Noveria: The Matriarch, The Queen and The Frozen Girl

Commander Shepard's POV.

With the Rachni warriors euthanized in the Hot Labs, it was time to find Matriarch Benezia and see if we could get some answers on Saren's plan on finding the Conduit.

Once the elevator arrived to the first floor, Liara, Garrus and I made our way back to the Captain and the ERCS security guards. However, they weren't where we met them. They were deeper inside the bunkers and were pointing their assault rifles at us.

I walked over the Captain. He gave me a sad look, "I'm sorry about this, Shepard. We've got orders from Benezia." Then he ordered, "Open fire!"

Liara, Garrus and quickly grabbed our weapons and the entire room turned into a war-zone. We took out the Captain and the ERCS guards with ease. Then we journeyed through the labs to find Benezia, taking out every guard, assault drone, Geth or Rachni that stood in our way.

Eventually, my team and I took an elevator to the lower floor and found Benezia in the central lab.

She must've heard or sensed us coming, cause she spoke up, "You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair."

Benezia was looking at a large glass capsule. Inside was a purple Rachni. Quite different to the other Rachni I've encountered. Must be the Queen Rachni the scientist spoke of.

Leaning against the glass, beside the Queen, was a human girl laying unconscious. The same girl from my visions.

The girl looked about 19 to 20 years old. Her skin was a ghostly pale Caucasian, not blue. Her hair was shaved bald, but you could tell she's a dark brunette. Freckles across her nose and under her eyes.

She wore a pair of black-rimmed cracked glasses over her closed eyes, a black velvet choker with a pendant of a Turian emblem, and a pale blue, nearly white uniform.

"Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." Benezia continued. Then she looked at me, then at Liara, "I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara's here because she wants to be. Not because I asked her to." I explained.

Benezia tilted her head, "Indeed?" Then she looked at Liara, "What have you told him about me, Liara?"

Liara looked at her mother, "What could I say, Mother? That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?"

Benezia turned her attention back to me, "Have you faced an Asari Commando Unit before? Few humans have."

"I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter." I scolded.

Benezia shook her head, "I now realize I should have been stricter with her."

With that, she used her biotics and put me in a stasis field and summoned a group of her Commandos. I was able to break out of the stasis and my team and I entered the war-zone.

Each time we took out a group, Benezia used her biotics to summon more Commandos or Geth forces. Each time she gets weaker. After the last group, it was only Benezia left on the upper platform. She was keeping the unconscious girl up-right.

She looked at me, "This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear."

"The Rachni didn't cooperate with you. Why should I?" I pointed out.

She looked at me, then back at the girl, "I will not betray him. You will- You..." Then she stood up and turned to me. I raised a brow at Benezia. Something was off. She looked like what the Asari Councilor described.

"You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the Indoctrination is strong." She told me.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Indoctrination'? Like brainwashing?

"Why are you able to break free of his control now?" I asked.

"I sealed a part of my mind away from the Indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him." She explained, "It will not last long."

"So you could turn on me again." I concluded.

Benezia nodded, "Yes. But it would not be my will, Shepard." Then she explained, "People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary."

"Sovereign's not like other ships. Where did it come from?" I asked.

Benezia shook her head, "I cannot say. The Geth did not build it. Its technology is far more advanced than that of any known species. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve."

She looked at the sleeping girl, "I could not let this child fall victim to Saren's will, so I took her ice crystal along with me. Her crystal fully melted and her mind free from the Indoctrination."

"He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago." She finished.

"How does something that big go missing?" I asked.

"Four thousand years ago, star nearly went supernova. The shock-wave propelled the Relay out of its system, but it did not damage it." Benezia explained, "Its precise vector and speed were impossible to determine. As millennia passed, the nebula created by the ova enveloped the Relay. It is difficult to find any cold object in interstellar space. Particularly something swathed in hot dust and radiation."

"Someone on Noveria found it?" I asked, referring to the Mu Relay.

Benezia nodded, "Two thousand years ago, the Rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the Relay. The Rachni can share memories across generations. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the Relay from the Queen's mind. I was not gentle."

I could tell she was being sincere. Her voice tone carried regret and guilt for her actions.

"You can still make it right. Give me the information." I told her.

Benezia nodded again, "I was not myself, but - I should have been stronger." She walked over to me and reached out her hand, "I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please."

I took the OSD from Benezia's hand and gave her a thankful nod.

"Knowing the Relay's coordinates is not enough." Liara spoke up, then asked her mother, "Do you know where he planned to go from there?"

Benezia shook her head, "Saren wouldn't tell me his destination." Then she told me in a strong tone, "But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived." Then she looked like she was struggling, "You have to stop- me. I can't-" Benezia clutched her head and walked away, "His teeth are in my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should- Uh! You should-"

"Mother, I- Don't leave! Fight him!" Liara cried for her mother.

Benezia turned to Liara, "You've always made me proud, Liara." Liara sulked, fighting tears. After a few seconds, Benezia turned to us with steely eyes, biotics activated and a dark tone, "-Die!"

Then she attacked us. Liara, Garrus and I drew our weapons and fought back. However, she wasn't alone. Benezia summoned more Asari Commandos.

After taking her down, my team and I shot the Commandos down. Once everything calmed down, my team and returned to Benezia. We shot her bad and she was struggling to stay alive.

"I cannot go on. You will have to stop him, Shepard." She told me, as she struggled to stand up.

I reached out my hand to help her, "Hold on. We've got medi-gel, maybe we can-"

But she cut me off, "No. He is still in my mind. I am not entirely myself. I never will be again." Benezia stumbled back into the railing. She looked the unconscious girl, who was still near the capsule, "Please. Take care of this child. Keep her away from Saren."

Tears welled up in Liara's eyes as she gasped, "Mother..."

Benezia looked at Liara with motherly tears welling up in her eyes, "Good night, Little Wing. I will see again with the dawn." She fell to the ground and gasped, "No light? They always said there be a-" She closed her and fell limp, dead.

I let Liara mourn over her mother's passing, while I walked over to the capsule and looked at the Rachni Queen. She is definitely different from the other Rachni. But, what am I gonna do with it, now that most of the staff in Binary Helix are dead?

As I stared, the Rachni Queen turned and hissed at me. I quickly backed away, as the girl stood up and opened her eyes. They were hazel, nearly green, and were glazed over. Which means she's possessed.

In a merged female tone, the girl spoke, "This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless."

I took that the Rachni Queen was using the girl to speak for her through telepathy. Wait 'musics'? I raised a brow and scratched the back of my head, "Musics? What?"

"Your way of communicating is strange. Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all." The Queen explained.

"This is going to be a fun conversation." Garrus joked.

The Queen continued, "We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced." I looked at the Queen, behind the girl, "We are Rachni."

"How are you speaking though this girl?" I asked.

"Our kind sing through touchings of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is eager to assist." The Queen answered, "She has colors we have no names for. Her heart is strong. Her songs are kind and soft. It is beautiful."

"She's alive?!" Liara gasped in shock.

"You are not in harmony with those who hoped to control us." The Rachni Queen continued, then asked me, "What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?"

"The Rachni were a threat to the galaxy." Garrus pointed out, "Those tanks are filled with acid. If she gets out of hand, they dissolve her."

"They made a mistake." Liara argued, "They let the Krogan go too far. This is a chance for us to atone. She has done nothing to us."

"Your companions hear the truth." The Rachni Queen spoke up, "You have the power to free us, or return our people to the silence of memory."

"Are you a survivor from the war? A clone?" I asked her.

"We do not know. We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams." She answered, "A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with its own sour yellow note. Then we awoke, in this place. The last echo of those who came out from the Singing Planet. The sky is silent."

"If I let you live, would you attack other races again?" I asked.

The Queen made the girl quickly shook her head, "No! We - I do not know what happened in the war. We only heard discordance, songs the color of oily shadows." Then she told me, "We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, we would return."

I thought for a second about the decision. It was true that the Rachni killed the Krogan during a war. But Liara is right. That war was centuries ago. This Rachni has done nothing to anyone. The warriors were Binary Helix's fault on raising them without the Queen's mental guidance.

I folded my arms and looked at the girl, "I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free."

"You will give us the chance to compose anew?" The Rachni Queen asked. I nodded and she smiled, "We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children."

I walked over to the capsule, where the computer control console was. I typed in the release code. The capsule raised and a door on the other side opened. The girl's eyes closed and she was about to collapse. Luckily, Garrus caught her before she hit the floor.

The Rachni Queen looked at me. I assured her with a smile and she walked out of the capsule, free and unharmed.

With the mission over, it was time to return to the Normandy.


*Later, In the Normandy's Breifing Room...*

Everyone gathered in the Briefing Room. Garrus placed the girl into the Medical Wing in the care of Dr. Chakwas.

"What's our next move, Commander? Head for the Mu Relay?" Ash asked.

I shook my head, "The Mu Relay could link to dozens of systems. Unless we know exactly where Saren's going, we'd just be wasting time."

Liara nodded in agreement, "The Commander is right. We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren."

Williams glared at Liara, "Who put you in charge? Did the Commander resign when I wasn't looking?"

"We're all on the same team here, Williams. She's just trying to help." I defended.

Williams looked at me and apologized, "Sorry, Commander."

I nodded. Then Garrus asked, "What about the girl in the Medical Wing? She was with Benezia. How can you be certain we can trust her?"

"The Rachni Queen said her heart and songs are kind, strong and soft." Liara pointed out, "Maybe wait for her to wake up and see what she knows."

I nodded at the idea, then stood up, "This is a tough mission. We're all on edge. Everyone go get some rest. Crew... Dismissed."

Everyone nodded and left the room. Joker spoke up from the comms, "Noveria report is away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?"

I nodded and turned to the terminals, "Patch them through, Joker."

"Setting up the link now, Commander." Joker answered.

Holograms of the Councilors appeared in front of me .

"Is this report accurate, Commander? You found Rachni on Noveria?" The Asari Councilor asked.

"And then released the Queen!" The Turian Councilor added, "Do you have any idea what you've done? How many generations until they overrun the galaxy?"

"This Queen is different. She understands why her kind had to be wiped out last time around." I argued.

"I hope you're right, Shepard. Our children's children will pay the price if you're not." He replied.

"We also read that you found a girl with Matriarch Benezia. You are sure this girl is not a threat?" The Salarian Councilor spoke up.

I nodded, "I'm sure. Once she wakes up, she'll explain her story."

The Council nodded and the Asari Councilor dismissed, "We'll be waiting for your next report, Commander."

With that, the terminals were deactivated. Then Sid spoke up from the comms, "Commander. You need to come to the Medical Wing ASAP. The girl from Noveria is waking up."

I quickly made my way to the Medical Wing. Inside were Sid, Dr. Chakwas, Garrus, Liara and Williams. I entered and noticed the girl was starting to stir. She opened her eyes, then clutched her head and sat up.

Dr. Chakwas quickly helped her sit up, "Easy now, dear. You might be a bit disoriented. How are you feeling?"

The girl shook her head, "Like someone just splashed my face with cold water." Her voice was light and soft-toned, then she looked around, "Where am I?"

"You're on board the SSV Normandy. A stealth spaceship prototype of the Alliance Military." I answered.

"Spaceship? Military?" The girl repeated. She wiped her brow, "How long was I in the capsule? Last thing I remember was-" She looked over us and stopped at Garrus. Her tired expression turned angry, "YOU!"

She lunged at Garrus, but Williams and I held her back. She was stronger than she looked, so it was tricky hold her back. For a second, I thought I saw her body glow green. Garrus took a step back.

"Hey, whoa, easy. You know Garrus?" Sid asked.

"He's the guy that killed his own friend! I saw him kill the other guy in the black and red armor!" The girl shouted.

I raised a brow at her statement. Black and red armor? Nihlus? Garrus killed Nihlus? I remember the reports said Saren shot him in the back without hesitation.

Sid looked closer at her. She cautiously reached out her hands to the girl, "May I take a look at your glasses for a second?"

The girl looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded her head, "Just for a second."

Sid took the girl's glasses and examined them. She put some omni-gel on the lenses and cleaned them with a small cloth.

Then she returned on the girl's face, "There. Is that better?"

The girl blinked and looked at Garrus. She gasped, "You're not him." Her body stopped glowing. She looked at me and Williams and assured, "I'm okay now. You can let go."

Williams and I let go of the girl. She bowed her head at Garrus, "I'm very sorry for my actions. I thought you were someone else. I believe you call him 'Saren'."

Garrus shrugged his shoulders, "You've been asleep for a while. Could have happened to anyone."

"Do you have a name?" Liara asked.

The girl nodded, "Yeah. Name's Eleanor May Carter. But my friends call me Ellie." Then she tilted her head at Liara, "Call me crazy, but you share a resemblance to the woman that got me out of my frozen stasis."

"You know Benezia?" Liara asked.

"That's her name?" The girl, Eleanor, asked, then she shook her head, "Not as a person. I only saw glimpses of her whenever I woke up from my stasis. They only last a few seconds."

"Benezia was my mother." Liara replied with a sad tone.

"I'm very sorry." Eleanor apologized.

I thought back about what she said. 'Stasis'? "What do you mean by stasis?"

"I was volunteered by a secret organization to test out how long a human can last in suspended animation." She answered, "If I was able to last five years, the agents would promise to take me back to my family."

My crew and I looked at each other. Is she making this up? Her tone sounds sincere, but how can we say for sure?

"What was the name of this agency?" Garrus asked.

"I... I don't know. I never got their name." She answered.

"What year were you born?" Williams asked in shock.

"1992. Why?" Eleanor answered in uncertainty.

"How old are you now?" Sid asked.

"I just turned 20 when the agents volunteered me. So, biologically, I should still be 20 years old. But I was meant to be in stasis for 5 years. So, chronologically, I should be 25." She answered.

I put two and two together and concluded, "Ellie. You've been frozen for 170 years."

Eleanor stared at me in shock, "170 years!? But that means... My family. My friends." She began to topple over, and she leaned against the bed, "I... I think I need to lay down for a bit."

I nodded, "We'll talk later, after you're feeling better."

Eleanor nodded, "Thank you, Captain..."

"Commander Shepard." I introduced.

With that, I left the Medical Wing.