Chapter 22
Hours later, Harry awoke feeling horrible. He recognized where he was sitting and activated the external view port, seeing he was still on Noveria.
"Good girl." Harry said as he undid the clasp on his helmet and stripped out of the hazard suit. The ambient temperature was about 23 degrees C, perfectly comfortable most of the time, however it felt like he'd been dropped into ice water as the air touched his skin. He immediately conjured a blanket and wrapped it around himself. He noticed a notification on his omnitool and brought it up seeing he had a video message waiting. He pressed play.
"Harry, when you get this let me know. We woke Benezia up and she informed us that she'd gotten information about the Mu relay from a Rachni queen, one that had not been influenced by Saren. We're going back to get her out of there. Wrex isn't happy, but I won't be responsible for the genocide of an entire race." Shepard said. Harry coughed violently, spraying his console with blood. He rummaged through a bag full of shrunken objects as the message played.
"Harry... listen. I Really need you to come back from this.. I'm not great at expressing my feelings, you know that better than anyone, but... I can't go on without you." Shepard said, her voice cracking at the end. Harry hated himself after hearing that. He looked up and cursed himself again as he saw tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I don't blame you. It was an easy mistake to make, and I know you were trying to save those scientists... Ugh. I don't even know how to say this." Shepard continued. Harry found a bottle full of a dark purple liquid with a label he'd helpfully drawn a skull and crossbones on.
"I really care about you. You are the most important person in my life. Please come back to me." Shepard said. Harry popped the cork and wretched when he smelled the fumes coming out of the flask. He coughed again, this time so violently he was dizzy and the edges of his vision were dimmed briefly.
"Call me as soon as you're through this." Shepard said. The message ended. Harry pressed a button on his console and the ship took off, flying into space and settling into an orbit around the planet. Once everything was set he downed the flask and shivered as he felt it take effect. For a moment nothing changed, until he started feeling a tickle at the back of his throat. It turned into an itch, and he coughed, which only made it worse.
He coughed again, harder, this time even more blood was ejected, but he couldn't stop. Intellectually he knew what was happening and why, but emotionally... he was dying and he struggled to resist the wave of panic that threatened to overtake him. He forced himself to relax, not resisting the coughing fit, and soon his throat closed and he was completely unable to breathe at all as the inflammation became worse and worse and a few agonizing moments later, he was gone.
He awoke instantly in the familiar patch of forest near Hogwarts. He got to his feet and brushed his pants legs off, looking around and smiling when a familiar figure stepped out of the woods and into the light.
"Hello, old friend." Harry said. She smiled and sprinted over to him, leaping into his arms.
"I'm simultaneously glad to see you, and also sorry about the situation." Harry said.
"I understand, Master. I needed to speak with you anyway, so this works out for both of us." Death said to him, stepping back and smiling up at him.
"What's going on?" Harry asked. Death lead him over to a fallen tree and sat on it, pulling Harry down with her.
"I was visited by my brother recently. I'd been expecting him." Death said. Harry frowned.
"He's not being cruel to you, is he?" Harry asked. Death smiled at him.
"He's never cruel Master. We both have roles to play, regardless of whether or not we like them. There is something dark on the horizon. Something that will directly affect you..." Death said.
"I thought there was a no spoilers rule?" Harry said, grinning.
"There is, however this particular event is tied to something much, much greater, one that affects the balance of life and death in this galaxy in a wholly artificial manner. It does so in spite of nature." Death explained. Harry nodded.
"As you know we are not allowed to intervene directly in the affairs of mortals, even my conversations with you are pushing that rule, but this upcoming situation is definitely an exception to that rule. We need you to continue to pursue Saren, but know that the foe you face is far greater than a rogue spectre with a unique dreadnought. " Death said.
"The Reapers?" Harry asked. Death nodded and smiled.
"You're so clever my dear Master. The Reapers, and their master, are abominations, they take life and death on a galactic scale into their own hands, and this cannot be allowed." Death said.
"Their master?" Harry asked. Death nodded.
"That will become apparent to you soon enough. I am allowed certain exceptions to the normal rules because of this situation, but unfortunately I cannot reveal everything to you directly." Death said. Harry nodded.
"That's fine. I'm sure we're getting close anyway." Harry said.
"I will be able to help more as events unfold but until now just remember that I am always with you." Death said, hugging Harry again.
"Thank you. If you see your brother again, tell him I still owe him a kick in the balls." Harry said with a grin. Death's musical laughter was the last thing he heard before waking up suddenly in his ship. It took a moment for him to get his bearings, however one thing he noticed is that he felt a lot better. He looked out the view port and saw Noveria hovering peacefully in space, quiet and beautiful despite the horrors that happened below. He activated his omnitool and called Shepard.
"Janey?" Harry asked when his connection to Shepard was established. She smiled brightly seeing Harry looking well.
"Harry! You and I are going to have a long conversation later, but your timing couldn't be better. Can you apparate to me?" Shepard asked.
"Sure thing I just need decontaminate myself. Give me a few minutes." Harry said.
"Thanks." Shepard said, killing the connection. Harry stripped out of his clothing and set everything he'd been wearing aside, he dug into his storage and found some old casual clothing that was still in good shape. He put on a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and some combat boots, before grabbing a spare rifle and entering some commands into the console on his ship.
Several overhead compartments opened and filled the inside of the ship with a thick, white foam that seeped into everything, disinfecting it. Harry ignored the burning feeling it caused on his skin, he needed to make sure he wasn't a risk before leaving. Satisfied that he'd been thoroughly disinfected, he banished the foam, dried himself with his wand and set the ship to land Itself near the Normandy. Once it was moving he located Shepard and apparated next to her, this time not eliciting a girlish squeal from Garrus.
"Harry!" Jane said, running to him and hugging him.
"Hi Janey. I'm so sorry." Harry said.
"I know. We'll talk later, right now we need help. We want to release her but we can't communicate and we don't know if she's going to go on a rampage." Shepard said.
"Ah.. Let me try." Harry said. He put his rifle on the ground and slowly approached the Rachni with his hands out to the sides, showing that they were empty. The Rachni struggled against its restraints, trying to get away from him, so he stopped. He suddenly felt a strong presence pushing against his occlumency.
"Woah, young lady... Hold on a sec there." Harry said out loud. The Rachni tilted its head and calmed. Harry closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated.
"OK, try again." Harry said. It took a moment, but the Rachni eventually got the point and reached out again. Harry went rigid, staring at the Rachni, levitating a foot off the ground.
"Harry!" Shepard cried.
"It's ok Jane! She's just trying to talk... She can't speak like we do she needs one of us. She's going to speak through me." Harry said.
"Ok, but make sure she knows if she hurts you she won't walk out of here." Shepard said. The Rachni cried out and strained against her restraints again.
"Hush, love, it's ok. Nobody's going to hurt you. Speak to us so that we might understand." Harry said. A moment later, Harry started speaking, his voice distorted, sounding almost mechanical.
"You are not like the blue ones..." The Queen said.
"No, we are not. The Blue ones were being manipulated." Harry replied, ostensibly to himself.
"We want to set you free, but we're afraid of getting hurt." Shepard said.
"You have nothing to fear from me. I only wish to be free. " The Queen replied.
"She is not Lying Jane, we're kind of open books to each other now." Harry said, his voice returning to normal.
"The Blue ones, will they pursue me?" The Rachni asked.
"No, their actions were not their own. They were being controlled." Shepard reiterated.
"I could hear an echo of the sour yellow note in their song. The same note that stole my babies from me..." The Queen said.
"I am going to butcher that fucking piece of shit." Harry said.
"What's going on?" Shepard asked.
"Saren. Whatever he did to the Commandos and Benezia, he did the same to the Rachni. Their hive mentality made it all the easier for him. He's the one that perverted the Rachni we encountered." Harry said. The Queen let out a shriek, this time not through Harry.
"I'm afraid we had to kill them." Shepard admitted.
"I know.. and I thank you for your kindness. Their minds were tortured, polluted by the sour yellow note. You spared me from having to kill them." The Queen said. Shepard was amazed, she could feel the Queen's sorrow in Harry's voice.
"How should we get her out of here?" Shepard asked.
"She can take my shuttle. I'll expand the interior, she can fly it to an isolated world and live her life." Harry offered.
"You would do this? You do not wish to silence us?" The Queen said.
"It's a miracle you survived the war, I will not rob your species of it's second chance. I will however hold you accountable, should the Rachni encroach on anyone else's space." Shepard warned.
"Your kindness and generosity will never be forgotten." The Queen said, before releasing Harry.
"I'll be right back." Harry said. He apparated outside the facility to the location of his shuttle, and entered a series of commands into the computer. He walked around emptying all of his storage cabinets, and incinerated his old clothing before finalizing a command which caused all of the seating and storage to recede into the walls. With a wave of the Elder Wand, the interior of the ship increased by twenty times, appearing to be the same size as the inside of the Normandy's cargo bay.
Next, he called up one of the many VI programs he'd installed and configured it to display a simplified visual interface instead of the normal speech command system he'd used. When he was satisfied he returned to Shepard and took a hold of the Rachni queen.
"Do you understand our speech?" Harry asked. The Queen nodded, having learned the gesture from her time in Harry's head.
"I'm going to apparate you to my ship. It will be unpleasant, but will be safer than trying to get you to the surface." Harry explained. Again, the Queen nodded.
"Meet you at the ship." Harry said to Shepard before apparating.
"You know I've seen him do that plenty of times and it still never ceases to amaze me." Garrus said.
"I just feel bad for the Queen." Shepard said
In Harry's ship he was patiently waiting as the Rachni Queen recovered from the trip. She took a second and looked around before turning to look at Harry, who guided her over to the VI interface he'd set up.
"I know of a planet near the galactic rim. It's a garden world, almost as lush as Sur'Kesh, and way out of the way. It will take two days to get there, do you need food and water?" Harry asked. The queen shook her head.
"Very well. Tap the green glyph to start the trip, it will turn orange, then automatically navigate through the appropriate relays, Once it's green again, tap it again. That will land you. The red button will break the ship apart, I'm afraid I couldn't expand the entrance hatch. There are no sentient organisms on that planet but plenty of plants and animals that you will be able to eat." Harry said. The Queen nodded again. Harry smiled.
"Please, stay safe, and stay quiet. Don't draw attention to yourselves. The council races will not react kindly to discovering you, and the Turians have if anything gotten better at glassing planets." Harry said, his tone serious. The Queen hesitated and then tried to get back into his head, which he allowed.
"I cannot begin to thank you enough for your mercy. We Rachni are sensitive to the song the Galaxy sings. Most of the time, it is a beautiful harmony, but even away from my prison I still hear the sour yellow note. It is everywhere and it is getting stronger... I feel you have some knowledge of this?" The Queen said in his head.
"I have theories. There are creatures, living machines, horrible to behold. They are the ones that destroyed the Prothean civilization. We encountered a beacon that warned us of them. We believe that they will return, and soon." Harry said. The Queen shuddered.
"Come to our new home when they return. This note displeases me, and I wish to silence it." The Queen said, Harry could feel the rage in her mind.
"We will, and I thank you." Harry said.
"Goodbye, Human." The Queen said. Harry apparated just outside the Normandy and watched as his ship took off and disappeared over the horizon on its escape trajectory. He smiled, happy to have been able to help. He walked towards the docking port just in time to See everyone else exit the facility. He waited and explained what he'd done with the Queen and politely refused to disclose where he'd sent her. Wrex grimaced but said nothing. They all boarded, but Shepard hung back with Harry, waiting until everyone else had boarded.
"Harry..." Shepard said.
"Hi Jane." Harry said, solemnly. She responded by entering his personal space and kissing him.
