Will Last Your Entire Lifetime
First Segment: New
Episode One: A New Day
A twelve year old girl ran down the stairs and arrived into the house's living room. Her mother already waited for her on the couch, reading something on a tablet. The little girl hopped on the couch as well, hugging her mother and saying, "Good morning!" The girl's hair reached her shoulders, and was dark red. She looked at her mother, and then her attention drifted to some boxes wrapped in purple paper under a Christmas tree. She knew about the tree, she decorated yesterday with her friend, showing human customs.
The boxes however were unfamiliar to her. There were a total of six boxes, with varying sizes, four in purple, one in green and one in typical Christmas wrapping. The girl looked back at her mother, who nodded and said, "Go on!"
The girl jumped up, then quickly went to the tree, and sat down. Her mother took pictures everytime she opened a box. When the girl opened the last box, it contained a smaller one, not wrapped in anything. The box said Ariake Tech, so the girl could assume what's in it. "It couldn't be…" She said, while carefully opening the box, containing a brand new omni-tool.
"Merry Christmas, Lena." Her mother, Hannah said. The Shepard family unfortunately only consisted of the mother and daughter, Lena's father died before they arrived to the colony of Mindoir. Hannah is working at an omni-tool game developer company, who gave out free omni-tools to workers for Christmas. And Hannah not interested in gaming, gave it to her daughter.
"Thank you!" She said while carefully putting the omni-tool onto a table. Lena and Hannah sat down to a chair, and Hannah showed her daughter how to use it.
"You have to press this button," she said, pointing to the omni-tool, "then have it nearby. The interface should appear." Lena held the small device, and then turned it on. A large orange hologram appeared on her arm and hand, almost covering her skin. Numbers rolled on it until it finished booting, and then the characteristic user interface appeared. Lena slowly touched the hologram, making the interface change. "It also comes with our newest game, they told me." Hannah added, while helping her daughter.
"Thank you, I love it." She said. Lena didn't know her father, because he left Hannah just before Lena was born.
. . .
She was inside something… The walls were made out of cold metal. It took a moment, but she realized she was inside a starship. She looked at herself. She wasn't young, or that young, she was nearly thirty and wore a black hoodie with white and red stripes on the right hand side sleeve. She spotted a familiar figure at the opposite end of the corridor. As she looked at the mysterious female, she felt warmness inside, and a force made her walk closer and closer until she was within an arm's reach. She hugged the mysterious female, just before she jolted awake in her bed.
Although it wasn't a nightmare, Lena felt frightened of something, but she couldn't pinpoint what. Next day was school day, and she needed to sleep, so she lied down, but she couldn't fell asleep.
. . .
It was a Monday in the colony's primary school. A quarian family's daughter went to the same school as Lena. The quarian family was moved from the Migrant Fleet as an interspecies collaboration, where various species visit and live on other's colonies. The first one to arrive on Mindoir was the quarian Vael clan, and as they were the only non-humans on the planet, Lia'Vael had to learn in a human-school.
As she didn't really understand human literature, history, or other things, she asked the most kind person in the class, which happened to be Lena. They became friends, and spent most of their free time together. Today they learned about the start of the Citadel Council Era, so Lena asked for a help on the subject. They talked about it in a class-break.
"So, you're saying that the council was established by the asari and salarians? I thought they're the same race." Lena said.
"No. The asari is the all-female race; the salarians are what your people call, 'greys'." All female race, hm? Lena thinks.
"But the asari was living on the Citadel for nearly sixty years. Why didn't they make a council when they arrived?"
"Have you learned it? The asari didn't have any connection between… city-states. So when the salarians found the Citadel, the Asari High Command was formed to oversee the colonization of the station."
"I see. And they made contact with the volus, elcor, batarians, and hanar and…" Lena said, and she kept thinking of the last race the teacher said. Lia looked at her, and although Lena didn't saw her face, she was looking at her quizzically.
"The quarians." Lia finally said.
"Ah, yes, sorry."
. . .
"Kids, a new teacher will replace me on history classes," said the class's human teacher, "I'll still teach you everything other than history. And now I'd like to introduce you to Oline T'Yeo." The human teacher said, and then an asari walked inside to the classroom through the door. She had deep purple markings on her face, and her skin color was light blue. Lia and Lena exchanged looks.
"Good morning." She said, waving slightly at the class consisting of 21 children. There were 16 girls, and 4 boys, not counting the quarian children.
"Ms. T'Yeo will teach you specifically non-human history, starting today with the geth war, if I recall correctly."
"Yes, indeed, and actually after that, we're going to learn the human expansion."
"Oh, yes, sorry." She said, and then the school's bell rang. The children left the classroom, Lena and Lia went out to the school garden.
"What do you think of Oline?" Lena asked.
"I don't know. An asari will teach us the geth war… I don't know." She answered.
"Why?"
"Many think that we caused it." Lia answered. They went back to the building to history class with the new teacher.
. . .
"So the quarians created the geth, but they turned against them. As the geth is synthetic, they outnumbered the quarians, which made them abandon their homeworld, and live on their fleet, today called the Migrant Fleet."
"So that's why they weren't granted a seat in the council?" Lena asked the teacher.
The asari looked at the young human female, "No, a council seat is granted to those who can defend the galaxy as a whole."
"But the quarians had and have the largest fleet in the galaxy. Larger that the turians'!" Lena argued with her.
"Well, I don't know the specifics, but the turians' help with the Genophage made them an obvious choice."
"I'm glad there isn't a krogan here…" Lena said quietly.
"Can we go on? Thank you." Oline said, and then showed a map of the galaxy on a holo projector. "And then the council closed the quarians' embassy in punishment that they created the geth and let them loose. Since then the Conventions forbid any artificial intelligence research." Said Oline, and the school's bell rang for the last time this week. Everybody flowed out of the classroom, but a group of five children stopped Lia.
"So your people are responsible for the geth?" Someone asked. Lia tried to go past them, but they kept her inside the classroom. Seeing the confrontation, Oline quickly rushed to the group, helping Lia get out.
"Enough!" She shouted at the human children. "You are coming with me to the principal's office; sorry, Lia."
Lia walked away with sadness; her eyes were locked on the floor as she held her books in her three fingered hand. As soon as she steps out of the door, Lena steps in front of her, making her to look up.
"What's up?" She asked.
"Ah, nothing." Lia answered, and looked at the ground; Lena felt the sorrow coming from the young quarian girl.
"Is your invitation to go to your place still holds?" She asked, still looking at the ground.
"Of course. In fact, we should go right now!" Lena answered her. She grabbed the quarian's arm, the started gently pulling her towards the tram which would take them to the district they live in.
They walked to the tram, which took them to the outskirts of the colony. Lia and her parents lived in the same street as the Shepards. The travel with the tram took thirty minutes, and while doing so, the friends watched a movie on Lena's omni-tool about a turian's and a quarian's relationship, the Fleet and Flotilla. It was a perfect choice, Lena always like romance movies.
Thirty minutes later they stepped into the Shepard house. The houses in the street were the same, except their interior. The Vael house's interior walls were covered with carpets, and drawings, opposed to the Shepard house's walls, which were only covered with wallpapers, which seemed a bit dry to her taste.
Hannah was home, watching a movie in the living room. She never met Lia, so she was surprised when Lena appeared with the young quarian in the door. She stood up, and lack of a better shake hands with her.
"Mom, this is Lia'Vael. Lia, this is Hannah Shepard, my mother." Lena introduced her.
"I'm so glad I finally meet with you. Lena told me a lot about you." Hannah said, with a wide smile.
"Thank you." Lia said through her air filter, but Lena was already pulling her toward her room. "Your mother seems nice." Just as she said her last sentence, a furry little thing ran in front of her. Losing her balance, she grabbed Lena's hand to stay on her feet, but instead she made Lena fall as well.
A few seconds passed while Lena lied on Lia. The quarian girl then tried to stand up, and quickly looked around. "What was that?" She asked her human friend.
"Oh, I think Lily found us." She answered her while standing up. Lia quickly looked around in hope to find a person. "She's a cat." Lena added.
"A what?" The quarian girl asked.
"A cat. Little, black and white animal." Lena explained to her.
. . .
Lia left Lena a couple of hours ago. The human girl slept in her bed, but then, something awakened her. She opened her eyes, and then observed the dark room. It was different, so metallic and cold. She pushed the cover away, and stood up. The sudden realize of her height made her loose her balance for a second, but she didn't fall. She heard someone walking outside the room. "Mommy?" She asked, but her voice wasn't that high pitched as she was used to. She had a voice, similar to her mother's but not as deep.
She approached the door, and then opened it by pushing the green holographic interface. The door opened with a hiss, revealing a metallic corridor. Lena saw a female figure walking away from her. "Hey!" She shouted to the person. The mysterious person turned around. Lena recognized the face; it was an asari.
The blue woman walked closer and closer to the human, and was within half of a meter when Lena awakened again to find herself in her room with her mother sitting on the bed.
"I heard you speaking so I came in to see what's happening." Hannah said. She hugged her crying daughter and whispered into her ears, "It's okay, I'm here…"
"What was I saying?" She asked her mother. Hannah released the embrace. Lena looked directly into her mother's blue eyes.
"I thought you called me, but when I arrived you shouted something, like, 'Hey'. And then you woke up." Hannah saw the realization on Lena's face, so she asked, "Could you tell me what were you dreaming about?" Lena just looked out on the window. It was raining, which somehow made the young girl comfortable. "It's okay, you can tell me…"
After long seconds, Lena finally started speaking, "I-I think I dreamt about sleeping here, then waking up on a starship… It didn't make any sense."
"Anything else?" Hannah asked.
"I was older."
"How much?"
"Like Ms. T'Yeo." She said. Although Oline was more than 200 years old, the children believed she was nearly 27; her mother knew it as well.
It was two in the morning, and school started at nine thirty. Hannah was with Lena for a little longer, until the young girl sobbed herself to sleep.
. . .
The next class in school was human history, and it was Lena's turn to help out Lia, but the quarian girl found Lena a little distracted. "Is everything okay?" She asked while they sat on a bench in the school's garden.
"Yeah, everything is alright." Lena answered. "Where did we left off?"
"We learned about… what you call it… Ro'män Empire?"
"Yes, of course; the fall of the Roman Empire."
"There is something wrong with you." Lia said.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please don't lie to me, Lena." Lia said, while touching Lena's shoulders. Lately, any physical contact with anyone made Lena uncomfortable. And to make things worse, a boy from the class, Jordan, seemed to like Lena, and always wanted to find a way to be with her. He was fond of the idea of touching everybody. But Lena didn't felt the same, and maybe she was still very young to truly love somebody, she didn't like any boy from the class; she always tried to befriend with the girls.
"Okay, okay. I had a nightmare last evening."
"About what?" Lia asked curiously.
"Nothing important." Lena said. She was overprotective with her nightmares, and saying this problem to her best friend made her uncomfortable. Not wanting to press on the subject, Lia friendly took Lena's hand, and made her walk back to the classroom.
The class seemed boring for the class, except the quarian girl. She listened to the asari teacher talking about human history like she listened to her mother's stories every evening. She was so hard-working, that Oline gave Lia an A. She was really glad.
After class, Lia wanted to go home with Lena, but she didn't find the girl. She was looking at the long corridors of the school, but the young human girl seemed disappeared. Lia had time to think about the time she lived here, which wasn't long. For the first time she wanted to speak with humans on her native language, which would've been good if the humans would've had translators, so her family had to buy a translator for themselves.
Lena was kind enough to buy her own translator, which allowed Lia to talk with Lena on her native language, and vice versa. Lena sometimes turned her translator off, so she could learn the khelis language from Lia.
Lia's thoughts were interrupted by someone's cries. The young quarian looked around to see where the sound originated from. The cries were deep, probably a human male's. Turning to the right on a corridor, she found the starting point of the crying: a boy, sitting beside the wall, holding his head between his knee, and his arms around his head.
Lia approached him carefully. She put down her books by him, and then turned on her translator. "Hey, can I help you?" She asked quietly yet loud enough for the boy to hear it. "What's your name?"
The boy's head ascended and he looked at the quarian's bright white eyes. "It's Jordan." He answered her.
"And why are you crying?" She asked, sitting down as well.
"It's nothing."
"Don't tell me. There must be a reason, otherwise you won't be crying."
"A girl just rejected me." He said very quietly. Lia wouldn't hear it, but the audio transmitters within her suit amplified the sound.
"And who was that?"
The boy looked down, covering his head again, and quietly whispered, "Lena Shepard."
The children weren't aware that a teacher heard their conversation, and was listening through a door. The class teacher admired the quarian, how could she handle such a situation. She opened the door, and interrupted the students.
"What's the problem, Jordan?" She asked.
"He's having problems, Ms. Clarke." Lia answered before Jordan could.
"And what kind of problems do you have, Jordan?"
The boy slowly stood up, and so did Lia. "Nothing. Can I go?" He asked.
Ms. Clarke thought about it for a moment, but let them go. At the moment Jordan was out of Lia's sight on the long corridor, a message appeared on her omni-tool.
From: Lena Shepard
To: Lia'Vael nar Ulnay
Subject: Sorry
I had to go before you could, I'm sorry. Can we meet at the hill at 6?
Lena
From: Lia'Vael nar Ulnay
To: Lena Shepard
Subject: RE: Sorry
Yes, and I spoke with Jordan, he is really sad. What did you do to him?
Lia
Lia reread the message, and then hit the send button. She hoped the human didn't do anything that harmed him in any ways.
. . .
Lia thought about what Lena could do with Jordan while she walked home. The weather was nice; a little wind blew the trees that surrounded the street. Lia carried several books in her grey shoulder bag. The peaceful environment of the colony seemed more peaceful than the busy life in the Migrant Fleet.
In the fleet, you had to be a productive member of the society. On the colony, it wasn't that hard; children didn't have to work 'till they graduated from school. Lia's thoughts on Jordan drifted to her studies in the primary school. Her most favorite class was history, and inside it, the human part. She loved to hear stories about the great empires the humans used to have. It reminded her the quarian history from thousands of years ago, when they still had a homeplanet.
The thoughts were cut when her three fingered leg stuck in a bump on the sidewalk. She fell forward, right onto her faceplate; books from her shoulder bag got spilled out. Her reflexes made her to turn to her back, and cover her face with her hands. She quickly calmed down when she felt only minor scratches on the faceplate.
A human saw she fell, and he quickly ran to help. "Are you okay?" He asked the young quarian, who tried to stand up.
"Yes, just my leg hurts." She answered. Her leg was swollen, but the suit didn't rupture.
"Are you sure? I can take you home, if you want." The human offered. As they were the only non-humans on the planet, almost everyone knew the Vael family.
"No, thank you, I'm living near here." She answered again. The human looked at her again, and then left.
Lia's books were around her in a circle. She quickly collected them, and then sat down on a nearby bench. The wind blew a little bit stronger as she tried to move her leg. She quickly hissed when she tried to put her hands on the swollen bit. Realizing that she won't make the last kilometer, she turned on her omni-tool to ask for help.
But who to call, she thought. Her parents would be overprotective, so she ended up by sending a message to Lena.
From: Lia'Vael
To: Lena Shepard
Subject: Help
Could you help me? I fell, and I can't walk. Could you come here to help me? I'm sending you the NavPoint.
Lia
. . .
"So how was your day?" Hannah asked as she made some snacks for her only daughter. She was in a large kitchen, separated by the living room with a wall and a door.
"Not good, actually." Lena answered, referring to her tiff with Jordan.
"Why?"
"He admitted that he loves me."
"And that's bad?" Hannah asked smiling. She finished with cutting the palps, a native fruit on Mindoir.
"No. Something happened that shouldn't have." She said.
As she gave Lena the plate, she sat down by her daughter, and frighteningly asked, "What happened?"
"I became so angry that a jolt of electricity hit him. I think it came from me... It hurt." She said. It was hard to look at her mother, because she thought she might be angry because of her uncontrolled actions.
Hannah got into a hard position. She always wanted to tell her daughter the truth, but she never really found the perfect time, but daughter's nightmares, her behavior in the past and now this made her to do it.
"You know," she started, and touched Lena's face, wiping away a tear that has slid through her face, "when I was… conceived with you, there was an accident where your father was working. I was visiting him, but then an eezo tank exploded, as I was walking by the storage room. The doctors said that my unborn child was dead." She had to stop, because tears already formed in her eyes, and her voice faltered.
She took a deep breath, and then continued. "When your father heard that the child was dead, he broke all contact with me. I guess he couldn't live with the consequence that he might've caused all this. I had to go back to your grandparents. When I went in the hospital for the surgery, reports showed that the child wasn't dead, in fact, eezo nodules have been appeared." She had to stop once again, but when she started to continue, her daughter started speaking.
"And that became me." She said, and looked forward.
"Yes. The eezo nodules made that jolt of electricity. If trained these accidents won't happen as well more abilities can be taught. But I thought it would be too soon."
"Well, I guess I always wanted to be a biotic…" She said, and stood up. "I have to think this through. Mind if I take a walk outside?"
Thinking that her daughter will need time to process the information, she agreed. "No problem, but be back for dinner. Bye."
"Bye" She said, then closed the front door.
Lena always dreamed a day when she possessed such biotic powers. She dreamed that at one day, when she will be older, she would help everyone on Mindoir with her abilities. But realizing how painful it is, she just wanted it to go away.
The planet orbiter a binary star: a blue and an orange one. As Lena looked up at the sky, she got lost in the beauty of the two suns. She sat down on a bench in a park near their house, closed her eyes, and let the sun shine her skin. Even the fresh spring winds couldn't suppress warmth of the sunshine.
As she enjoyed the sunshine, she heard her omni-tool chirping, and it blinked online. She opened her eyes, but her vision was blue thanks to the sun shining right onto her face. She needed a few seconds to clearly read the message on the orange holographic interface.
From: Lia'Vael
To: Lena Shepard
Subject: Help
Could you help me? I fell, and I can't walk. Could you come here to help me? I'm sending you the NavPoint.
Lia
Seeing the importance of the message, Lena stood up, looked around, and started to run towards the NavPoint, and replied through voice recognition.
From: Lena Shepard
To: Lia'Vael
Subject: RE: Help
I'll be right there.
Lena
. . .
Lia has been sitting on the bench with her aching leg for a good fifteen minutes, until Lena arrived. She saw the human girl running toward her on the side-walk. Lena's semi-long red hair waved in the wind as she ran.
"Are you okay?" She asked when she was within hearing distance. Lia was still sitting on the bench with her swollen leg extended.
"I don't really know, I can't stand on it." She said, pointing at her leg.
Lena briefly looked at it, but she didn't need a lot of time to tell what happened. "It's broken." She said, and sat down beside the quarian. "Do you want me to call your parents?"
"No. I think they're working, they could not come here."
"Do you want us to take you in the hospital, and tell your parents where you are and what happened?" Lena suggested.
"That would be good." Lia answered. Lena turned on her omni-tool, and called her mother to come there with the skycar.
"Hey," she said.
"What happened?" Hannah asked through the line.
"Lia broke her leg. Can we take her into the hospital?"
"Of course. Send me the NavPoint; I'll be there in two minutes."
"Already sent. Thanks." Lena said, then broke the connection. She turned to her friend, and asked, "What happened?"
"I don't know. My leg got stuck inside something, and I just fell on it. I heard a crack, and then I couldn't step on it."
"Does it hurt when I do this?" She asked, and then tapped gently the swollen part of the leg. Looked like the ankle twisted and the quarian version of the shinbone broke.
"Yes, actually it does." Lia hissed.
"Okay, okay. Can I do anything to help you?" Lena asked. She wanted to help her with anything.
"No thanks. I'm a bit thirsty, so can we go home, to grab something?" She asked.
"Of course." Lena answered, and they saw a blue skycar approaching them. The doors opened and Hannah stepped out from the car. She approached the two girls.
"Oh my god, what happened?" She asked Lia.
"I think I broke my leg. It hurts." She said through the air filter.
"Okay. We carry you into the car, and take you to the hospital. Is that good?"
"Yes, but also, can we go home? I'm thirsty."
"Of course, Lia. Lena, could you help me?" Hannah asked. They helped Lia to stand, so she didn't have to put weight onto her bad legs. After they put her inside the car, Lena went back and grabbed her shoulder bag.
The car ride was silent, as neither Lena nor Lia could talk about anything. Lia's leg got worse as she tried to shift in the car seat. They arrived in the hospital half an hour after they started going. They helped her get out of the car, and carried her into the building.
Inside, they asked for a doctor, but nobody was available who could help a non-human. The head physician had a minute to look at the quarian, and said that she needs to go off world, because the hospital doesn't have clean rooms suitable for operation.
A Systems Alliance lieutenant overheard the talking, and approached the group.
"Hey, I heard what you were talking about. I'm Lieutenant Ernesto Zabaleta. I serve on the SSV Einstein. I think I can convince the captain to take you to the Citadel. We weekly do this route, and take you back when she's alright."
"Thank you. We have to speak with the girl's parents, but I think we accept it." Hannah answered.
"We're going to stay here for another day. What's your message address? I'm going to send you a message if the captain agreed to it."
Hannah told him her extranet address. The lieutenant left them, and they sat down. Hannah sent a message to the Vael family about what happened.
From: Hannah Shepard
To: Feda'Vael vas Ulnay
Subject: Lia
Dear Feda'Vael
Your daughter was hurt when she walked home. Lia and I brought her to the hospital, but they said that she needs to go off world to treat her. She probably needs surgery because she broke her leg.
Lieutenant Zabaleta of the SSV Einstein suggested that he can convince the captain to take us to the Citadel. They take the route every week, so they could take us home for no additional cost.
I think this is the best, but she's your daughter, so if you don't want it, then it's okay. They leave tomorrow.
Hannah S.
"Okay, I sent the message" Hannah said. Lia wanted to go home, but Hannah insisted to take them to their place, until her parents go home. They slowly walked back to the skycar, and flied home.
. . .
"I'm eating an apple. Do you want anything?" Lena asked the young quarian. They were in the house's living room, with Lia lying on the couch.
"I could not eat anything, you know that." Lena certainly knew that, but she wanted to help Lia with anything she could. "But I have a nutrient paste here, somewhere," she said, and tried to touch her hip where the bottles were stored, "but I can't get a hold of it. Can you help me?"
Lena, feeling happy that she can help; walked to the quarian, crouched, and picked up the thin glass cylinder, "Here."
"Thank you." Lia said, and then grabbed the bottle. She opened her helmet's lower portion, which revealed Lia's lips and chin. Lena could just look at it for a second. The most important thing was nothing: it looked like any humans'.
"Wait. Aren't you going to get sick?"
After Lia finished, she closed the helmet, and put away the glass cylinder. "It was just a short connection with air."
Just as Lia said that sentence, Hannah's, Lia's and Lena's omni-tools blinked online with a message appearing.
From: Feda'Vael vas Ulnay
To: Hannah Shepard
CC: Lena Shepard, Lia'Vael
Subject: RE: Lia
Dear Hannah'Shepard
Thank you for taking care of my daughter. We're going to discuss Lieutenant Ernesto'Zabaleta vas Einstein's offer later today. Unfortunately, we're going to go home at some times 9pm. Would it be a problem for you if Lia could stay there for dinner?
Thanks again. I think we'll accept the offer, but again, we need to discuss it.
Feda'Vael
"Your mother answered." Hannah said, and sat up.
"What did she said?" Lia asked her as she tried to sit up, but Lena gently pushed her back, reminding that it wouldn't be good for her leg.
"She sent you the very same message. You'll be staying here for dinner; they're going to arrive home by 9pm." Hannah informed the quarian.
"That's still 3 hours. Bosh'tet!" She cursed. This particular word was one of the first Lena learned, so she giggled upon she heard it.
. . .
A/N: This story will be split up to chapters with 5 000 words, and to larger segments. (As I plan this story to easily be 50 or more chapters) So if you're planning on reading it, please favorite and follow it, as well as review if you have any opinion on the characters, and the whole story. Thanks for reading!