This is my first fanfic, so please give me a few suggestions to make my writing better. With some luck, this can turn into a full series like I planned. This story takes place before and during the events of ME1. So enjoy!
Chapter 1: Life
Jaom'Lehto ran through the decks of the Ghalia. When he recieved word of what happened to Pranae, his mate, he had to see if she was okay. He ran down the Ghalia's stairs, anxious to see her. Jaom finally reached the medical wing, a doctor was already waiting for him.
"Jaom, its good you arrived. We don't know how Pranae was exposed to eezo dust, but she is suffering severe effects from it." the doctor said as both of them walked throught the entrance to the medical wing.
"Is it life-threatning? I want her and the child to be safe." Jaom said, relaying his worries to the doctor.
"So far, we don't know. We have had eezo dust exposures before, but the outcomes of all of them are too varied to give an accurate answer." the doctor responded. The two entered a decontamination room, sterilizing themselves as is the standard procedure when in the medical wing.
"And my child, will he die from the exposure?" Jaom asked.
"That is also something I can't anwser. The best we can hope for is that the child won't be affected at all, but it may be wishful thinking." the doctor said grimly. The decon doors opened, revealing Pranae in bed with a couple of wires connected to her suit.
"Pranae, my dear. Are you okay?" Jaom siad, rushing to her side and grabbing her hand.
"Jaom, you're here. I-I've been better." Pranae said quietly. Jaom brought up his other hand and stroked her visor's side.
"You'll be fine. Just please rest, Drema." Joam said.
"Joam, if something happens, I want you to-"
"No, no. Don't say that Pranae. Everything is going to be fine. Please, how did this happen?"
"I-I dont really want to say."
"Pranae, you can tell me anything. Our hearts our melded. And I love you." Joam affirmed, there was a long silence between until it was broken by Pranae.
"I wasn't going to tell you, but you deserve to know. Even though I bear our child, I've been sneaking off to engineering duties; against your wishes."
"Its okay, you always were dedicated to the fleet."Joam quickly forgave
"On the way to my workstation, a couple of quarians dropped a cargo box. It was filled with eezo dust." Pranae said even quieter. Joam's grip on her hand tightnened.
"The box fell right in front of me, only inches away. All of the dust spilt out. I felt light-headed, nauseous, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was here." Pranae finished.
"How's the child feeling, has anything happened to him?" Joam asked.
"He...I've haven't felt anything since this happened. I-I think... he-he may have-" Pranae said.
"Please, Pranae, don't say anything. The Lehto's have always been a tough breed. He'll pull through." Jaom assured. Pranae weakly smiled under her helmet, Joam always was stubborn, but this was a time when it was needed.
"Even if...even if he doesn't, I know the ancestors will take care of him." Jaom choked. Pranae's smile immediatly faded, Joam always seemed to have an optimistic view on life, and to see him in such a sad, depressed, and vulnerable state made Pranae shed a few tears, made a tiny bit of herself think that they were never going to recover from this. Joam wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Pranae returned the affection with equal force.
"Naktun Vera Malicon Pratse Hequn'lom. Mrantasa'fella ten siero liofo jemte iejen raquen." Pranae whispered
"Liofo raquen." Joam whispered back. The doctor, Hakem, watched the couple throughout the entire exchange. How something as simple as an accident can affect two people so deeply was astounding. The nurse passed a datapad to him and he began reading it. What he read would either bring them joy or total devastation. He cautiously walked up behind the two and lightly tapped Joam on the shoulder.
"Joam, I'm sorry for intruding, but you must leave now." Hakem said just above a whisper.
"What? Why?" Joam said with a mixture of despair and confusion.
"Something happened when Pranae was exposed to the dust, you have to leave now." Hakem repeated.
"I can't leave her, Hakem. I don't want to leave her alone to fight the unknown." Joam defied.
"Joam, this is urgent. We need to take invasive actions now. It could potentially save your child's life." Hakem reasoned.
"Please, Joam, listen to Hakem. If it can save his life we have to do it." Pranae said. Joam looked at both of them and resigned. He turned back to Pranae and gave her one last hug.
"Liofo raquen." Pranae said.
"Liofo raquen." Joam replied. He let go and slowly walked backwards from her. When he reached the decon-room, he patted his chest, where his heart was. Pranae did the same. The doors shut immediatly after, leaving Joam alone with his thoughts...and worries.
"Ancestors, bring our son into our world; let him know what it means to be quarian." Joam whispered to himself.
...
Joam sat on a pipe near Pranae's room. It had been well over an hour since he left her. He was scrolling over the numerous assignments he gave to the engineers on his omni-tool, but his mind was only focused on what was happening beyond the door. Realizing it wasn't keeping him occupied, he closed the assignment window and opened a new one. Fortunately, the flotilla was near a comm buoy, so Joam was able to access the extranet. Even though it lagged and crashed often, it was still considered a luxury for quarians. Joam typed a few commands and brought up the site of Citadel NewsNet. Joam always liked to stay informed about what was going on in the galaxy, even if they weren't a part of it anymore. Sadly, it did nothing to distract him from Pranae. Nothing ever could. He was just about to give up when an article got his attention.
Turians Mobilizing For Full-Scale War Against Unknown Species
The turian hierarchy has announced a declaration of war after one of their units was attacked and destroyed by an unkown race. The unit had conquered the one of the race's territories after it had attacked a small amount of ships attempting to activate a dormant mass-relay. The unit was then beset upon by a larger fleet of ships in a surprise attack. After learning of the attack, the hierearchy had ordered the mobilization of all its fleets. There are no accounts or eye-witnesses of what the race's identity is or even their physical appearence. The council is expected to make a statment today.
A new race? Great, more people to harass and discriminate us he thought. It seemed that once he became worried and depressed, everything would have a negative outcome for him. He shut off his omni-tool and continued to wait. Every fiber in his being wanted this crisis to be over. The doors suddenly opened and Joam practically jumped up from his seat. Dr. Hakem walked through, a datapad in hand.
"Hakem, what happened? How is she? Is my son okay?" Joam said in rapid-fire. Hakem held up his hand as if it would stop him.
"Joam, my friend. Something happened to Pranae." Hakem started. Joam was close to falling on his knees in agony.
"The eezo exposure has caused an infection within her system. She will have to remain in bed for an undetermined amount of time. Joam, it is fortunate that things did not get worse from there." he continued. Joam remained silent, not wanting to believe that his drema was infected.
"And what of my son? You said you could save his life." Joam said quietly. Hakem put his hand on Joam's shoulder.
"Joam, there's no real way to say this, so I'll just say it. You're a father now." Hakem said with a smile on his face. Joam immediatly raised his head and stood straight.
"Wh-what?" Joam said in a disbelieving tone. Hakem put both of his hands on his shoulders and lightly shook him.
"You're a father now." Hakem repeated with excitment in his tone. Joam couldn't believe it. The ancestors had heard his plea.
"Oh, thank the ancestors! Is he okay? May I see him?" Joam asked eccstatically.
"Yes of course, he is with Pranae. Go, my friend. Meet your son." Hakem said, holding his hand out to the door. Joam walked at a brisk pace towards Pranae's room. The doors slid open and Joam stepped inside. The decontamination cycle began, making Joam wait longer to see his son. He could hardly contain himself. The inner doors slid open, revealing Pranae holding their newborn son in her arms.
"Pranae!" Joam said in the most eccstatic tone of his life. Pranae looked up and smiled under her helmet. She motioned for him to come to her side, which Joam was all to happy to oblige. He walked up to her side and looked at his newborn son, sleeping soundly in Pranae's arms.
"Keelah, he looks so peaceful. Its as if the exposure didn't affect him." Joam said as he stroked his son's cheek.
"Let's not talk about that, Joam. Its over now. We must look to the future. To his future." Pranae replied.
"You're right. We have a lot to do. A lot of guidance to give him." Joam said.
"Let's hope he actually listens." Pranae joked. Joam chuckled in response..
"How are you feeling, drema?" he asked. Pranae looked at him and smiled.
"Better than ever." she replied. The baby suddenly opened his eyes, seeing his parents for the first time.
"Look who's awake." Joam said. Pranae looked down and slowly began to rock him in her arms.
"Naktun Vera Malicon Pratse Hequn'lom. Mrantasa'fella ten siero liofo jemte iejen raquen." she said to her son. He smiled in response, showing his teeth that were starting to grow.
"Look at him. He's already growing his teeth. A fine set, the envy of all quarians." Joam laughed.
"What should we call him, Joam?" asked Pranae, looking forward to naming the baby. Joam thought hard about what name his son would bear for the rest of his days. A name finally came into his mind. Joam held out his arms, silently asking Pranae to hold his child. She held him out and Joam picked him up. The boy reached out to his father, the small three-fingered hand trying to grab his visor.
"Klenon. Klenon'Lehto nar Ghalia." Joam whispered. The boy giggled in response.
"I think he likes it." Pranae said, patting their son's head. Joam looked down at Klenon's youthful face.
"You're going to have a long life ahead of you, son. Make the most of it."
