Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I greatly appreciate it.
While we won't be seeing any Lambent Rachni, unfortunately, I will say that Lambent enemies will be showing up later on. Perhaps some madman found some and decided that Lambent forces were a brilliant idea.
I also have a poll on my profile. If you want me to rewrite my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossoer, please vote on the two choices there. I primarily made the vote since I'm not fully satisfied with that story, and I wanted to make it to where it wasn't just a thin veneer of BattleTech painted over a disproportionate quantity of Halo.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Studios, Epic Games, The Coalition, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Noveria
Peak 15 Facility
February 27th, 2183
With the pass to the maintenance area in hand, Baird traveled back up the steps and towards Marcus. "Got some good news," he whispered, keeping his voice low so that the guards couldn't hear them. "I got us a pass into a maintenance area where we knocked the guard out. That should allow us to get anywhere we need to go."
"Nice work," Marcus nodded. "Anything else?"
"Yeah. I think the guards are dirty. According to the good doctor down below, they've been expecting us. They're more on-edge than they're supposed to be for guards dealing with an ongoing crisis."
"You think Benezia might've bought them off?"
"Pretty sure. If I was here, that's what I'd do."
Marcus nodded in agreement. More than once, Baird had gotten into the heads of the Locust Horde in order to determine what they were going to do and why they did some of the things they did. It was a special rapport that Marcus wished he possessed at times. That's why we have Baird around, though, he shrugged. He gets inside the enemy's head, and helps us find a weakness.
As he thought things over, Shepard came to where they were at. "What's up?" he asked quietly.
"Managed to get us a pass into a maintenance area that we can use," Baird explained. "You'll probably put it to better use than we can, since you have to be sneaky and all." He handed Shepard the card a moment later.
"Sounds like a plan," Shepard nodded. "I'll let you take care of the mess in the hot-labs. If we need any support, we'll radio you. Understood?"
"You got it." With that, Cole, Marcus and Baird proceeded towards the door.
"Also," Shepard added, "I had Joker drop off Carmine with Hanshen's permission. He'll be coming around to assist you."
"Nice," Cole beamed. "I've always liked Carmine." As he said this, the Gear in question walked into the room.
"What's the story?" he asked.
"Heading down to the hot-labs," Marcus explained. "We've got a bug problem to take care of, while Shepard investigates the area where the maintenance corridor is. Also, be careful of the guards; they're a little jumpier than they ought to be. Baird things that Benezia might've bought 'em off."
"Shit," Carmine frowned. "As if the bugs Shepard warned me about weren't bad enough. Still, I guess that's why us Gears are here: to clean shit up and kill the enemy deader than dead. Let's go."
With that, they moved out from their current location towards the elevator that would take them down to the Hot Labs, where the outbreak had happened in the first place. Reaching the bottom entrance, which took some time, they moved forwards into a room that had a lot of equipment inside, with transparent walls on the left and right that allowed for viewing down below. The equipment was trashed, with components and various liquids on the floor. Blood was smeared over some of the walls.
They were about to advance forwards when they spotted a man holding his side in a nearby chair. The man was dressed in a standard scientist's uniform, while his brown hair was slightly matted and caked with blood. His eyes, however, were clear and lucid, with the man looking directly at them, even though he was holding his side, with the uniform stained with blood in that area. "A-are you here to secure the situation?" he asked the Gears.
"Something like that," Marcus replied. "You OK, Mr…?"
"Yaroslev, Yaroslev Tartakovsky. You must listen to me carefully. If we do not contain our mistake, they will drop bombs from the battlestations! You understand?"
"What?" Baird asked. "You let these things run around?"
"Eh… I'm only following the orders," Tartakovsky replied, though even to him, his excuse sounded flimsy. "Binary Helix found an egg on a derelict ship. Thousands of years drifting. This was Rachni ship. Inside, they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension."
"A thousand year old egg hatched?" Marcus asked. For once, disbelief colored his voice.
"That should've been fucking impossible!" Baird frowned. "The cryogenic suspension should've failed long ago. How the fuck did it last that long?"
"Damn, that's one tough-ass egg!" Cole remarked.
"Surprised it lasted that long," Carmine frowned. "It must've smelled pretty shitty, or what."
"Yes," Tartakovsky nodded. "Very tough to be so long frozen. That it survived centuries – it is miraculous!"
"You really thing this shitty situation qualifies as 'miraculous?'" Baird asked, surprised that Tartakovsy would call something like that miraculous. "If that's what you think, then that's pretty fucked up."
"I know. Binary Helix plan to clone Rachni. Mass produce them, create an army, but when they get here, they find that this is not ordinary Rachni egg. It is a queen. After she lays eggs, they move her to Rift Station. They are thinking that, without her, they can raise them to be obedient."
"Son of a bitch," Marcus growled. Already, he could see why the Rachni were so feral. Without a mother to nurture them, they'd go fucking crazy. His low opinion of Binary Helix dropped lower than before.
"Wait a minute," Cole interrupted. "Don't you need a daddy Rachni to get eggs?"
"Queens are born carrying the genetic code of their fathers," Tartakovsky explained. "Eggs are carried away to hatch from the colony alone. Queens can lay eggs in hours and have a colony in days. This is how they spread so quickly."
"And then you separated them from their mother," Marcus frowned. "Fucking dumbasses."
"That we were," Tartakovsky admitted, wincing as the wound in his side stung. "That was exactly the wrong thing to do. I am thinking that, without a Queen, Rachni do not develop properly. Her mind is shaping theirs. They are out of control."
"Wait a minute," Baird frowned. "You mean that they're telepathic?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's new," Baird harrumphed.
"Will bringing her here solve this problem" Marcus asked, "or are they too far gone?"
"They are too far gone; these Rachni are beyond saving. It is a sad thing, but they must be euthanized. I think that the neutron purge must be set off."
"Purge system?"
"It creates burst of neutron radiation. Kills everything inside of station. Things beyond get varying degree of genetic damage."
"So, how do we set off the purge?"
At that, Tartakovsky stood up, wincing as he did so. "Arming controls are nearby. All you do is insert key. Then I will give Mira destruct co-UH!" The moment he was about to say 'coordinates', Marcus and the others watched as something punched through Tartakovsky's back and out of his chest, revealing a tentacled pincer.
"FUCK!" Baird shouted, firing his rifle and killing the Rachni Soldier that had snuck up on them.
"Yaroslev!" Marcus shouted as the man dropped to the ground. Hefting the man onto his side, he said, "Stay with me! What do we do?!"
Nearly overcome with pain, Tartakovsky handed Marcus a small device. "T-take it," he gasped. "S-save the o-others. I-" A moment later, the light in his eyes faded, and his body went limp.
"Damnit!" Marcus snarled. "He's gone." Looking down, he could see the small device. Activating his omni-tool, he pulled up a series of commands from the key. "Looks like the coordinates are located on this key. We can detonate the neutron purge and kill these Rachni, We just need to do it without irradiating everything else in the area."
"I've got an idea," Baird suggested. "If we do a local execution, then we might avoid killing everyone on the station. As for the neutrons, the polyethylene composite in our armor will stop some of them from harming us."
"That's not a half-bad idea," Marcus agreed. "Let's go."
Looking around, they found that there was another room attached to this one, with a small console in a nearby room. "Here we are," he noted. "This is it." Handing the flamethrower to Carmine, he said, "If any Rachni come to molest us, roast them into charred carcasses. Cole, you and I'll clear out as many Rachni in front of us with Carmine. Baird, here's the codes for the neutron purge. You've got the honors."
"Alright," Baird nodded. "Not everyday I activate something that might kill all of us." Walking over to the console, he activated.
Moments later, a hologram of Mira appeared at the console. "Connecting. I have full access to the facility and am at your disposal," the VI informed him.
"How many of these bugs in here?"
"I'm sorry. The sensor network is too damaged for an accurate count."
"Facility status?"
"Containment breach in Laboratory Pod Gamma. The neutron purge is functional, but has not been armed."
Alright, Baird noted. Here goes. Clearing his throat, he said, "Activate the neutron purge."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that with proper authorization."
Pulling up information on his omni-tool, he looked at the blue glowing device. Seeing the information, he said loud and clear, "Code input: 875-020-079. Code Omega, local execution."
"Verified: Code Omega execution in 120 seconds."
"Aw shit!" Baird snarled. "We got just two minutes to get the hell out of here!"
"And we're not the only ones too!" Carmine added, his motion tracker lighting up with a veritable blob of blood-red. "Those Rachni are fucking pissed, and they're trying to get the fuck out as well!"
"That's why we've got the flamethrower!" Marcus nodded. "MOVE OUT!" With that, the Gears rushed for the door. Upon opening it, they found a veritable swarm of Rachni that were inside of the chamber. All of them were in a state of frenzied activity. Worst of all, they were very angry, and it was clear who their anger was directed towards. "CARMINE!" Marcus shouted as the Rachni surged at them.
"Barbecued Rachni comin' up!" Carmine shouted. A moment later, he pulled the trigger on the Scorcher. Blue-white fire belched out of the other end, coating any Rachni that came too close to them. The screeches of rage turned to screeches of agony as the Rachni were promptly incinerated, with many rolling over and over in a desperate attempt to put the flames out, only to find out that such an effort was in vain.
Falling back, Carmine allowed Marcus and Cole to move ahead. Lancers roared as the Gears shot at anything that was ahead of them, while Baird sprinted up ahead. Rachni screamed as HESH rounds tore into their bodies and liquefied their internal organs. Running as fast as they could, Marcus and Cole quickly reached the elevator, with Carmine running towards them. Tripping on a fallen tentacle, he slid head first into the elevator, with Marcus hitting the up arrow. Within seconds, they were dozens of meters away from the area.
"Detonation in thirty seconds!" Baird reported. "If this goes sideways, it was an honor working with y'all."
"We'll be fine, Baird," Marcus reassured his friend.
"Ten seconds left! Five… four… three… two… one… detonation!"
There was a muffled thump that reached their position, while Marcus heard a brief, and minor, surge of activity in a Geiger Counter built into his helmet. Checking his suit systems, he found that, much to his relief, he had only absorbed a fairly low amount of neutrons, well below the lethal limit. "That was too fucking close," he heard Baird frown. "Another thirty seconds, and we would've been pushing up daisies."
"We made it, didn't we?" Cole beamed. "We taught those bugs how the Cole Train rolls! WHOOO!"
"We did alright," Marcus nodded. "Let's link back up with the others. Maybe we can -"
He was promptly interrupted when he heard Shepard on the comm. "Alpha 1-1 to Alpha 2-1, do you read? Over!"
"We're here," Marcus replied. "We neutralized the Rachni threat. What's your SITREP?"
"We're pinned down by Asari Commandos! We found Benezia, but she's got us pinned. Garrus is unconscious, and we're fighting like mad over here! Get your asses over here ASAP!"
"We're on it!" Marcus shouted.
. . .
In another part of the facility, Shepard was fighting like mad to not only stay alive, but to save as many of his crew as he possibly could. Leaning out, he fired his rifle towards an Asari Commando. Finally, he thought as her barriers failed, with bullets spurting out of numerous wounds. I thought she would never go down!
Peering over his cover, he watched as Liara, using her biotics, cast a barrier around the group, shielding them from more harm, while Wrex, in the thick of it, bashed his way through some more Asari. Garrus was lying on the ground, his forehead bruised from a biotic enhanced blow that a Commando had delivered to his skull. Tali was also fighting like mad, though it was clear that her omni-tool was close to falling apart.
"If Marcus and the others don't get here soon, we're dead!" he heard Liara shout. "I can't keep this up for much longer!"
"Same here!" Tali shouted.
Up ahead, Benezia, who was nearest to the Rachni Queen, said, "Kill Shepard and the others, but spare Liara. I will see to it that she sees the truth that Saren has shown me." With that, the other Asari advanced. It seemed to be hopeless for Shepard and the others, even as they fought on.
That was when a loud sound echoed in the room. Looking to her left, Benezia watched as one of her Commando's heads exploded, splattering the younger Asari's brains all over the wall she was standing next too. "Not so fast, bitch!" she heard.
From the other side, Marcus and the others charged into the gunfight. Looking around, Marcus found that they were in a massive room. Looking around, he found a number of walkways, including an elevated section, that surrounded what looked like a massive cage. Inside the cage, he spotted a massive Rachni that had a number of bioluminescent sections on it's body. Beyond that, it looked identical to a Rachni Soldier, save for two, large eyes, a few more tentacles, and a dark blue coloration.
"That's gotta be the Rachni Queen," he heard Baird remark.
"Yeah, but that bitch is nearby!" Carmine shouted, pointing at Benezia, who was standing on a platform located to Shepard's left, and Marcus' right. "We gotta take her out!"
"Neutralize the grunts, then focus fire on her!" Marcus shouted. "We gotta get to Shepard!"
"OH, HELL YEAH!" Cole shouted, his battle enthusiasm coming out. "Come on, bitches! I'll show you how the Cole Train spanks the asses of bitches like you! WHOOOHOOOOO!" With that, all four Gears charged into the battle, weapons at the ready.
The surprise attack caught the Asari Commandos flatfooted. One screamed as her barriers fell, before HESH rounds impacted her armor, liquefying her organs and tearing her bones apart. Ducking behind cover, the others fired back, though it was clear that they were struggling to fight a two-front battle.
Still, there were a few hectic moments. Carmine shouted as a biotic shockwave threw him out of cover, while shattering his barriers at the same time. Taking a few rounds, he grunted as they impacted, only to either ricochet off of the tough osmium alloy plates, or to come to a stop inside of the polymer composites underneath.
Cole took the brunt, though this was because of the grenade launcher he carried. "AARRGGHH, ow!" he grunted as a bullet whizzed past him, scraping part of his armored bodysuit. Firing the grenade launcher, he blasted one apart, only to nearly get knocked to the floor. Giving a shout, he tried to haul himself up, only for an Asari to leap towards him. She screamed as she closed in for the kill.
Before she could, though, Marcus stepped in. Swinging his chainsaw bayonet, he gutted the Asari, causing her shredded organs to spill to the ground. Her battle cry became a scream of agony, only for Marcus to kick her away. "Get up!" he shouted to Cole as he hefted the veteran Gear up.
"Thanks, man!" Cole shouted as he got to work. Seeing some barriers, he shouted, "Hey! You put those fucking shields down and let me just kill ya! I promise I'll be quick! The Cole Train's humane, bitch!"
Between Shepard's team, and Marcus' squad, it wasn't long before the Asari in the center were neutralized. "Incoming!" Baird shouted as Geth came in from another door. "Get on the left!"
"I got 'em!" Carmine shouted, tossing the flamethrower back to Marcus. Pulling out his Torque Bow, he fired several bolts in rapid succession, blasting them apart. "Shit! More Commandos to the right!"
"Keep hittin' 'em!" Marcus shouted. "KEEP HITTIN' 'EM!"
The rest of the firefight, while it took some time, turned in Shepard and Marcus' favor. Garrus, now having revived, fired in rapid succession, though it was clear that he would need rest once the battle was over, as some of his shots missed at times. "Damn vision's gone double!" he shouted. "I think I've got a concussion!"
"We'll treat it once the battle's over!" Shepard shouted.
"I hope so! If this keeps up, I'm really goin' to be hurting!"
Thankfully for Garrus, the battle didn't take nearly as long as he feared, as soon, the last Asari Commando had been slaughtered in the onslaught. They approached Benezia, who was showing signs of biotic fatigue, warily. Despite her exhaustion, Benezia remained stalwart. "This is not over," she defiantly declared. "Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear."
"The Rachni didn't cooperate with you," Shepard growled. "Why should I?"
"I will not betray him," Benezia growled out. "I -" For a moment, she was silent. When she turned around and spoke, he voice took on a completely different tone. "You must listen, Shepard," she said, concern and fear having replaced the calm confidence, or rather hubris, in her voice. "Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions, briefly, but the Indoctrination is strong."
"What the hell?" Marcus asked.
"The hell's goin' on?" Cole also asked, confused.
"Why should we believe you?" Baird snarled, "For all we know, you're trying to lower our guard!"
""I sealed a part of my mind away from the Indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him. It will not last long."
"So you could turn on me again," Shepard surmised.
"Yes," Benezia nodded. "But it would not be of my will, Shepard. People are not themselves around Benezia, Shepard. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him."
"Shiala mentioned this at Feros. She said that the key to this was Sovereign, Saren's flagship."
"She was right to tell you. It is a dreadnought of untold power and devastation."
"Where did it come from?"
"I cannot say. The Geth did not build it. It's technology is far more advanced than any other 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 it, instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve."
"Why did you come here?"
"He sent me to find the position of the Mu Relay. It's location was lost thousands of years ago."
"How do you lose something as big as a relay?" Baird asked. "Those things are fucking enormous!"
"Four thousand years ago, a star went supernova," Benezia explained. "The shockwave propelled the relay out of it's system, but did not damage it. It's precise vector and speed are impossible to determine. As millennia passed, the nebula created by the nova enveloped the relay. It is difficult to find any cold object in interstellar space, more so something swathed in hot dust and radiation."
"I take it someone found it?"
"Two thousand years ago, the Rachni inhabited that region of the galaxy. They discovered the Relay. The Rachni can share memories across generations. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the information on the Relay's location from the Queen's mind." She frowned as she said this, guilt plainly written on her face. "I was not gentle."
"If it's so hard to find it, then how did the Rachni find it?" Marcus asked, his doubt momentarily lost in curiosity.
"They searched, patiently," Benezia explained. "They are territorial creatures, driven to close any possible way to their systems."
"Why does Saren want this information?" Shepard asked.
"He believes it will lead him to the Conduit. I would tell you more if I could, but Saren did not share his council with me. I was merely a willing pawn for his cause."
"I see," Shepard noted. After a moment, he said, "You can still make this right. Give me the information, before it's too late!"
"I was not myself but – I should have been stronger," Benezia agreed. Pulling out an OSD, she said, "I transcribed the data to an OSD. Please, take it!" Before anything else happened, Shepard took the OSD from Benezia and handed it to Shepard, who gave it to Baird.
"Before we go," Shepard asked, "why does Saren want Marcus and the others?"
"He believes them to be a threat to his plans," Benezia explained. "They are also unusual, though we don't know how. Saren wanted them either on his side, or out of the way."
"Looks like he didn't plan for us," Marcus noted. "Where is Saren at?"
"Saren didn't tell me his destination, but you must hurry," Benezia implored them. "I transmitted the location to him before you arrived." A moment later, her face became a twisted mask of fear and pain. "You have to stop – me!" she pleaded, her voice becoming strained from effort. "I can't – his teeth are at my ear! His fingers on my spine! You should – Uh, you should -"
"She's losing it!" Baird shouted.
"Mother!" Liara shouted. "You can still fight him! Don't give in!"
"I love you," Benezia gasped, her eye flashing between madness and clarity. "I -" She would've continued, except for the fact that Marcus, remembering some of his biology classes, punched her right in between the eyes. Benezia slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"That'll keep her down," he frowned. Looking at Liara, he asked, "You alright?"
"I-I," Liara stammered.
"Hey," Carmine said to her, hugging her gently. "She'll be fine. Baird'll find some way to get rid of the indoctrination in her head. Right?" He directed the last question to Baird.
"I don't know, to be honest," Baird shrugged. "I can program a NAV computer for a Locust Barge, and make explosives, but I don't know how to fix people. Damnit! If only I had studied psychology in high school!"
While they were talking, Shepard approached the Rachni Queen, curious. He'd never seen a Rachni Queen before, much less heard about them. As he approached, Benezia began to stir, though her movements were stiff and mechanical, as though she was being controlled by a puppet master.
Getting close, Shepard looked at the Rachni Queen. While the glass did obscure things slightly, he could tell that the Rachni Queen was beautiful, in a menacing but exotic kind of way. Her chitinous plates caught the dim light in a way that gave them an ethereal appearance. The fact that parts of her chitinous plates were bioluminescent only added to the otherworldly beauty she Shepard, the Rachni before him rightly deserved the title of Queen and it wasn't hard to see why: she was beautiful.
Baird, who was looking around, noticed something odd. Looking at Benezia, he noticed that she was beginning to twitch. Before he could react, she slowly got up, before slowly shambling towards where Shepard was. "SHEPARD!" Baird shouted.
Turning around lightning fast, Shepard saw Benezia, though her eyes were glazed over, as though she was half-awake, half-asleep. Pistol out, he kept it firmly pointed at Benezia, as she staggered over to the Rachni Queen. A moment later, she began to speak, though it was clear that she wasn't the one that was talking.
"This one, serves as our voice," the Rachni Queen said through Benezia. "We cannot sing, not in these low spaces. Your musics are hollow."
"What the hell does that mean?" Carmine asked.
"Musics?" Shepard asked, confused as well. "What do you mean?"
"Your way of communicating is strange," the Rachni Queen explained. "Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all."
"This is gonna be a fun conversation," Baird sarcastically remarked.
"Tell me about it," Wrex grumbled.
"We are the mother," the Rachni Queen replied. "We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni."
"How are you speaking through Benezia?" Shepard asked.
"Our kind sing through touchings of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. In her sleep, she us weak to urging. Her songs sing of regret and shame, as well as the desire to be free from the sour yellow note in her mind."
"Sour yellow note?" Shepard asked. "You mean the Indoctrination?"
"Yes," the Rachni Queen nodded.
"What about the Rachni that we purged," Marcus asked.
"The children we birthed were stolen from us before they could learn to sing. They are lost to silence. You have ended their suffering, and for that, we are grateful. They would have only caused harm."
"You're really not angry at us for doing that?"
"No."
"Why were your children taken from you?"
"The needle-men. They stole our eggs from us. They sought to turn our children into beasts of war. Claws, with no songs of their own. Our elders are uncomfortable with silence. Children only know fear if no one sings to them. Fear shattered their minds."
"That explains why they were hostile," Liara surmised. "I doubt that a child left without a mother for a long time would be sane."
"You speak truly," the Rachni Queen agreed. "No child should be left without a mother to sing to them." It was then that she looked at Marcus and the others. "You and your friends are different," she said a moment later. "You are not like the others."
"How so?" Marcus asked.
That was when he heard a voice in his mind. Your songs are different, the Rachni Queen explained. Marcus, caught off guard, was about to act when the Rachni Queen said, There is no need to be afraid, Marcus Fenix. You are strong, resistant to urging. This is how we speak without mouths like yours.
Really? Marcus asked. What about the others?
They too share your strength of will, yet I shall speak only to you. I see inside of you a song of strength and valor. You have faced horrors that would have destroyed lesser beings many times over. Your song was once tainted by sorrow and sadness, yet now it has been healed by love and compassion. Hold true to the one you love, and to your friends, and you will survive no matter what happens.
The comment surprised Marcus, not only for the way it was delivered, but because of how true it was. Thanks, he said a moment later. Looking to the others, he asked, "What do we do now?"
"We shouldn't let the Rachni run around again," Wrex said emphatically. "Kill 'em, I say."
"Look inside of those tanks," Tali observed. "Acid, strong enough to kill anything, no matter it's composition. They wouldn't have installed those if they didn't fear her escaping."
"No!" Liara gasped, horrified by the notion. "The Krogan went too far last time. This is a chance for us to right a wrong."
"Too far!" Wrex asked. "Maybe we didn't go far enough."
"I don't know," Cole frowned. "Somethin' tells me if we go that far, we'll be no better than Saren is."
"While I've seen the historical records, I know enough that they're likely filled with bullshit," Baird added. "Besides, didn't we go through what the Rachni Queen went through? I vote we spare her."
"I'm with Baird," Carmine added. "What about you, Marcus?"
Marcus stood there, tight-lipped and frowning, as he considered what to do. We went through what the Rachni suffered through, he thought. I agree with my team. Yes, the Rachni have done this sort of thing before, but even I think the Krogan went too far. What happened to the Rachni was what nearly happened to us. Clearing his throat, he said, "We should spare her."
"Marcus!" Wrex asked, his voice mixed with anger and betrayal. "You of all people should know the kind of threat she poses! Why spare her when her kind was responsible for the Rachni Wars?!"
Normally, Marcus would've lashed out at that point, but having considered the same question once, he didn't do so. Instead, he turned to Wrex and said, "The Locust nearly did the same thing to us, Wrex. If we do to her what the Locust nearly did to us, what does that say of us?"
Having heard all of that, the Rachni Queen said, "Your companions speak the truth. You have the power to free us, or return us to silence."
"If I let you live, would you attack the other races again?" Shepard asked.
"No. We – I do not know what happened in the war. We only heard discordance, songs the color of oily shadows. We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps, we would return."
"Are you a survivor from the war? A clone?"
"We do not know. We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams. A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with it's 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."
"What about Benezia? What will happen to her?"
"Through our urging, I might be able to silence the sour yellow note forcing her to sing with it, but only after you have chosen our fate."
With that in mind, Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought to himself. Wrex and Marcus had very good points in their own right. Wrex's point was further reinforced with historical fact: the Rachni had marauded the galaxy before, and they might do so again. Marcus, though, had been through that kind of experience before, making him uniquely qualified for that kind of decision.
In the end, his conscience helped him reach his decision. He looked at the Rachni Queen and said, "I won't destroy your entire race. You can go free. You deserve a chance to start anew, free of the mistakes of the past."
"Shepard -" Wrex began.
Shepard promptly looked at him, causing Wrex to fall silent. "As for why, This is my question Are we any better than Saren, if we kill them all?" Wrex, hearing that question, remained silent, unable to form a coherent reply. "Either way, I won't be remembered as a killer like him. The Rachni go free."
"You will give us a chance to compose anew?" the Rachni Queen asked. When Shepard nodded, she said, "We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness and mercy to our children. For this gift, we thank you, Shepard."
A moment later, Benezia collapsed to the ground, but not before Liara caught her and gently set her down. When the Rachni Queen spoke to Marcus, her voice sounded strained, but triumphant. I have silenced the sour yellow note forcing her to sing with it, she said to him.
She going to be alright?
In time. It was not easy, and it attempted to worm it's way deep into her very being, but I was able to destroy it. I will also be fine in due time.
Got it, Marcus replied. Turning to Shepard, he said, "Benezia's free of the Indoctrination. The Rachni Queen did it."
"How do you know?"
"She told me. I think she communicated with me through telepathy, or some shit like that. It would explain her ability to speak through Benezia."
"It does," Baird nodded. As he said this, Shepard moved to the nearby console and hit a few buttons. With a quiet whirring sound, the cage holding the Rachni Queen lifted into the air, turning slightly in order to attach to a small tunnel nearby.
The Rachni Queen, jubilant at being given a second chance, began to move through the tube. Before she fully went into it, she turned to look at Shepard one last time. For a moment, he thought he heard a voice in his mind say, Thank you, before he watched the Rachni Queen leave the facility forever.
"And just like that, she's gone," Cole noted. "I'm glad we let her live. It's always nice to not have to kill everything in the way."
Wrex, though, was sour-mooded. "I hope you know what you're doing, Shepard," Wrex growled. "You've got bugs singing songs about you now. If they become a threat -"
"-then we'll deal with them," Shepard interrupted. "Still, I won't let fear compromise who I am. Let's go. We've got a rogue Spectre to hunt down."
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you.
Guest: #1: That's right. Still, I appreciate your ideas.
Guest #2: Thank you.
MarauderPrime12: Thank you.
GodzillaMaster: Thank you for giving this crossover a read. I appreciate it. I also understand your concerns that I trivialized the conflict in this crossover. Do you have any ideas on that front? I'm eager to hear from you.
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.