[Standardized Human Date: Year 2536.
Rael'Zorah has always dreamed of seeing the stars on his home planet. Since he was born in the Migrant Fleet, he has lived inside a ship, without ever setting foot on the planet of his ancestors.
But he wasn't the only one. Since their people lost Rannoch, all Quarians now roamed the cast VL void of space in search of a new home. However, he didn't just want to survive, he wanted his species to prosper like all other races.
Therefore, Rael dedicated himself to his studies and became an engineer. He wanted to learn everything about ships, technologies, and the zero element. One of the best ways to learn was to interact with other cultures through the pilgrimage that all young Quarians are required to undertake to transition into full adulthood.
Rael could not return to the flotilla until he found something of value to bring - be it information, money, or supplies.
He had almost given up hope of returning to the fleet, as no one seemed willing to employ Quarians if it weren't for much less pay than the actual value for any other species. Until a light appeared when Humans, a newly arrived race in the galaxy, invited all races to a big event in one of their colonies. Subarashī o miyage was an opportunity that Rael and other young Quarians on pilgrimage could not miss.
The Humans' technologies could be very different, but they already showed great potential since they confirmed that they did not use element zero for FTL, which opened up a new branch of technology that the Quarians could use and that perhaps it would facilitate his race's struggle to survive another day.
And Rael was willing to discover more.
--
When he finally arrived in Shanxi, he found the festival very beautiful and exciting and enjoyed the festival to the fullest. Rael was fascinated by the festival. Throughout Subarashī o miyage, he walked through the streets of Shanxi, admiring the decorations and the people. He saw humans decorate the streets with flowers, candles, and photos of their loved ones. He saw them dance, sing, and hug. He saw them honor their ancestors and heroes, especially ninjas.
Ninjas were considered the protectors of humanity. They were a strange mix of military and militia and even accepted missions as mercenaries, but no one could deny that their mastery of the mysterious energy called chakra was impressive. Chakra could do incredible things, such as manipulate the elements, create illusions, and even summon gigantic creatures. It was one of the reasons why they resisted Turian attacks so well during the war and defeated them.
At the festival, he was able to see some of the attractions of the five Villages, which included parades, dances, music, and typical foods. He even visited museums that told the story of ninjas. He was happy to see that there was even an area where restaurants served Dextro food.
Rael had experienced many things at the festival, but not everything had been smooth. He learned that ambassador volus Venta Tox suffered a failed assassination attempt on her life in Shanxi after a group of individuals for no apparent reason began brutally attacking people on the street and used the confusion to attack the ambassador.
But the assassination attempt was prevented by his human guard and the ninjas who acted as guards at the festival. And apparently, no civilians were harmed thanks to the barriers that were created around all the civilians.
After all, the humans closed down the entire Ninja area of the festival until all the attackers were captured.
At the end of Subarashī o miyage, Rael returned to the fleet with a feeling of pride and satisfaction. He had completed his pilgrimage and managed to bring something of value to his people, many small technology projects that did not use element zero, which he received when he got a brief job at the festival.
Although they weren't a big deal, he handed his designs over to his superiors and received much praise as the designs helped the fleet save the use of Eezo for more important things.
...
In the year 2538, a proposal was sent to the Quarian Migrant Fleet to work on building ships for the Shinobi alliance. And Rael wanted to be part of the team that worked on building new ships for humanity.
Humans had recently discovered element zero and were determined to unite it with their technology. They wanted to build faster, more powerful, more efficient ships. And they needed the Quarians' help. No one knew how to repair, modify, assemble, and work with ships better than the Quarians.
The fleet accepted humanity's proposal and the Quarians were paid mainly with raw materials lacking in the fleet and repairs to their ships. Furthermore, humans offered new ships, which would be incorporated into the fleet. It was a unique opportunity and he couldn't pass it up.
In addition to all this, he also had the opportunity to work with a new form of FTL. The humans had created their space travel network that allowed the ship to instantly jump anywhere in space; he had heard that they used something called seals to activate the jump as long as it had the right coordinates. It was a very advanced technology, but also very complex.
The Quarians would work at the Clans Dock, which extracted materials from asteroids and uninhabited moons. The Clansdock was an orbital complex that had been recently built in the Shanxi system. There, the migrant fleet could stay for a while.
Contrary to what the Quarians thought when they accepted the job, the humans honestly listened to the ideas of the Quarian engineers. And this attitude was new to the Quarians. For the first time in hundreds of years, they were treated better than animals.
Rael still remembered the day he asked one of the project's chief engineers why they were so friendly and he replied without any sarcasm: "The way you live after losing your home planet is admirable. Of all the species I've seen so far in this galaxy, yours is one of the few that could survive this long depending only on each other and your capabilities. I respect your determination and I have to admit that Quarians are the greatest engineers I've ever met, so I don't think there's any reason not to listen to what you say."
After hearing this, Rael realized that humans did not treat them as if they were outcasts, much less enemies. It was almost surreal to be treated this way by an entire race after feeling so much contempt directed against him from other species.
It was a new experience, as no one of any other species had ever looked at him the way those engineers did.
In the Year 2540. Rael did not regret accepting the work from humanity. Two years later, he was still working at the Clans docks, where he felt respected and valued. And with the construction of the Human ships almost at an end, the humans invited the quarians to work permanently at the Clans Docks, the humans needed qualified labor to build their ships, and the quarians needed a place to stay, so the Migrant Fleet passed to Inhabit the Shanxi System where they were safer as humans did not allow anyone to enter without permission and some Quarians even applied for citizenship.
But Rael also knows that not everything is perfect. He is still afraid of contracting a disease or infection because of his weak immune system. He still wants to see Rannoch in his life. He doesn't know what the future holds for him and his Quarian brothers and sisters. He just knows he has to keep living, working, and hoping for a better day.