A/N: Just a quick note this series may be a bit slow to update due to my other Mass Effect series and also my other series' that I'm doing probably biting off more than I can chew I know but this idea just won't go away! So without further ado: A Quarian's Tale
It was a loud day as usual aboard the Lavenya, the liveship which served at the rear of the Migrant Fleet. It was one of the oldest ships in the fleet which meant it was almost constantly in a state of disrepair and required maintenance constantly.
Down in the bowels of the ship, near the core, a squad of four Quarians, three males and one female, crawled through the maintenance ducts cleaning and repairing the many parts found within. Due to the tight quarters in the ducts the Quarians had to crawl around on all fours but because of their living conditions they had to adjust to being so near so they managed to fit as many as two beside each other.
The front two were males with a male and female trailing behind.
"Aerz you and Zan keep going. Rana and I will hang back here and fix this fuel coupling." The Quarian male in the back ordered. He was the head of engineering, at least in this section of the ship. His name was Ivea'Liak nar Lavenya.
Zan looked back at Ivea and gave a stiff nod then turned and led his partner off.
"Alright Rana let's-" Ivea began but was cut off by his omni-tool beeping. He looked down and pressed the button to open the comm channel.
"Ivea, one of the air transfer couplings are showing erratic readings. Get someone down there before we kill half the ship." The channel closed. Even though he led this section he still reported to his superior who monitored the whole ship. Just that fact alone was something to admire of the man due to the vast number of systems there were yet he watched them all by himself.
The omni-tool faded away as Ivea tapped his visor a moment bringing a mental version of the ship's ducts before his eyes.
"Rana take duct 13 to 23 to life support and check the coupling seal." Rana nodded and crawled off.
After hours of repairing and monitoring Ivea finally crawled out of the ducts and arched his back with a groan of displeasure. He heard footsteps behind him and looked to see Rana.
Outside the ducts he could finally get a good look at her. She had white armor plates with purple cloths. Her visor was a hazy blue with her bright white eyes customary to the Quarians behind it.
"Rana, what can I do for you?" Ivea asked, turning while wiping some of the grease that splattered on his visor.
"The coupling's fine it was just a faulty sensor, I applied some omni-gel which conveniently enough did the trick." She said which Ivea gave a nod in acknowledgment to. She still stood before him and shifted on her feet which Ivea picked up on immediately. Being inside these suits all Quarians could recognize body language better than any other species in the galaxy.
"What else?" He asked as he brought his omni-tool up and began typing on it, correcting readings and calculating how best to preserve power. Normally doing such a thing in the middle of conversation was very rude but here on the Lavenya Ivea was always trying to find the best ways to improve power distributions and fuel management.
Ivea's omni-tool was not like other omni-tool's. For one it was blue which could be done with any other by changing the settings but what made this one so special is that he had made it himself as a child. His father was the one who went out and found the parts for him and sat over his shoulder the nights Ivea had spent building it. It was the one memory he had of his father who had died later when a section of the ship had collapsed due to a fuel line exploding.
"Well you're always working Ivea and you never take a brake and just put down your omni-tool down and just talk." Rana explained cocking her head to the side and looking down while shifting in place. Ivea looked up blinking and chuckled saving his data and closing the omni-tool.
"Sorry about that just keep finding one thing to improve then another and I just can't put it down." Ivea explained chuckling causing Rana to look up and give a laugh of her own...
"You're the one man I know who does more on this ship than anyone Ivea, you deserve to take a break. Also the Captain has…erm requested to see you." Ivea's body froze over as he blinked.
"M-Me?" He whispered. Rana stiffly nodded. No one saw the Captain unless you had done something wrong. Ivea immediately began running through everything he'd done that week looking for a fault, anything. He could find nothing he had done wrong and swallowed hard.
"I had better get going then, bad idea to make him wait eh?" Ivea weakly said clearing his throat. Rana stepped sideways and motioned for him to start walking. He nodded in thanks and walked down the corridor with Rana beside him.
"I figure I might as well make sure you don't run off." She said chuckling weakly. She knew as well as him that it was always bad to be called to the Captain.
"Thank you Rana I…uh I appreciate it." He couldn't help but be nervous about the whole thing.
Ivea stood up straight as he stood on the bridge of the Lavenya with Rana beside him. The Captain stood with his back to the two with a straight posture and his hand clasped behind him. The bridge itself was filled with Quarians all monitoring the systems that Ivea's superior also monitored. The men and women on the bridge more double checked his reading than anything.
After what felt like an eternity the Captain finally turned to face the two.
"Thank you Rana you may go." The Captain said with a nod to her. Rand nodded in return and offered one final glance to Ivea before leaving the bridge.
"Ivea'Liak greetings, this is indeed our first meeting but I am proud to inform you that today you will board a shuttle that will take you to a destination of your choosing for you to begin your Pilgrimage." Ivea stood in place, his feet glued to the ground and his face with an expression of utter shock.
"I…erm sir may I?" Ivea requested. The Captain nodded.
"I say this with all respect sir but…must I really leave the Lavenya?" He saw the eyes of the Captain narrow, not in anger but confusion so Ivea explained hastily.
"Well I mean…um without me here I'm worried that the maintenance won't be at top condition." The Captain raised a hand up which shortly returned to his back.
"I understand your concern Ivea'Liak but you needn't worry. We've been training someone to take over in your stead and he will begin today shortly after your departure." Ivea contained his shock and stayed stiff. I'm being…replaced?
"Captain I…this is my home!" He couldn't repress his sadness back any longer and almost pleaded to the Captain.
"Ivea'Liak this is the duty of all Quarians who grow of age. Your duty here on the Lavenya is over. We thank you for all you've done for us but now it's time for you to serve the Fleet. You will depart at 16:00 so I suggest you ready yourself. Keelah Se'lai." With that the Captain turned his back showing the conversation was over.
Ivea looked down and felt tears wetting his eyes. He was being forced from his home by a Captain who didn't care about him as an individual. Such was the Quarian way ofcourse. The Admirals cared only for the Fleet not of the individual people in it.
Sighing quietly in defeat Ivea turned and left the bridge. The moment he walked out the door he saw Rana leaning against the wall to his right. She looked down at the ground with sadness evident.
"I heard it all…I can't believe you're being forced out…I'm sorry Ivea." She whispered. The tears were streaking down his cheeks now and he answered with a simple nod.
At last he cleared his throat and said a simple goodbye, "Thank you Rana for…everything." Then he walked off to his quarters. Rana was the one friend he had and now he was being forced to leave her behind.
Once he got to the living area of the ship he looked down the rows of small ten by ten cubes that were shared by three to four Quarians at a time. The only privacy they received was a waist high piece of cloth that hung within the doorways.
Ivea finally located his quarters and swept the cloth to the side and entered. There was no one here because there were still many duties to perform around the ship and the other three Quarians he shared the room with were also mechanics.
Ivea climbed to the top bunk which was his and reached under his pillow. In his hands was the blue M-3 Predator which he had made in his early teens. He had made it where he maximized the damage output while also optimizing the heat management. The only downside was it was a very heavy weapon, meaning any other weapon just couldn't be carried at the same time.
He climbed down with a sigh and took a deep breath. The air was filtered through his mask however and he received only the sterilized empty smelless air. This damn mask…He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him and a woman gasping. He turned and saw his sister Liva.
"Li-" He couldn't finish his sentence before she ran over and hugged him tightly. She was about three years younger than him.
"I haven't seen you in so long! What are you doing here? Sleeping on the job isn't like you…why do you have your pistol?" She asked, her voice suddenly becoming quiet. She knew the answer before he told her but asked anyway.
"I'm being sent out on the Pilgrimage…against my own wishes." Ivea whispered shaking his head. Liva looked down but held him tightly.
"Come back and visit? Message me often or I'll find you!" She warned earning a chuckle from him.
"I will." He whispered hugging her back.
Ivea stood in the doorway of the Kodiak shuttle looking out at Liva and Rana. He gave a final wave before he went inside and took a seat. The door hissed shut and the pilot's voice crackled through the intercom.
"Where do you wish to go Ivea'Liak?" Ivea thought a moment then smiled.
"The Citadel please." His stomach dropped as the shuttle lifted upwards and zoomed out of the Lavenya. Ivea leaned forward and watched the Fleet…his home grow smaller and smaller before they hit the Mass Relay. He sighed quietly leaning back. Well at least this way I could probably get some different nutrient paste. Maybe I could even see a human! Imagine that! Suddenly Ivea grew excited for the coming trip.