” Said Tazen, tenting his fingers, before letting out a sigh “However, there are other aspects that worry me.” 
 He debated for a split second as to whether or not to mention Noratus’ change in attitude when the topic that the Exiles might have supplied the Kett with information about the Initiative. In the end he decided against bringing that topic up. “[i]If her Exile sympathies cause us any problems, well, I’ll bring it up with Sabinius before mentioning it to Kandros. I’m sure this can be solved before the issue reaches that point however-[/i]” He thought before the sound of someone clearing their throat brought him out of his reverie.

“Something’s the matter Tazen? You’ve been silent for a while.” Spoke Kandros, the one who had cleared his throat to bring the Salarian infiltrator out of his deep thoughts.

“No, nothing’s the matter sir.” Quickly added Tazen. “It’s just that I was gathering my words on what to say next.” He said, rubbing his forehead slightly as he prepared to breach the next topic. “My worry with team two is that their personalities are too clashing. T’vessi acted insubordinately the moment she was informed that she’d join APEX, though luckily she seems to know to keep her mouth shut when either Sabinius or I are talking. But still, I worry that nonetheless she’s a barrel of gunpowder ready to explode.” Said the Salarian, pausing for a brief second of air before continuing “I say this because I know for a fact that, [b]mid-mission[/b], she got into some sort of altercate with either Matthews or Volintis while me and Noratus scouted ahead.” He said, letting out a sigh. “That’d be all I have to say. Military speaking, they work perfectly. But socially speaking, I’m afraid that there might be multiple fractures that might lead to inconveniences, such as a deteriorating squad morale or even infights among the squad. I am speculating, but I can’t help but shake that feeling.” He said, exhaling out a brief sigh as he stopped his tirade and waited for either Kandros or Sabinius to speak.   


It was Kandros who spoke first. “You’re not the first Fireteam to have issues with unit cohesion, you won’t be the last. APEX, by its very nature, is a reactionary outfit that was assembled in haste with whatever individuals had combat experience and no technical skills we could afford to lose. Unfortunately, unlike any of our home militaries back in the Milky Way, we don’t have the luxury of the resources of proper recruitment and training channels that would mitigate the issues you’ve described. A lot of the pressure is on the Fireteam leaders because you have to lead and train these people without much in the way of support, and hopefully as we establish more outposts and bring more specialists out of cryo, we can start to standardize into a more effective fighting force. That being said, fine work, gentlemen. Be sure to tell your team that they do an excellent job.” He concluded, setting down the datapad. 

The militia commander stood up from his seat, signalling for Sabinus and Tazen to do the same. “Don’t worry about Eos, Fireteams Bravo and India are being deployed in your absence. Bravo’s one of our more veteran outfits, and India are just as new as your team. For you, however, Echo’s being reassigned to Voeld largely on account of your team being one of the few who have an Angaran in the ranks and there’s some goodwill operations we need to start looking after on that chunk of ice. I’m sorry it’s not a tropical paradise, but we all have to do our part. Delta’s run into some issues there and are down a few men, so the situation is far more pressing than back on Eos at the moment. Take three days, logistics will have your team’s equipment prepared for your mission. Dismissed.” 

Both team leaders left the small office and found themselves out in the heart of the operations center once more. Directly across from them was the detention center, communications to the right, and the Pathfinder headquarters where Tann had made his little lair were to the left. Sabinus hoped to never have to go there, he despised the salarian who was the de facto leader of the entire Andromeda Initiative. The uprising and the krogan departing were exclusively Tann and Addison’s fault, as far as he was concerned. 

“Did I ever mention how much I hate the cold?” Sabinus asked, not enjoying the prospect of going to a freezing world that was entirely encased in ice. The Kett could have it, for as much as he cared. He knew that it was a major settlement for the Angarans and a huge strategic world, but he allowed himself a moment of selfishness.

“So, shore leave. What are you going to do?”

“You hadn’t, but I’ll keep it in mind next time. Should I ask the guys in charge of resources an extra sweater or two so you don’t freeze in Voeld?” Joked the Salarian, letting out a short chuckle. However, the next question that Sabinius made caught him unprepared. “Uhhh, read?” He offered somewhat half-heartedly, scratching the back of his neck slightly “Truth be told, I hadn’t really thought of something.” He admitted after a few seconds, chuckling somewhat nervously “It’s embarrassing really, this sort of stuff always winds up happening to me. So, like I said before, I’ll probably waste my time on a book or something, maybe exercise a little.” Mused the Salarian before he shook his head, turning to look at Sabinus “So, what will you do during shore leave?” He asked to the Turian, waiting for his response.     
 
“Better make that a suit of armour over my suit of armour, and I’ll have Tanya retrofit 4 heating units in each of them. I want to be the first person to die of heat stroke on Voeld.” Sabinus replied with a toothy grin. “You should get out, socialize a bit. We’re hundreds of thousands of lightyears from home and everything we have left in our lives are the people on the Nexus and the singular outpost we’ve established. Go to the Vortex Lounge, get people to buy you a few drinks in exchange for the harrowing tales of triumph over the Kett. Me? I’ve barely had time off since getting out of cryo, I’d like to take Tanya out… somewhere. Maybe we’ll throw trash at the Scourge, or she can teach me how to paint badly. I’d like to catch the squad outside of official capacity, get to know them as people and not dossiers with guns.”

Tazen laughed out loud at Sabinius’ joke, a grin spreading on his face “Careful there, or you might end up melting through the ice and falling into Voeld’s ocean.” Retorted the Salarian, nodding slightly when Sabinius told him he should get out a bit. “Yeah, you are right. My whole life’s been defined by the military, be it entering or spending most of my free time trying to find out something that’d get me an advantage in getting into STG, it's about time for me to focus on something else. And, hey, wasn’t that the reason why we came to Andromeda? A chance at something new, to change the status quo.” He said with a wistful smile before he shook his head. “Ah, but we should probably get going instead of waxing sentimentals, no?” 

The turian slapped his companion in the back. “That’s the spirit. Come on, let’s dump our armour and forget that we’re about to freeze to death by the end of the week. First drink’s on me.”