The ride to the farm was too quiet, as if I could hear the sadness radiating from Tali's poor soul. She asked, "Did my people really do all that?"
Legion replies "Organics have a natural tendency to exaggerate or embolden stories of any kind. The programs in this platform were written long after the war, however our records do show contamination of food supply and breeding programs did occur."
"I can't believe they actually tried to replace the population with AI. What did they expect to happen? Everyone to starve to death?" I asked rhetorically.
"Yes" Legion said.
"Seriously? Why didn't they kill them or spread a plague?" I asked.
"They were too cheap to spend the money. Quarian immune systems are different for humans. It likely would be ineffective and if it had no guarantee, it wouldn't infect the controllers as well. Their arrogance was their downfall" Legion said. I can feel Tali becoming upset at our conversation.
I said "Hey Legion, why don't we take turns talking about the things we love most about Tali. I'll start. Her kind gentle soul" Tali's hug steadily tightens.
"We do not yet possess a flow generator, but we are grateful for Tali's willingness to be friendly towards this platform. It took bravery on her part to do so. We admire that" Legion said.
"Alright I see what you guys are doing" She said.
I ask "Do you want us to stop?"
"... No. I think I need this" Tali said. Legion and I go back and forth all the way to the warm. I even said some things I didn't realize I loved about Tali. Like the way she slightly makes circles when she talks to me or her noises when she eats my cooking.
Legion stops the carts and tells us we arrived. Tali and I are in the back of the cart, out of view of a male talking to Legion.
"Hey Geth. How was your trip? Did everything go ok?" he said.
Legion answers "Difficulties arose and unexpected beneficial opportunities. This platform established friendly relations with several individuals of differing species. We like to introduce you to them."
"Well don't just stand there. Bring them out" an excited middle aged woman's voice said. I take this as our signal to exit the cart. I jump from the cart and splash some mud on the bottom of my jeans. I take Tali's hand and help her unload onto a pile of gravel. The first thing we see is an open field. Large round barrels of hay. One has a cartoonish face painted on the side. The fence is bright red wooden beams with barbed wire on top.
Tali and I walk around and meet three quarians. The oldest one is a 5'6" stocky man with salt and pepper hair. His aura is one of confidence and strength. Our extreme masculinities work well together. A woman close to his age wears a long slightly brown dress with small red flowers. Her hair is a dirty strawberry blonde. Her warm friendly smiling is relieiving. In the middle of them is a teenager in blue overalls, a straw hat, and resting his hands on a shovel.
The husband walks up to me, not even coming up to my neck, but he is intimidating. His aura is one of strength from a life of hard labor. If I didn't have my abilities, I would be concerned for my wellbeing. He holds out his hand, covered in cuts and scrapes. I shake it and his grip is the hardest I ever felt. He must think the same because there is this instant respect between us, until he recoils.
"Oh lord that feels unnatural" he said.
"What?" I asked.
"Sorry, I don't mean to offend, but those extra fingers feel so weird. Why do you have so many?" He asked.
I'm starting to remember what Garrus must have felt when we first met. I'll give him a call later and apologize. Feeling self-conscious of the number of fingers is a weird thing.
"It's just how my race evolved. My name is ********* and this is my girlfriend Tali" I introduced her. Tali is nervous, unable to speak, waving her hand.
The manly man's man quarian said "My name is Raon, this here is my other half Karla, and this is one of our boys Bran" He said.
Karla is extremely friendly, she comes up to me with no fear, pulling Tali and I into a hug "no need for any of these awkward whatsyamacallits. Relax and welcome to our home. I love your suit cutie. Feel free to take it off anytime if you'd like."
"What are you? Your species is new right?" Bran asked me.
I answer "Yeah we haven't been exploring the galaxy long. 60 years I think. I'm called a human."
"Are you the ones that like to shove sticks up their butts? Boy hide the shovel" Raon said.
"I don't shove anything up there. Wait, how do you even know that rumor?" I asked.
"We keep tabs on the galaxy" Raon said.
"How? Do you have omnitools?" Tali asked.
"Who needs those stinking pieces of junk. The geth monitor those things and report back what is interesting in the newspapers. Saw the citadel was attacked by the heretics a while back. Shame what happened" Karla said.
"What are newspapers?" Tali asked.
"Oh I used to have those growing up before everything went digital. Back then that is how we got our news. They would print it out on paper and deliver it to us in the morning" I explained.
"That is crazy. What do you do with the paper afterwards?" Tali asked.
"The kids use it to make sculptures, or I make disposable pots for our seedlings. The rest we burn" Karla said.
"BURN?!" Tali screamed.
"Yeah. Either for campfires or if they have one, use it in the wood stove. Do you guys have those?" I asked.
"For emergencies or just to heat the house when it gets really cold. Season will change in a couple months. Usually we use the electric stove. But I prefer to smoke everything when I can" I like this man.
"YOU HAVE FIRES IN YOUR HOMES?! How is it still standing?" Tali asked.
"Tali, the fire is contained in a controlled metal box and the smoke funneled through the roof. What is the problem?" my eyes look at her like she is a fifth wave feminist.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to criticize, but on ships, a fire is a very bad thing" Tali said.
"If a candle traumatizes her, you should show her the forge. It makes metal glow red" Karla teases.
Raon says "This shouldn't have to be said but I'll say it anyway. We have no problems with you people. In our book, your forefather's got what they deserved, and you are not them. There'll be nothing if you start nothing. Otherwise let's have a good time. How long you plan on staying?"
Legion answers "three sunsets."
Karla is upset "well that's barely enough time to get to know one another."
Legion explains our circumstances. The trip will be short. Shepard is unlikely to extend our visit as we really need to head to the citadel for repairs. Ken and Gabby are double timing it while we are vacationing. Legion, Raon, and Karla are discussing something when my attention is caught. My eyes widen and sparkle like a child.
"SPACE HORSEY!" I run up to the fence, waving my hands to get its attention. Its morphology looks exactly like an earth horse but the coloring is beautiful. Dark as the black hole I visited, painted with silver giraffe pattern on it's hind legs turning into lines that run sigmoidal into its thick braided mane. It comes closer to me. Yeah animals love me. I can tell it is well taken care off. No boogies or eye crusties are visible. You a good horse? Yeah you are a good horse. You deserve lots of love.
Oh ancestors I hope ********* doesn't get himself hurt. Should he really be doing that? It looks alot bigger than in the movies. What if it kicks him?
Mr. Raon Kelts is surprised the horse came up to *********. He mentioned 'She normally hates strangers', yet she is rubbing her long nose up and down my bond mate's chest and he is loving it. I kind of want to go up to it but am too scared. Maybe tomorrow. Mrs. Karla Kelts said she'll start making dinner soon. I couldn't believe what I heard. I'm actually going to have a real meal. *********'s food is good, but this will be real quarian food, from ingredients made from Rannoch. I don't even know what I'll like.
Mr. Raon Karla calls ********* away from the horse. He asked what his secret was and my cherished said 'animals love my energy.' My eyes look every which way to encompass it all. The home is huge and made of wood logs. This family must be rich, to have all this land and wood everywhere. There is so much. Doctor Chakwas did say it could be beneficial for my health to be exposed to my planet and gave me anti-inflammatory medication in case my immune system overreacts. The real reason I'm considering taking my suit of is because I want to feel like a normal quarian. Not the admiral's daughter. Not the lone quarian on a human ship. Just a normal girl. It feels taboo even thinking of showing my face to someone not my bond mate, but it's normal here. ********* will understand. Afterall his cute face is visible to all the other girls. It is only fair I have one day to myself.
I stop at the bottom of the hill, looking outwards on the field and animals. I tell them I want to smell Rannoch and they look slightly panic. Not in a terrified what will happen way but should we stop her way. I don't care. I need to know the scent of my home world. I remove my mask and take a big inhale of my home.
Cough. Cough. I quickly throw my mask back on. Oh NO! This disgusting scent is still there. How can Rannoch smell so horrible? The quarian family and ********* can't control themselves and laugh at my discomfort. Karla explained the wind carries scents and we are downwind of the manure field. Rotting animal poop. I asked how they aren't throwing up breathing it in. They said I'll get used to it.
I feel so embarrassed and sad my first real moment on Rannoch was a negative experience. Karla promises her cooking will make me feel better. Raon and ********* start talking about forging, the art of shaping metals into tools or weapons. ********* leaves with him to show him how to make a karambit. A claw-like blade that can spin. I think they hit it off. Karla welcomes me inside her house. She asked me to wipe my feet on the mat to prevent dirt from coming inside. That must get annoying, having to clean the bottoms of my feet every time before I come in. I'm polite and do so.
Oh, Keelah these people must be super rich. Even the furniture and cabinets are made of wood. Karla shows me the cutting board and it is made of wood. She used wood to cut her food on. Wood. The knive handles are made of wood. She uses wood spoon to cook. Expensive wood is everywhere. Her house is huge, the wooden dining table is long enough to seat a dozen people. I compliment her beautiful home. She blushes. Is that what I look like to *********?
Karla cooks and I just watch her. I can't do much except get out of her way. Karla tells me about her and her family, how she met Raon and decided to start a family. I ask so many questions about living on Rannoch and she asks me what living on the migrant fleet is like. My suit and everything. I tell her and she is saddened. I'm too fascinated by her stories to care. One of Karla's daughter comes from downstairs and is holding the cutest little baby quarian. First I assume it was her granddaughter, but Karla explained it was hers. I can't believe she has three kids. On the ships we were only allowed two at most which was very rare. Then Karla shocks me saying she has eleven kids.
I can't even imagine having eleven kids. Where would you put them? How much do you need to feed them? Would I even want eleven kids if I could. Would ********* want eleven kids? He mentioned he liked the idea of having two boys and two girls so everyone would have a brother and a sister and the idea is getting me light headed. I sit down to catch my breath. Karla was concerned I was getting sick and I just had to process everything that was going on.
Dinner took a long time to make since nine ten of us will be eating. Several of her older children have grown and have families of their own nearby. Raon and ********* come back with a crude blade that requires more work, but Raon is intrigued by the design. I tease ********* that maybe one day we could live on Rannoch and have eleven kids ourselves. He grew white as a ghost. He yells "ELEVEN! How do you even make that many?"
Raon says "Lots of cold winter seasons."
I ask ********* "What is the matter? Wouldn't you want me to have a dozen of your babies?" He slightly smiles and blushes.
"I think that is too much for me. More than one but not nearly that many" he said.
Karla asks "are you two thinking of putting five fingered buns in the oven?"
********* explains we can't because of our biologies. It wouldn't work.
Karla feels bad she brought that subject up. It is not her fault, and we knew going into this it couldn't happen. Raon offers to help. I recoil at the thought. Noooo. I want to carry little *********s inside me.
********* asks me if I even want children. We never talked about this. It feels weird to discuss this. We love each other deeply, but with the Reapers and our different biologies, it is just a lot to think about later. I tell him the truth "at first I didn't want any. I thought it was horrible to bring a child into the place I lived, but after you showed me how good life can be… yeah... I would want to give someone else this gift if I could." Karla and her daughter, Samma awws. Samma mentions surrogacy.
********* sarcastically asks if I would be ok with him sticking his wedding vegetables in another garden. I shot that idea down like a geth jumper with my shotgun.
Raon says we can always adopt. ********* replies "no I love Tali so much; I'll need more parts of her in little forms." I can hear my ovaries screaming no begging for this man. If only.
Karla says "either way you'll need energy. Let's eat. MY BABIES! DINNER!" More of her children come into the kitchen from all directions. Legion introduces us while we set the table. It is so weird seeing children not in their bubbles. Raon sits at the head of the table. Karla to his right and ********* to his left. Legion sits to the left of me. I just realized, what is that human expression? The shoe is on the other foot. I can eat, but ********* shouldn't. My cherished explains his biology is built with a different configuration so eating the food could trigger a reaction. Karla is sadden but understanding. Raon jokes he is just saying that to avoid eating her cooking and that he is a wise man. Karla pulls his ear. I didn't like that but won't say anything.
Everything looks so good. I wish my father could be here. Legion wouldn't allow it. I think he needed a break from my father as well. Karla says there will be leftovers I can take. My shaky fingers lift of my faceplate and the smell is just bliss. I can't tell which is bread or which is meat but it all smells so good. Everyone watches intensely as I eat my first real meal. I try the bread first. The utensils are hard for me to use as I never used them before. I feel like a child. ********* cuts the bread in half for me. He takes one half and spreads a yellow substance over it while I eat the one on my plate.
Oh ancestors… I am enthralled in joyous sensations I can't describe. My mouth is so wet and mixes with the bread, softening it. The flavor is so strong. I am in love with this texture. A slightly firm outside with a soft inside. I'm squirming and squealing. ********* makes a funny face and gives me the bread with butter. I'm skeptical anything could make it better and have never been so happy to be wrong. This butter makes it tastes 10 times better. I ask her how she makes it. ********* interrupts and says it may be best to explain it later. It makes me wonder exactly what I am eating but I don't care. It tastes just so good. I moan in ecstasy. ********* looks away. His fists clench on his lap. I gently nudge his ribs to get his attention. His happy for me smile makes my chest feel warm, no its the bread in my chest sliding down. I feel thirsty and sip on some kind of juice. The sweet flavor is too much for me. Karla offers to water it down for me and it is much more manageable. It tastes similar to my favorite nutrient paste but much stronger, even after diluting it.
Eating meat is a little worrying for me. I heard stories that if it isn't cooked properly, little worms will grow inside me. ********* thinks I'll be fine, and I trust him. I feel kind of bad a cute little animal had to die. ********* says he feels the same way, but our health has to come first. The guilt in my heart vanishes completely when my teeth munch on the best thing ever. Nothing comes close. This is the best. My fist slammed the table. The smell, flavor, and texture make me lose control over my body. I realize how I sound and ********* is about to burst. I feel so bad. I apologize for my rude behavior. Raon insists I continue, and Karla shoots him a dirty look.
********* asks me how I liked my first meal. I never felt this good except from his massages. He said I will get a foot rub later. I wonder how it will feel without the suit in the way. He whispers he copied everything and can have it whenever I want. I love him. ********* and Raon clean the table and put the food away. Karla scoots my way and says I can take a shower if I'd like. She has some clothes her eldest daughter left home before moving and I am welcome to wear them after I get cleaned up. I tell her I never had a shower. Karla shows me which room it is.
I wonder why humans like to shower so much. I really don't see the appeal of hot water touching my skin. Karla gave me a quick tutorial on how to adjust the temperature, what bottles are used for what. Why are there so many? What is the difference between shampoo and conditioner? Karla turns the little wheels that squirt water from a metal rectangle below knee height on the wall. Pulling a pin makes it stop flowing from there and it shoots out of a metal saucer above our heads. I yelped and jumped back. She waits for a minute before telling me it's good to go. She kindly shows me how to lock the bathroom door so I may have some privacy. Lastly to dry myself with a towel and put on a robe.
Karla leaves me alone and I twist the goldish metal piece to lock the door. Not that I don't trust her, I try twisting the handle and it won't move. No one can really get in. This feels really weird. I can be completely vulnerable and be ok. Quarians on the ship only ever remove their entire suits for annual deep cleaning or special bonding. I slowly strip off this suit. It feels like ripping off my own skin. I pick up my suit and place it in the sink. While I have this time, I look at my naked body.
Do I have a good body? Are my ribs too wide and visible? My skin isn't as colorful as Karla or her daughter's, but mine is much smoother. No sun your entire life must do that. Is my torso too short? My hips are much wider than any of the other quarians on Rannoch I've seen, but the sample size is small. Maybe it's a feature evolved on the ship? I only hope ********* will find my body as attractive as I find his. His hands on these handles, my medium sized breasts pressed against his large pecs. Our lips tasting each other. I better get in the shower.
Before I jump in, my hand reaches out in the stream of water. It feels so weird yet kind of good. It feels so warm. I take the plunge and jump in. My soft skin recoils at first, then relaxes. Oh this is oh keelah. Who knows, being massaged by water feels so good. If warm water feels so good, I wonder how cold water feels. I turn the red handle off and nothing happens… wait the water feels different… so this is what it feels like to be cold… AAAH too cold too cold! I turn the warm water to the max. Ahh that feels better. I really like this warmer temper- AAAH too hot too hot! I set it to the middle temperature.
The rectangular green bar called soap is supposed to be used to remove dirt from my skin, I never came into contact with sediment, but I want to see how it feels, I wet the bar and rub it against my skin. It slowly turns white. I wonder if I can make bubbles with it. I try various amounts of liquidized soap and curl my finger into a circle and blow. It doesn't work. The brush is hard against my sensitive skin. I don't like it. I wash the white cleaning liquid off.
Now for shampoo. I need a very small amount and to rub it into my hair. The bottle squeezes a light pink solution into my palm. Spreading along my palms then into my hair. Massaging it into my scalp. This feels so good. The pleasurable feeling is put aside to deal with my burning eyes. That stings when it goes there. I hope I won't go blind. I better not waste their precious water. I rinse off all the soap and use the comb to brush my hair. I lost a lot of strands. My first worry was going bald so young, but when I saw myself in the mirror after wiping away the fog, I looked amazing. ********* is so going to love this. The white robe covers up most of my torso and upper legs. It feels so weird walking around showing so much skin. Everyone will be able to see my face, elbows, and knees. I hope this isn't inappropriate for the children to see. The locked door prevents my exit. My head slammed against it. I forgot these doors you have to manually open. The metal piece is twisted, and I step out. ********* is sitting at the dinner table, talking to the happy couple.
The sound of my girlfriend calling my name. I swiftly look back at her then back to the husband. "How was your first showe- OOOOOHHHHH!"
"What is that look?" Tali's slightly curly wet hair and her large beautiful, smile enhanced cute eyes mixed with the robe is rapidly expanding my tanks. Her amused innocent smile forces me to look away. My hands lay flat on the table. Curling and straightening. Difficult to conquer breaths need to be controlled. It's getting so hard.
"*********? What's wrong? Is your… special thing acting up again?" Tali hugs me from behind. Her smell drives me absolutely crazy. Ah hahaha I don't think I ever felt pain like this before. I might have the strongest will power in the multiverse, but it is taking everything in me right now to control my animalistic nature.
"Hmm… hm. Erg. Yep... both of them" I grit my teeth.
"What?" Tali asks.
"Hehehe I think he is a bit frustrated" Raon said.
"What? ********* what has you upset? There is no reason to be frustrated" Tali said.
"Not that kind my dear" Karla said.
I can sense Tali processing it now. "Wait…" I turn around and my forced smile covers my pain. The relentless teasing is too much. I can't even look her in the eye without wanting to burst everywhere. "I can feel the genes of my ancestors waking up" I'm redder than a tomato.
"Mine too" the husband said. Karla playfully slaps him with a washcloth and calls him a dirty old man.
"Really?" Tali asks in disbelief.
Karla answers "I don't get it either, but it drives men crazy."
"Hey, I understand what you are going through, but remember this is my house" the Raon said.
"I know and I'll respect your rules. I promi— I don't know if I'll be able to keep it" I laughs through the immense discomfort.
"Awww. I sort of like seeing you act this way. It's cute" Tali lips curve around like the hammerhead and land on my cheek. I scout the chair back and heavily pound my left thigh, silently screaming to the sky. OWWW. The husband and Karla find great amusement in my torture. I stand up from the table and announce "I'M GOING TO WATCH THE SUNSET. I NEED TO BE EXCUSED."
"Sunset?" Tali whispers.
Karla said "Oh dear is it beautiful. Get dressed and go out to the porch. There is a swinging chair to use."
I heard that before I closed the door and look around. There is indeed a bench that hangs from the ceiling. My instincts tell me never to trust these and sit on it very carefully. I always feel like I'm going to pull this out from the beam above me. As I settle in, my anxiety starts to go away. This place is so gorgeous. It is like one of my cabins I left in another universe, except not nearly as good as a view of this. The warm orange haze of the sun just behind the clouds is beautiful. No painting ever comes close to seeing it in person. The energy from the sun is recharging yet signals my body it is time to rest. Tali better get here soon, we won't have much longer. The door slides open and incoming is my girlfriend in a dark green and black casual dress. She looks so gorgeous with the light of the lowering sun hitting her perfect skin and that smile which flutters my soul is just heaven. Tali sits down next to me and lays her damp head on my shoulder. She loves this and I do as well. I think this is going to be my favorite memory. If god permits, I'd like to do this every night. I can't. This planet has seasons too. I tell Tali about fall. How the green will change into yellow and orange Then winter comes, and cold white snow falling will be everywhere as we coddle inside next to a fireplace.
Tali yawns. "Why do I feel so sleepy all of a sudden?"
"Your biological clock is syncing to the sun. It is telling your body it is time to go to sleep soon" I explained.
"I want... to fall asleep... out here, on you" Tali said.
"We can't. It will get really cold, and do you want a bear to come sniff at us?" I asked.
"What is a bear?" Tali asked.
"A large hairy predator with sharp teeth and claws to rip apart prey and eat it" I said.
Tali shoots up "Are those here? Will it come get us?"
"I'll protect you if they have them here. What did you think of your first day at Rannoch?" I asked.
"The start was rough, but this moment right now, right here, it was worth it. I love you" Tali said.
"I love you two" I kiss her temple. Tali snuggles in deeper as the sun hides behind the mountain.
"Aww those two are so cute together" Karla said.
"Remember when we used to be like that?" Raon asked.
"The good old days" Karla said.
"Why did we stop being like that?" Raon asked.
"I don't know. Life just got busy, and we really haven't had time to rest. What do you think of those two?" Karla asked.
"The geth platform speaks highly of them. They seem like good kids who clearly care for each other a great deal" Raon said.
"Tali said he fell in love with her before he ever saw her face. Can you imagine that?" Karla said.
"They got something special. Should we call them in?" Raon asked.
"Let's give them this moment" Karla said.
…
…
…
"They are sleeping in separate rooms, right?" Raon asked.
"They are sleeping in separate rooms. Make sure he doesn't sneak in dearie" Karla said.
"Did you not see him earlier? Aren't we being a little mean to him?" Raon said.
"Like we didn't sneak around at their age" Karla said.
"You don't understand what it is like being a man around an irresistible sexy redhead woman" Raon said.
"Put the kids to bed and come find me."