Chapter 1
Ysa tried to find work on the Citadel, offering her knowledge on cooking and all kinds of grocery and herbs to restaurants and hotel kitchens. She'd do anything, and if it were just washing the dishes for a start. She even tried asking the gardeners who kept the citadel parks tidy if she could help weeding. But for the first week, time and again she got rejected, insulted and evicted.
'We don't hire suit-rats!'
'Don't even look at the cash box, or I'll hand your rubber butt to C-Sec!'
'A quarian in our kitchen? You'll poison our customers!'
'You sure look like you've been diggin' dirt all your life. Get lost, filthy brat!'
'You're a quarian, why don't you go find work in engineering and repairs?'
Just one week, and Ysa was already getting desperate. The balance on the credit chit she got on the fleet for the start of her pilgrimage was quickly melting away, just for the ridiculously expensive little room, or rather 'sleeping box', she had rented in the lower wards. If she couldn't find work soon, she'd have to sleep in the streets and then likely to be prosecuted for vagrancy by C-Sec, she thought grimly.
Neria Tenakis, at that time still preparing and gathering her team for the expedition, sat in a salarian restaurant in the upper wards and overheard the quarian girl's pleas for work and being rejected once again rudely by the indignant salarian manager. Without even hesitating Neria waved Ysa over.
"Hello? Yes you, young lady! Come over here! Good afternoon, I am Dr. Neria Tenakis, University of Serrice. I overheard you are looking for a job? You know how to cook? I am an archaeologist, for my next expedition I need a cook who can do levo as well as dextro kitchen."
Neria had, for an asari, very stern facial features and a dark blue skin. At first glance, she appeared almost intimidating to Ysa, but her expression was just warm and friendly. Still, Ysa was almost too stunned to reply.
"Umm... Yes, Madam, I can. I mean, it was also part of my training. My name's Ysa'Dahan nar Shellen and... but... I'm not a real cook by profession. I am a gardener. Or maybe in your culture it's called a farmer. But it's different... Back on the flotilla we're called gardeners. I worked on the Shellen, one of our big liveships, and I was responsible for maintaining hydroponics, automated or otherwise, raising and harvesting crops and the herbs to prepare food like nutrient paste. To make it taste like something, or anything at all. The hydroponics are mostly automated, so preparing nutrient paste was also part of my job, but not exclusively.. Erm.. what I mean, I can cook too, I have good experience with turian cuisine which is quite popular on the flotilla, as we're not always just eating paste there. And, ah, well... Part of my preliminary training for the pilgrimage was cooking various foods for levo-amino-chiralty as well. But, you know, as I can't eat those, or even taste them without risking an allergic reaction, I can't guarantee the taste is decent, I can just stay as close as possible to the recipes, of which I have quite a large collection on my omni-tool, asari kitchen, salarian, human and various cultural subcategories of each... Um..."
Ysa watched her feet and didn't know if she should apologize for her continuous confused rambling. But Neria just looked at her with a friendly smile and let out a little laugh.
"Don't worry dear! On our last expedition we just had dried and canned ration packs for months! The cook quit, because he could not stand that planet's climate. Now, how about you come to our ship tomorrow afternoon and cook something for the crew and my team? And if no one complains, you are hired! Our expedition will go to a still uncharted planet in the Attican Traverse and last about 4 months. Within standard hour shifts you will be cooking, cleaning and helping around, but nothing out of the ordinary. I can pay you 70 credits per day, plus board and food, of course."
Ysa was completely baffled, "Th..Thank you, Madam, that's very... Thank you so much, I won't disappoint you!"
"Just call me Neria and stop shaking, girl! See you tomorrow at 1800 Citadel time, our ship's the Ardelaza, it is docked in sector 14-B. Don't be late!"
Ysa couldn't believe her luck on that day, and even less the next day, when the crew was actually satisfied with her cooking.
Some days later aboard the Ardelaza, a small but convenient asari freighter, Ysa worked towards the shift's end in the mess hall, cleaning up the tables after dinner. The crew had left for their cabins and sleeper-pods, but Dr. Tenakis was still sitting there by herself, pensively studying a data pad displaying the hanar's legends about the protheans. Ysa couldn't help standing there, staring at her for a moment, hesitating.
"Do you have something on your mind, girl?" Neria asked slightly amused, without looking up.
Ysa coughed awkwardly, "Erm. I apologize for staring, Madam. I was just wondering... Um.. Why do you treat me so well? That's... not common. Towards a quarian, I mean..."
The asari smiled at her and put down the pad.
"Come here, take a seat, please!"
Ysa hesitated once again for a moment, but then put the dishes on the counter and quietly took seat opposite to the asari, who chuckled at the girl's reluctance.
"Now, where to start? First off, I am always trying to judge people by what they do and not of what species they are. And in my 400 years of life, I think I have developed some good sense if people are trustworthy or not." Neria stated matter-of-factly.
"And just recently a former student of mine, her name is Liara, wrote to me about a quarian she is working with. She told me what a nice person that girl is, and said she would never again prematurely judge quarians by their questionable reputation." She snorted quietly.
"Well, she is young, just about 100 now and does not know that I myself do not need to be reminded of that. Would you like to hear the story, or are you falling asleep already?"
Ysa's white glowing eyes widened behind her faceplate, "Hmm. Oh, a story? Y-Yes, why not? I mean, sure I'd like to hear it!"
"Alright then, you mind getting me a drink? There is a bottle of thessian rainflower liquor in that cabinet over there. You get yourself something to drink too, if you like."
"Of course!"
Swiftly Ysa went to bring Neria her drink and got herself a little bottle of a rare quarian softdrink she had bought back on the citadel. Neria took a sip of her liquor, leaning back, contemplating.
"I remember a time, when I was just as young as Liara is now. Three hundred years ago... Quarians did not have to wear those suits," She pointed at Ysa "and were a respected people. And I found myself in love with a dashing young quarian archaeologist."
"You're kidding me!" Ysa blurted out.
"No, I am not, young Miss Dahan nar Shellen! His name was Sal'Kezah vas Benyat and he was quite a nice and handsome guy. Oh, and brilliant too."
The quarian tilted her head to the side, "Vas Benyat... Benyat? Was that a ship or.. Ah! That was a city on Rannoch, wasn't it?"
"Yes it was. I saw it. I walked within it's parks and alleys with him."
Ysa's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of her helmet.
"Keelah! You've been there!? On Rannoch? Wow, I... I can't believe it!"
Neria gave the stammering girl a sincere laugh.
"I know, to you it certainly sounds like some fairy tale. But back then, visiting Rannoch was just completely normal, like visiting Illium, or Palaven. Of course I visited my fiancé's homeworld. I may still have some pictures around somewhere I could show you."
"Wow, yes! I'd really like that! Oh Keelah Se'lai! I wish I could see it with my own eyes, someday. See the gardens of my ancestors' homeworld. The flowers, trees and plants. I had to learn all of those, even though they're just a distant memory for us. So weird, having to study Rannoch's flora from old books, it felt kind of pointless. We couldn't take all that much with us, only what was needed to survive, staple food and some herbs. But everything else, all that beauty, gone and lost. With no one to behold it, but the geth. Oh..!" now she realized, "It was 300 years ago, when... the geth."
Neria frowned sadly and nodded slowly.
"Yes. It was that time. He wanted to stay. To fight for his homeworld. I wanted to stay there with him, to fight at his side, but he would not let me. He... forced me to leave. He promised to come back to me after the war. But... he did not."
"He.. was killed?"
"Yes he was. Along with those billions of your people." Neria closed her eyes. A tear welling up. "I am sorry. It is so long ago. But remembering it still hurts, you know. I still miss him, after all those centuries. I will never forget him."
Ysa was on the verge of crying too, but pulled herself up.
"I'm sorry! It's my fault! I brought up those memories to you. Just... I'm really sorry!"
Neria faintly smiled again.
"Don't be. It is not your fault. I actually feel better. I buried all that in my mind a long time ago. But being asari, with my long life, it is important for me to remember from time to time where I came from. It is good, being able to talk about it to someone who can understand. Most people nowadays just blame you quarians, saying that you deserve your fate. But, by the Goddess, I know you don't! That I know for sure, that your people did not deserve that!" she said with a rising, assertive voice.
Ysa found herself in an awkward position, slightly disagreeing.
"But it was our mistake! The geth defended themselves. They were sentient and we tried to kill them! We had to pay for that mistake!"
"Don't talk like that, child! You did not see what happened back then!" Neria chided, her eyes narrowing, agitated. "Don't you tell me that what the geth did, was in any way justified! What your people did, was trying to shut down what they thought to be merely malfunctioning machines! The citadel council itself issued the urgent directive to shut them down! Your people had no damned choice! And the geth in return... They murdered everbody! Civilians! Men, women, the children... All those innocent children! Sentient? The geth showed no compassion or mercy at all! Self-defence? Nonsense! You were a people of FIVE BILLION SOULS! All that was left were a mere seventeen million. That was genocide! I could not do anything but witness it from afar. It was a massacre. It was carnage. The oceans of Rannoch turned red from their blood! Your people have every right in the universe to hate the geth!"
Her voice trembled.
Ysa was shocked by Neria's outburst and felt herself dwindling in her chair.
Timidly she replied, "You're right, I wasn't there. I can't imagine it at all. It's... too much to even try. What do I know? To you, I must appear like an ignorant infant. I just wish there could be some hope for... peace. And hate won't get us anywhere..."
Neria sighed deeply and her expression softened.
"I am so sorry, child. I did not mean to scold you. You have a good heart, Ysa. And that is what sets us apart from them, the synthetics. Always keep that in mind. And always follow your heart, it is the source of your wisdom."
Ysa felt a little embarrassed and didn't quite know what to reply.
"Um.. Thank you, Madam Neria. I feel honored, that you shared this with me. I..."
"It is all right, child. I have to thank you, for listening to this old woman's ranting. It is late, go and rest."
Neria got up and turned to the elevator. Ysa got up, too and nodded.
"Yes. Thank you again.. I'll finish cleaning up first. Have a good night, Madam."
"It's just Neria, remember?" she turned halfway, "Sleep well, my dear."
The other day, Neria invited Ysa to show her old pictures of Rannoch to her. Of course Ysa had already seen a lot of old photos and vids from Rannoch in school, but back then, it felt distant and unreal. But this time, seeing Neria - the woman sitting just next to her! - in them, she experienced a strange new sensation of connection, of reality. One of the photos depicted a younger Neria and her unmasked quarian fiancé Sal'Kezah in some kind of roof-terrace restaurant. At their table, serving beverages, stood the waiter. A geth. The couple looked so happy. Unaware. Unsuspecting. It sent a cold shiver down the quarian girl's spine.
