Beauty Behind the Mask: Tali x Male Reader

Chapter 1: Search

"Come here you little shit!" You hear the pilot yell. You glance at your arm as the mechs gun starts to wind up.

"Green light." Shields fully recharged, you jump into the air then come crashing down as you deliver a nova slam onto the cab. The metal beast crumbles underneath you as the countdown to the self detonation begins. You turn and sprint to cover, sliding behind a boulder just as the explosion goes off. You shake yourself out of the daze from the shockwave and scan the area in front of you.

"There it is." You push yourself up from the ground and jog forward towards the research facility. The main door opens in front of you and you scan the entrance with you pistol out. Machine gun fire comes from your left and you turn quickly and let out two shots, dropping both guards that were shooting at you. You grab a radio and a keycard off of one of the dead guards before continuing down the hallway they came from, following it as it twists and turns deeper into the base. Eventually the hallway comes to an end and a pair of double doors are all they remains.

"This must be it." You say as you stand outside of the lab. You swipe the keycard and the doors slide open, allowing you to access the interior. The room is dark, only a soft glow being emitted from the walls. You walk up to one and put your hand on the pod, feeling the coolness of the metal as you peer through the glass window.

"What the fuck were they doing here?" You whisper to yourself as you examine the face, one that is scarred and deformed from various experiments. You press the release button on the side of the pod and step back as it starts to open. The human falls out and lands on their face on the cold ground. You hold your pistol in your hand and squat down next to the human.

"Hey. Hey buddy." The person lays silent, only a few groans coming from them. You examine the body some more, looking at the grayish skin and how it is sinking in towards the bone.

"What the ever living fuck is this." You stand up and back away from the body before heading further into the room. A faint glow of light peaks from under a door at the end of the room. You go to twist the handle but it won't budge. You let off a round and the door knob falls to the floor and you push the door in.

"Stay back." You are met with a pistol being shoved into your face, the barrel shaking from the unsteady hand that is holding it.

"Why don't we just set that down." You say softly, raising your hands in the air in the process.

"I...I thought you were one of those" You quickly knock the pistol out of his hands and shove him backwards, aiming yours at him.

"I want answers." You say as the scientist crawls backwards and up into a chair.

"Right yeah yeah. You are with the Alliance?" You nod, keeping a cold expression on your face. "I knew your uniform wasn't Cerberus. Stupid stupid stupid."

"Answers buddy." You growl. "What the hell are those things out there? Where are the rest of the prisoners?"

"Heh heh right those uh...things are...umm...thorian creepers." He says nervously.

"They are what?"

"Humans that have been infected by the Thorian on Feros and have been turned into...well...what you saw."

"And why are they here? What does Cerberus have to do with this?"

"We purchased some from the ExoGeni company and they sent us them."

"And you are running tests on them?" The scientist nods in response. "You...you were going to try to turn the colonists into them then weren't you?" The man sits silent, staring at the ground.

"I...the higher ups said that"

"I don't care what your boss said. You still had a fucking choice. This is so unethical that it is making me sick to my stomach." You say coldly. "These people had lives and families and you messed them all up!"

"We...I..."

"Save it. Where are the colonists now?" Alarms start to blare and the sound of ships can be heard from outside. "Redeem yourself here buddy. Where are the colonists?"

"We were still working on being able to create a virus to use on them. They are being held in a cargo bay on the floor below." He answers. "Cerberus troops will be storming in here any minute. There is a ventilation shaft you can use to get down there." He stands up and points to leads you to the other side of the lab.

"This will get me down there?" You ask.

"You should be just above them. From there you can find a weak point and break through." He replies. You look down at the vent then back up to him.

"Once I get them out of here this place is getting blown to the sky. I recommend running." He nods and quickly takes off from the lab. Tapping away at your Omni-tool, you stand in front of a console and downloading all valuable information that you can. You stand over the opening to the vent, looking into the darkness below. "Son of a bitch better not have been lying."