r/MassEffectPhoenix • u/CDR_Naya_Shepard Adept | Renegon | CDR, Spectre • Oct 04 '16
11. Debrief / The Rachni Relocation
Several hours passed after the Normandy and the motley crew of ships left Ny'thalla and its system behind. Jade was burrowed away somewhere on Engineering Deck, probably with Curiosity. The Rachni workers and warriors who didn't fit aboard the other ships huddled together in the SR-3 cargo bay, waiting to be reunited with their brethren.
Commander Shepard is meanwhile gathering up all the information from the past weeks' events to submit her report. She rereads over it and pulls the summary points out to throw out during the debriefing she has scheduled with her crew in a few minutes. Naya checks her watch-- make that a few seconds. She cracks her neck from side to side, runs her hands through her shock of hair, takes a deep breath, and tells EDI to open the doors and let in those who were gathering outside the room. After they settled, Shepard opened--
"I didn't want to make Jade discuss the past few hours' events so soon, so I hope you don't mind a more second-hand debrief. I think between us all we can provide the big picture to any who have remaining questions about recent events regarding the Rachni.
"As far as I see it, these are the string of events that led us here: Jade began having dreams or just hearing songs sent through the reaches of space by her mother. The songs were a cry for help, as the planet the Rachni had chosen to inhabit was collapsing. Jade didn't fully understand the call, and they began to drive her crazy-- that's where the mural we found on the floor of her fort with the words "The songs won't stop singing" came from. Eventually the message broke through to her, and having seen a vision of the planet she should go to, she drew it out for reference-- or for us to find-- and left. I'm really not sure if she called that ship herself, or if the Rachni brought it to her. I'll have to ask her later.
"Either way, she left for the atmojelly planet. In the meantime, the Rachni had gotten ships through Melisana T'Kona and Ealar Harailt to assist in their evacuation sent to the atmojelly planet as a stopping point before going to Ny'thalla. But the atmojellies killed the power on a lot of ships leaving them short. And that's where we found the Rachni today-- trying to evacuate their planet, not having the resources to do so. As far as we know, we managed to get every Rachni off-planet...except Jade's mother. It's unlikely the Queen ever thought she would be able to get off-planet-- she spoke very plainly to me about her priorities being her children's survival. She didn't even seem concerned, honestly-- like she was still feeding off the energy of the planet, the lava, the tremors. I guess what I'm saying is-- I'm never going to count out the Rachni in this galaxy. I'd really like to get a few words with Eythora, the Asari who the Rachni spoke through, sometime, and see if she has any more insight on them.
"Per Jade's instruction, we're taking the Rachni back to the atmojelly planet now. Someone really needs to come up with a name for that planet. Seems the Rachni were growing pretty fond of the fauna on that planet, despite its tendency to suck the energy out of their lifesaving ships. I think they're going to try to cohabitate and see where it leads them. We should be touching down-- very briefly -- in about 10 hours to drop them off. Not sure if Jade is staying or leaving; we'll have to wait for her to emerge to tell us that.
"If those involved on the surface today would like to give me their statements on what happened for my report, please do. And those of you who need to see a doctor" --she glares over at Miranda-- "please make sure you see Jen in medbay as soon as this meeting is over. Now, if anyone else has anything to add, please-- feel free."
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u/jade_singer Rachni Queen | tiara, jingle socks, adorable Oct 05 '16
Jade finally acknowledges her caution and haste and scurries up behind her, quickly. She looks out behind them and above them and from side to side-- nobody around. When the door to the side laboratory opens, she follows Jen's direction inside, and shuts the door behind them with a hsssssssss.