Beauty Behind the Mask: Tali x Male Reader

Chapter 14: Noveria Part 4

"What?" You mumble as you lower your firearm.

"We speak differently you and I, rachni and human." She continues. "In order for myself to communicate I must use this asari as my vessel. Your music is...colorless."

"You are the last of your kind." You say as you look at the queen in the tank.

"Yes. My kind were mostly wiped out by the Krogan. My genetic data tells me that the war was occurring for...an odd reason. There seems to have been a sour yellow note across space that influenced many of the rachni queens into acting the way they did."

"Is she saying that the Rachni wars were caused by an outside source?" Garrus asks.

"We just saw indoctrination first hand." Tali says.

"We only heard songs of oily shadows." She responds. "I...I do not know what happened."

"Did you survive the war?" You ask.

"I was only an egg. I speak from the experiences of my mother." She answers.

"It seems she was truly being forced to produce rachni for Saren." Tali says.

"My offspring were taken before I could teach them song. If you let me go I promise I will find a safe place, one to teach them better ways of peace." The queen says.

"It's up to you (L/N)." Garrus says. You stand silently, staring at the being before you.

"She'll go free." You say.

"Thank you." She says gratefully. "Myself and my offspring will sing songs of the mercy and kindness you showed me today." You tap a few buttons on the console and the pod holding the queen starts to move. The commando next to you collapses as the queen lets out a shriek. Once the pod is in place the side door opens and she is released into the wilds of Noveria.

"I'm hoping we don't regret that." Garrus says.

"She's different than the others." You respond. "I have a feeling she'll keep true to her promise of peace."

"You did the right thing (F/N). It is not our place to end an entire species." Tali comments.

"I agree. I'm not sure the council will." Garrus adds.

"Well...tough shit if they don't." You respond with a shrug. "Let's get back to the main docking area and call for Shepard. It's been a day."

12 hours later

"Welcome back aboard." Joker says as the three of you enter the airlock.

"Good to be back Joker." You respond, feeling the warmth of the ships interior as the inner doors open.

"Commander is waiting for you in his office." Alenko says as he passes by. "Wants a report on what happened down there." The three of you make your way down to his office.

"Welcome back." Shepard says as the three of you enter. You let Tali and Garrus take a seat and stand behind the two of them, explaining all that happened.

"So the mission was a success?"

"I suppose you can call it that." Garrus responds.

"Matriarch Benezia was found, we learned that her and Saren have been indoctrinated by Sovereign, and then she passed....andthenmaybe(F/N)releasedthelastrdmainimgrachniqueen." Tali says quickly. You slap your forehead with your hand and sigh deeply.

"You did what (L/N)?" Shepard asks. "Why did you leave that out the first time?"

"I released the last known rachni queen back into freedom." You answer.

"So the last remaining queen of a species that the galaxy had an entire war with is on the loose?"

"Well when you put it like that you make it sound like I made the wrong choice." You respond.

"Why did you do it?" Shepard asks. "I trust your judgement...but I want to know why."

"She told us that the genetic code of her mother said that all they heard were, and I quote, 'songs of oily shadows'." You tell him. "It just did not seem like the rachni acted by their own accord." Shepard nods slowly, deep in thought.

"You're suggesting there could have been an outside influence?" He asks.

"If indoctrination can occur to us why can it not happen to rachni in some capacity." Tali suggests.

"That's not a terrible thought." Shepard says. "Well we did gain a lot of information out of this mission."

"The queen also said she'd sing songs of his kindness." Garrus says as he gestures back to you. "So perhaps we gained a future ally as well." Shepard looks up at you.

"The council is going to want to hear about this. You know that right?" Shepard tells you.

"Yeah I know." You respond with a shrug. "I'll tell em what I told you that simple." He smiles and nods.

"In my opinion you made the right call. Now the three of you grab some food and get some rest. I'll come get you all when the council is ready to hear about this."

Two hours later

"So you thought the best course of action was to release a rachni queen?" The turian council member asks you.

"My people died to erase those bugs off of every planet and you let it walk!" Wrex yells.

"Now future generations going to have to deal with this bullshit!" Ashley yells as well.

"I stand with my decision." You say firmly to all three parties. "This queen is different from the others."

"How can you be so sure?" Williams asks. "Who's to say they won't start another war? How can you trust them?"

"It was not in my place to eradicate a species." You respond. "Besides, if we want to ever make progress as a species we need to start trusting other ones."

"If this comes back to bite us in the ass I'll rip your throat out." Wrex grunts.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." You respond to him with a smirk.

"Continue to keep us updated." The asari member says before their connection is cut.

"Our next stop is going to be Feros." Shepard tells the room. "I want everyone to rest up until we get there. I also want everyone to continue to cooperate." He glanced around the room before continuing. "Decisions have been made and there is no going back on them therefore there is no reason to dwell on them. I expect you all to continue to work together without issue. That is an order. I also expect you all to welcome our new crewmate with open arms. Once Liara is awake I want everyone to introduce themselves and offer assistance if needed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." The group responds.

"Good. Now, rest up and enjoy some free time until Feros."