Act 2: Migrant Fleet Marine
Chapter 15: 'Bunkies'
Nolta lay in his bunk, going over the 'conversation' he'd had with his father. Looking back at the words he'd used he could admit that he'd been a little strong in his choice of words, but given what had nearly happened- and what had- he still felt justified in his tirade. Perhaps it was all just stress that had made him so angry. Returning to the fleet after months away, leaving his first love, having been nearly killed…
Stress could have definitely played a significant role. He needed something to eat. The quarian pried himself from his bunk and made his way to the mess hall, acknowledging the greetings of his new crewmates along the way.
Rikka guided the Gu Onar into position with the Andras' second docking cradle. Her experience entering the fleet had been largely similar to Nolta's, barring the presence of another being in the vessel asking questions. She had spaced the volus' corpse, a decision she still felt mildly guilty about, but if Thane had been trustworthy, the diminutive pilot had had no next of kin or other family to whom his corpse could be sent.
She'd made the decision to join the Andras long before setting out on her pilgrimage. The warship was commanded by an officer of high standing in the fleet and was a relatively new vessel, only a couple of decades old. The best part was that the warship wasn't fully staffed in civilian assignments, exactly the type of place where a young mechanic like herself would be quick to fit in.
Rikka waited until the compulsory scan was completed before leaving the cockpit of the transport. As soon as the security and quarantine cleared her, she proceeded to the mess hall. The ship's captain stood waiting at the door and offered her a handshake.
"Miss Nall? I saw the ship you brought in. Impressive piece, looks fairly new."
The young woman nodded. "Yes sir. Nine years I think."
"Excellent! How'd you come across it?"
Oh Keelah! She'd been so happy to be on her way back to the fleet, she hadn't anticipated that question. "A uh, accident resulted in the pilot's death, apparently he had no next of kin, so…"
Captain Tenga nodded understandingly. "Nothing to be ashamed of Miss. Better we get it than some vorcha. 'Sides, I came across my pilgrimage gift the same way. 'course, that was on Omega…"
Rikka sensed his smile.
"So, you want to join the crew of the Andras?"
She nodded. "Yes sir."
"Good." The approval in his voice was easy enough to pick up. "Had a brief chat with your folks during the ship scan, your old man says you're good with repairs. You plan to work mechanical?"
The young woman offered another nod.
"All right, then. Welcome to the ship, Rikka'Nall vas Andras. I'll show you to your quarters."
Nolta hadn't even made it off of the crew-deck when the ship's captain came around the corner, leading a shapely female quarian very much his junior. He was tempted to arch an eyebrow at the sight, but thought better of it. It was his first day aboard and he had no need to cause trouble. To Lae's dismay, the Captain did not simply pass by, but actually stopped.
"Ah! Nolta! Good thing we ran into you here. This is Rikka'Nall vas Andras, She showed up a few minutes after your father left." He chuckled. "Almost like the two of you planned to end up on the same ship." He winked at Nolta, evidently convinced that his two new crewmates had some history. "Anyway, since you have an empty space in your quarters, I figured I'd station her in the same bunk, if you're all right with that…"
Rikka felt her cheeks warm. Even though they were all in their environment suits, she felt as embarrassed as if she were totally naked in front of the whole fleet. It had never crossed her mind that she might be asked to share her quarters with a male quarian, let alone one who was quite so tall and obviously… …fit…
Such arrangements weren't rare, in fact, bonded couples almost always lived in the same bunk, but she hadn't even met this man before. From the looks of it, he could snap the captain in two, or her for that matter.
"Mess Nall." The tall quarian whom Captain Tenga had identified as Nolta gave a respectful dip of his head. He looked over to the captain. "I was jest on m' way te th' mess hall. Ef y' rather I show her t' her quarters…"
"No, that'll be fine, son."
Rikka stopped just inside her new quarters. Evidently, the young man with whom she would be sharing her room had either just arrived or preferred little in the way of decoration. All four walls were bare, excepting a double bunk along the front wall and a simple synthetic table mounted in the far left corner along with two fold out chairs. The only privacy given to the twelve by ten square was afforded by a large cloth suspended across the doorway by a simple metal pole.
Besides her sidearm, she had no real possessions to put away, so she decided to lie down in the bottom bunk. Having nothing else to do for the day, she decided to surf the extranet for something to read.
The Andras was a big ship, boasting a crew of nearly three hundred plus garrison. It was the garrison that he hoped to eventually join. Like most quarians, Nolta could be referred to as a jack of all trades, though to a lesser extent than the majority of his brethren. However, his true talent lay in combat. While he was unable to surpass more than a handful of the Ichtome's crew in any given task, it was the one respect in which none of them even came close. Even when pitted against multiple opponents in various combat aptitude evaluations, he had not only come out on top, he often did so without taking any hits.
Nolta walked into the mess hall where he was met by even more welcoming glances. As he approached the food counter, he couldn't help but wonder how many aboard the vessel knew about his gift or his combat ability. While social protocols dictated a certain air of special cordiality to new crewmembers, he couldn't help but wonder if their seemingly overenthusiastic expressions were the result of news of his abilities leaking aboard. Perhaps that was why Captain Tenga had been so eager to have him aboard.
The quarian momentarily pushed these thoughts from his mind as he grabbed a favored nutrient paste tube from the rack and turned back towards his room. What about his bunkmate? With a shrug of his shoulders, he grabbed another tube from the rack and made his way back to the crew deck.
Rikka'Nall vas Andras… Where had he heard that name before? Rikka wasn't a terribly uncommon name in the fleet, but that wasn't it. Nall… Nall… His father had worked with Siiro'Naleas vas Yalta on a diplomatic issue, but that was the closest name he could think of to his new bunkmate. Still, in the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd heard that name somewhere.
Nolta made his way to the cubicle and knocked on the wall next to the cloth door. Rikka emerged from behind the curtain a moment later. She looked at him for a few seconds before stepping to the side. Lae entered the room and offered her one of the tubes of nutrient paste. He noted her arched eyebrow by the shape of her eyes behind her mask and proceeded to answer the unspoken question.
"I dedn't know ef you'd be hungry so I grabbed a second 'un. Ef y' don' want et, I can take et back te th' mess…"
She shook her head dismissively and accepted the container. "Thanks."
Nolta walked over to the corner table and opened one of the folding chairs from the wall. The seat was little more than a small board with a diminutive backrest, which, when compared to Nolta's much-larger-than-usual frame, resulted in a rather humorous spectacle. Rikka was barely able to stifle a chuckle as he took his seat.
The young woman waited a moment after Nolta had begun his meal to pull out a small UV decon unit and run it across the top of her food tube. Once the item had been sanitized, she methodically inserted the tube into the specialized receptacle on the bottom of her helmet and took a long pull of the creamy mix. Sharp cinnamon flavor spread across her tongue and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. How long had it been since she'd had an actual puree?
Nolta turned to her after swallowing a mouthful of his meal. "So, what was yer pelgremage geft?"
Rikka started and very nearly hit the top of her head on the bunk above her. "Oh- uh, sorry, I… A ship. How 'bout you?"
"Coupl'a metrec tons 'o eezo." He shrugged and took a small pull of nutrient paste. "What kind 'o shep?"
"Nothing much, just a transport. Hundred odd meters."
He roommate nodded. "Tha's a respectable size. Certainly a lot more enteresteng than a bunch o' eezo."
"I guess."
Neither said anything else after that. Once both of them had finished their meals, Nolta took the tubes back to the mess hall to be cleaned and refilled.
Standard protocol for pilgrims was that they get eight days to rest after returning before they had to seek out an assignment on a new ship. If a captain's ship was understaffed, the options open to a new crewmember tended to be quite varied. Military ships tended towards the opposite end of the spectrum, often having too many workers in proportion to their respective workload.
While military captains often ran their ships with greater discipline, it was fairly rare that a quarian military vessel would actually have to engage a hostile force. Quite often, the sheer size of the fleet was enough to intimidate any malicious craft. Despite the lack of action, combat vessels usually received first pick of new crops produced on the liveships.
This favoritism extended to components and resources as well, after the oldest and largest ships received their replacement parts, military craft and scout ships were next to pick from the new lots. It was this preferential treatment that tended to encourage returning pilgrims to join such vessels. The Andras was unique among most combat vessels in the fleet in that it tended to have a slight bit of extra space in terms of population.
Nolta woke up the next morning wondering if he had, on a subconscious level, chosen the Andras for that very reason. It only took a moment of genuflection to dismiss that notion. He'd chosen the Andras long before going on his Va'seras*, too long ago to have known if it's population density would change. He shifted his attention to the ship itself. The dull tan walls of the bunk room were decidedly bland, but that was to be expected. The ceiling above the room was covered in pipes and mesh nets. Multitudes of crates and coils of tubing rested in these slings, only a few feet above the walls of the cubicles.
Nolta was soon wandering the ship, absentmindedly taking in the layout and uniformly boring bulkheads. For the most part, the crew seemed busy, occupied with whatever tasks their daily assignments mandated. A few offered him casual waves as he passed by. After a few more minutes of walking, the quarian found himself on the military deck of the ship, not thirty feet from the sparring ring. He watched with intense focus as two young men about his age fought, dodging, punching, weaving, kicking and blocking with somewhat awkward and unrefined movements.
The sparring master noticed the new spectator and called for the match to stop. "So, you're one of the new crewmembers?"
Nolta offered a dip of the head. "Aye. Nolta'Lae nar- Vas Andras nar Ichtome."
The trainer let a smile creep across his face and extended his hand. "Pen'Sul vas Andras, Sparring master and combat trainer." Genro had told him to evaluate the young man in the ring, but hadn't given any specifics as to the time.
"How'd you like to give it a go?"
Lae shrugged. "I don't see why not." Now he would have a chance to test his biotics without any life-threatening repercussions. The young man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Unnoticed by Pen, a soft blue glow began to illuminate Nolta's right hand.
*Pilgrimage
Author's Note: Rikka and Nolta were originally supposed to meet in an entirely different fashion. Nolta was going to be assigned to a mission to rescue a stranded scout team (that much may yet stay the same, not sure.) of which Rikka had been a part. As it happened, the story just kind of… decided to go another direction. All for the best though. It will allow for some more believable interactions later on.