"Elysia?"
Turning my head slightly, I threw a short glance at Liara, and then at Lissi and Missi, as if asking: "Who is this lady?" But they shook their heads with some bewilderment.
"This lady is unknown to us... However, we weren't very interested in which Matriarchs were responsible for what. It was enough for us that we work for Benezia."
"Ah yes... Benezia..."
Elysia mockingly drawled Liara's mother's name.
"...to be honest, Saren really wanted to recruit her specifically, but every time he wanted to meet her on his ship, she found reasons to refuse. Stupid... how stupid she is, but instead, it was I who took her place..."
There was a self-satisfied smirk on the Asari's lips.
"...and now it is I who will lead my race to salvation!"
"God... she even threw her hands up in a theatrical gesture..."
Chifuyu's quiet voice sounded over our comms, so the Asari herself couldn't hear it.
"Gadget?"
I addressed Tali questioningly; fortunately, I didn't need to clarify the question. She perfectly understood that I wanted her to hack everything possible before we started the fight.
"Checking now."
As if by chance, she shifted slightly so the Matriarch couldn't see her Omni-tool; I decided to continue the conversation.
"So, you are fighting for the salvation of your races?"
"Yes!"
Elysia was clearly encouraged by my question.
"Perhaps you will tell me what threatens us and how—"
"Do you want to save your races? You should know that I've become a Spectre, so I have resources that Saren no longer possesses. Perhaps we can help each other..."
"Oh!"
She looked at me with enthusiasm.
"You are quite reasonable for a human... it is pleasant..."
The Asari thought for a couple of seconds, frowned slightly, but then looked at me again with a gaze in which I saw approval.
"...and we want to save our races from the Reapers. They destroyed the Protheans in their time... and even from the scraps of information that reached us, we know that the Protheans had a true EMPIRE! The current Citadel Space doesn't stand a chance against them."
"Hmm... I'm inclined to agree with you..."
And I wasn't even lying. To be honest, I had little idea what we could oppose the Reapers with. However, that didn't mean I was going to throw up my hands and do nothing. No... I intend to do everything to survive and win! Hide, so that later we can restore the galaxy... Well, or run... Though the latter is a last resort.
Fortunately, my allies are strong enough, even if not numerous. But if the Quarians come over to my side, even partially, it will make my plans much more realistic. And if with Wrex's help I pull the Krogan to my side...
Behind my helmet, I smirked wickedly; however, all these thoughts didn't stop me from continuing the conversation.
"...if there is an enemy that destroyed the Prothean empire, then the current Citadel Space has no chance of victory. But I don't understand how you intend to save your races..."
"Not all of them..."
Elysia shook her head sorrowfully.
"It's impossible to save everyone. The nature of the Reapers cannot be changed, but faithful service can save our races, or at least a small part of them, from total destruction. And serving a stronger power is not a shame, it is a privilege! And I invite you to join us..."
She extended a hand toward us invitingly.
"Tali?"
Jane turned to our technical genius.
"A couple more minutes..."
The girl's voice was slightly strained; hearing those words, I took a hesitant step toward Elysia.
"I... understand the reasons why you decided to go against everyone..."
She nodded approvingly.
"...but... I find it hard to believe that this is the only choice. Perhaps... you, that is, you all, have some proof that this is exactly the case?"
I tried to make my voice sound uncertain, even painful in some way, as if making such a choice was like cutting myself. At the same time, I slipped into the informal "you" as if by accident, and then, correcting myself, addressed her formally again, as if emphasizing that I was ready to cross over to her side but needed a small push.
"Only words..."
She shook her head, her entire voice saturated with pain.
"...the words of one who has no need to lie. The words of one who could simply destroy everyone, but gave us a chance to save at least a small part of our races."
"Words? They contacted you?"
"The ship itself is a Reaper, the one who remained to watch and call its brethren when the time comes to destroy the living, to make way for new sprouts!"
Her words sounded slightly fanatical.
"I..."
"Done. I've remotely hacked the doors to this lab, so no one will bother us—and there are Huntresses waiting behind some of them..."
Without listening to this lady any further, I whipped out my pistol and fired. The first shot should have hit her right in the forehead, but she managed to jerk aside and put up a glancing Biotic Barrier, off which the bullet slid away.
"You!"
The fury in her voice could literally be felt, but I didn't care. I just kept pumping shot after shot into her, and everyone else did the same, while Liara took care of our defense, and Lissi and Missi created barriers that forced Elysia to defend against our attacks rather than dodge them.
"I can stand like this for hours!"
Despite the attempt to speak somewhat haughtily, I clearly heard the slight agitation that appeared in the Matriarch's voice.
"Well then, keep standing..."
Abruptly holstering the pistol, I unleashed a whole web of techniques on the lady. Push, spear, hammer, Singularity, biotic lightning...
All sorts of techniques flew from my hands; some of them were invented by me, Aria T'Loak, Matriarch Benezia, and Liara, and it was the new techniques that wore down her barrier the most, simply because she lost concentration seeing something unfamiliar.
"A-a-a-a-ah!"
She unleashed a Biotic Explosion that radiated through the room, but Liara's barrier held with honor, though it became covered in cracks, while Lissi and Missi's barriers failed, though they weakened the blast. If not for that, the capsule containing the next bug likely wouldn't have held. As it was, it only cracked.
"I'll kill you!"
She rushed toward us.
"I AM KROGAN!"
Wrex charged forward, and I applied a Barrier that literally covered his body, protecting him from various troubles. A second later, he slammed into Elysia, pressed his Shotgun to her stomach, and pulled the trigger. Elysia was thrown back from him.
"Ah?"
The battle seemed to freeze; she looked down in shock and touched her stomach with her palm; she hadn't managed to put up a barrier, or perhaps it was just too weak. But the fact that the fight had stopped was only an illusion, as a Sniper Rifle barrel appeared over my shoulder, using it as a rest, and an extra hole appeared in Elysia's head. I barely managed to protect my shoulder with a barrier because the rifle kicked, and quite hard at that.
"It's not over yet..."
Tali, who had taken almost no part in the battle, spoke in a slightly strained voice.
"...the Huntresses are hacking the doors, I won't be able to..."
"Time?"
"Three minutes... two..."
"On the count of five, open the right door. On the count of three, all Biotics send a Singularity toward the door. One, two, three..."
Four Singularities flew toward the indicated door.
"...four, five."
At the moment they were supposed to hit the door, it opened, and they flew straight into the Huntresses who hadn't had time to react.
"Time?"
"One and a half."
"On the same command, the door in front of us, one, two..."
All the Huntresses were destroyed in this simple fashion. And I finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Gadget, you're brilliant, just a miracle."
"Uh-huh..."
"Garrus, Wrex, Lissi and Missi, collect the trophies."
"Of course."
Wrex was very pleased, and meanwhile, I approached the flask containing the surprisingly calm Rachni Queen. Or maybe not a queen, who knows what this bug is. And now I had to make a very difficult choice. As if understanding me, the bug turned slightly—as much as the capsule allowed—as if looking at me.
"She must be destroyed!"
"I understand that..."
I closed my eyes.
"...I understand, but..."
I turned to Wrex.
"...perhaps she is the last representative of her species. Perhaps if she is released, she will restore the Rachni numbers and they will again become a threat to all living things."
"Since you understand that..."
"However, Wrex, look at her... it... I don't know who it is, if she were outside... if it attacked us, my hand wouldn't waver, but now, it's like..."
I didn't provide any examples; Wrex turned away from me, as if showing that he understood my doubts. He understood, even supported them in some way, but did not approve.
"John, you're not going to destroy her, are you?"
Tali said this in a quiet and sad voice that made my heart squeeze.
"Gadget, you're too kind..."
Before I could answer her, Rebecca Lee began to respond.
"...just remember history, remember what the Rachni did in known space, and think if you're ready to voluntarily let her go?"
Inhale... exhale...
I took a step to the flask and placed my palm on it.
"Do you understand me?"
"John, the armored glass..."
A Rachni appendage touched the spot on the flask where I was touching it, and Jane froze mid-sentence.
"So, you are sentient."
The Rachni pulled back its tentacle and tapped the flask glass once from its side.
"John..."
Wrex looked at me warningly.
"Think she should be destroyed? The computer is at your disposal."
I nodded toward the flask's control panel, and Wrex took a couple of steps in its direction.
At that moment, Liara jumped aside and pointed her pistol toward... I turned slightly and saw Elysia's body beginning to rise.
"Do... not... need..."
She spoke with great difficulty.
"Mer... cy... Our so... ng... has only begun..."
With each word, it became easier and easier for her to speak.
"...we know about how it was before, but now everything will be different. A common enemy, an old enemy... my mothers' mothers saw their previous coming... there will be no salvation... no mercy... only destruction."
Wrex froze before the panel and turned very slowly toward the body.
"You... are you talking to us?"
"Difficult... your song is different. You do not hear our song, do not understand it, it is difficult to express... with your songs."
"Damn!"
Wrex took a few steps away from the panel.
"She really is sentient! Fuck!"
Walking to the wall, he kicked it.
"This body..."
I nodded at the Matriarch's body, which the Queen was controlling.
"As I understand it, she was specifically invited to the Reaper, and she ended up under some kind of control. Does something similar threaten you? You are in contact with it, after all..."
"No... song through... no contact... safe."
"Good. How long can you control it?"
"Long, but soon... corruption... the song will fade."
"I see."
I closed my eyes.
"John, what do you want to do?"
"And what should one do when they don't know exactly what to do?"
I looked at Jane with a slight mock, though she couldn't see my face because of the helmet, but she certainly heard my voice.
"And what is that?"
"Shift the responsibility."
***
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