A Child's Dream - Part 4

"We have now entered Earth's atmosphere," said the virtual intelligence that ran the systems on board the shuttle, "There is an incoming transmission from Cal. Connecting..."
The holographic projection of the captain of the starship flickered into view in front of her seat.
"Emi'Derik," he said.
"... What? Is there something wrong?"
"There's been a... change of plan. We need a representative for Earth since the Flotilla will be passing through the Alliance System in a few years. We want you to be our ambassador."
She sighed. Quarians cared little for what other races thought of them - mainly because they had no choice. This meant that they hadn't got any other job for her to do due to her lack in skills in technology and instead appointed her for something completely unnecessary just so she wouldn't use up space that could be used for someone who actually gave something to the Fleet.
She was a waste of space, in other words.
Emi sighed again, "... Ok. Will I ever get to return?"
Cal shook his head, "I'm afraid not. Goodbye and good luck Emi'Derik. Keelah se'lai. Cal out."
The hologram flickered then disappeared entirely.
She sighed again. She had no skills when it came to being an ambassador. She had no experience, no nothing. But at least she knew who the ambassadors for Earth were. It was one of the things that the book 'A Child's Dream' had taught her. She hoped it was accurate.
"Shuttle marked as ambassadorial vessel," said the VI, "Representatives will meet you upon landing."
At least they had sorted that out for her.

Emi stepped off the shuttle as soon as it landed. It opened automatically and she leaped out of her seat and crossed the space between her chair and the exit in a flash. She was so excited! She was actually on Earth!
The landscape that stood before her was amazing in comparison to the cramped conditions on the Quarian starship. Beautiful, blue sky, green grass, white stone buildings... it was just how she imagined it. She smiled to herself inside her helmet and couldn't stop a "Keelah..." escaping her lips. She was completely in awe of how amazing the planet was, and she had only taken one step.
There was a man waiting for her. One thing that she did know about the human aging cycles was the fact that they got wrinkles on their skin as they got older. The man had several, so she would put him about middle aged. His hair was brown, though was greying slightly in the centre. He wore a black suit.
"Emi'Derik," he said, "Oh wow... I am Gerald Hopkins, representative of London."
"... Wow?" she questioned. No one had ever said wow whilst meeting her before...
He pointed at her, "You're more... curved, than I expected."
She explored her hips with her hands, smiling slightly at the sensation. She didn't have curves that were that impressive. Normal for a Quarian, but then again she heard that human women tended to have smaller hips than Quarians. So maybe to him it was uncommon.
"... Thanks... I think..." she responded. Emi hoped that it hadn't provoked him to say anything else... Pointing out the fact that she had curves wasn't something she was comfortable with anyway, and she didn't want him to do any more. She felt slightly scared.
"If you would kindly follow me I will show you the rest of the troop."
Despite the sense of choice that he had portrayed, he gestured for her to follow him then set off walking towards a medium sized stone building with a red, blue and white flag fluttering above it in the wind. The wind that she could feel ever so slightly on her face.
Gerald stopped just outside the door and waved his hand to tell her to go inside, and as she passed in front of him she saw him taking a glancing look at her hips.
If it wasn't for the fact being an ambassador meant to create peace, she'd have called him a bosh'tet. She did her best to hide the curve of her hips from his view but it wasn't easy in such a tight environment suit.
The hallway she found herself in had a red carpet. Pictures of people lined the walls, most in black and white. They were surrounded by striped wallpaper with a slight gloss finish that gently reflected the light.
"It's the next door on your right," Gerald pointed out, looking up from her rear end. She shot him a glare. But it didn't have the desired effect through her helmet. He had no right to be looking at her like that. She didn't like it.
Emi opened the door and stepped into another room, this one labelled "Meeting Room". It was a small room with several chairs arranged in a circle around the edges. The room was in colour coordination with the hallway.
All but two of the chairs were occupied. There were five men and five women, all wearing suits or dark coloured dresses.
"Hello," said one of the women, "Please have a seat and we can get the discussions underway."
She sat down on one of the spare chairs, and Gerald occupied the one next to her. The cushioning on the chair felt rough but spongy against her environment suit, and she smiled slightly.
"Today will be all about introducing ourselves and what we're trying to do. To get to know each other a bit better," said the same woman, "Then the discussions will go underway tomorrow."
Emi nodded.
"So," she continued, "My name is Amy Witan and I'm the head of this establishment. One thing you should know is the fact that this isn't actually influencing the politics of this planet. We all are politicians, but it's more about discussing what is possible and what we could do, rather than taking action. This will make sure that we all know what we could accomplish before the Migrant Fleet arrives." She nodded at Emi, "Your turn."
"... I... I'm Emi'Derik nar Neeah," she told group, using her full title - 'Emi'Derik, child of the Neeah', "I... I've just come on my Pilgrimage to this planet..."
One by one, the group introduced themselves. She tried to memorise their names - Amy, Sam, Jack, Toby, Eric, Harry, Rebecca, Janine, Rachel and Tara. And Gerald. Humans had such weird names - they had no titles nor clan names. They had a 'first name' then a 'family name'. They were each taller than she was, and thicker. And their knees were bent slightly different to hers.
She couldn't stop staring at their hands. They used them so casually but they were so weird. Exotic, even. Their fingers were thinner than hers but there were so many of them. She wondered how they could keep count of them. She was sure she'd end up losing some.
And in turn, she found out they were fascinated by her. They asked about her immune system, her figure, her culture, her language... She answered them as best as she could, but couldn't help blushing when Rachel remarked about the fact that their... she wasn't sure what humans called them... their chest areas... were the same size, despite the fact Emi was smaller.
None of them were being rude, though. They were just interested and curious. She felt like she belonged in the group - accepted as a friend almost instantly. There were no harsh comments or insulting remarks, they were all polite and friendly towards her. She, most of the time, was smiling in her helmet. They talked for several hours.
"We should go out," Toby suggested, "Hit the town. Get absolutely smashed. It is the first day, after all."
"... Smashed?" she questioned. It sounded horrible, being crushed or something similar. She didn't want to participate in something like that...
"Drunk," Amy told her.
"... Oh."
Rachel grinned, "I actually like that idea. What's the point in being here now? I mean, we all know each other now. We might as well have some fun."

2 Hours Later...

"So," Eric chuckled, "I said to the Salarian: why the long face?"
The group laughed. Emi understood the joke but she wasn't feeling... normal. Alcohol tasted very bad. She could feel herself swaying on the small bar stool, which threatened to tip over every few seconds.
Emi hiccupped, "The... the... the implications of hic doing that wouldn't be... nice... the Salarians are hic nice people..."
"Are you alright there Emi?" Toby asked, "You seem a little, uh..."
"... I'm fine thank you T... Toby. Hic... though a little bit... disorientated..."
"You've had a glass of wine. A small one, at that."
"... I think I know what I've had..." Emi sighed, "I'm not stupid... Everyone thinks I'm stupid... Just because I don't know anything about technology... it isn't the end of the world..."
"What are you talking about?" Rachel laughed.
But Emi's mind was elsewhere, "... Have you ever wanted someone to love you so much it hurts?"
"I'm sorry, no," Rachel responded.
"... I do... It's horrible... I just want someone to love me... Is that too much to ask? I just want a single human to care for me... Kee... Keelah, I don't even care who it is... Am I being... Un... Unreasonablebleble?"
"I think you said that wrong," Amy pointed out, "I think we should go home, too."
"... Where am I staying?" Emi questioned, "... Is it nice? Does it have a bath? I've always wanted a bath..."
"You've never had a bath?" Rebecca asked.
"... No... The suit has a cleaning system... Speaking of systems, the emergency induction port is harder to get into the hole..."
"That's because you're drunk, dear," grinned Tara.
"... Don't 'dear' me. You sound like my mother... And I'm not hic drunk... I'm just feeling strange... I'm fine apart from the obvious pain..."
"Emi, you should go home," said Sam, "You won't feel good in the morning."
"... I don't know where home is..." Emi sighed, "But I'm not drunk, I'm fine..."
Amy nodded, "Sure you are."
Then she fell off her bar stool. It clattered on the floor and she was sent sprawling across the floor.
 Emi picked herself up. Her hips were tingling. It didn't feel nice but it did at the same time. It hurt, a little. But the sensation was knew and she liked it. Or maybe it was the wine talking.
"Seriously," Rachel said, "We're going home."

Emi was by far the most drunk out of all of them, despite the fact she had the least alcohol. As they made their way back to a luxury apartment designed specifically for Quarians, Rachel and Rebecca were holding her up as she sang an old Migrant Fleet folksong.
"... There is nothing to say about Reegar the bold, he took on two Geth with his sleeper hold. He was shot in the back, then a life he did lack..."
"Have you any idea what she's singing about?" Rachel asked.
Rebecca shrugged, "Absolutely no idea."
Emi stumbled over her words, "... I... I always meant to ask you... what's a 'sleeper hold'?"
"I think it's when you grab someone's neck and make them go unconscious."
"... Aha. Thank you so much."
They reached the door of the apartment. Rachel unlocked the door with the arm that wasn't supporting Emi, then opened it. She and Rebecca managed to haul the drunken Emi into the ground-floor flat.
Emi began humming tunelessly then sighed, "... I hurt... my heart... I can't take it any more... I just want someone to love me... Why won't someone love me?"
"I'm sure you'll find someone," Rebecca said, "Don't worry. There's lots of us."
"... But that bosh'tet of a book has got my h... hopes up..." she sobbed, "... I'm useless..."
"Is it me," Rachel whispered in Rebecca's ear, "Or is she having lots of random mood swings?"
Rebecca shrugged, "Maybe it's a Quarian thing. We don't know what Turian Wine is like."
"... I can hear you," Emi pointed out, "... And Turian Brandy is the worst thing I have ever tasted..."
They managed to manoeuvre her to the king-sized bed that was in the centre of the room and lifted her on to it. They moved her head to the side in case she vomited, so she wouldn't choke.
"... You're my best friends," Emi said, "My human best friends..."
Rachel laughed, "But you don't even know us!"
"... I've never had a best friend before... and now I have two... isn't it great?"
"Yes Emi. It's great. But unfortunately we have to go now. We'll see you in the morning."
"... Oh... Goodnight best friends... sorry I can't remember your names..."