Terminus Quest: A CKII Mass Effect Quest
Crashing Down
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Use the device. Let's see what this woman has in mind.
Crashing Down
There is a nerve-wracking delay, when you place the call, but your target picks up soon enough. Lysa Vauln is a surprisingly disarming woman. For a heartbeat, you find yourself sporting a charmed smile at her tone.
"Prime Minister T'Vael! Such a pleasure to meet you at last. I must admit, I'd always hoped that one day we'd meet. I owe so much to you- oh, but you must hear that all the time. I hope the present wasn't too much trouble on delivery."
And just like that, the smile drops off of your face. Three ardat-yakshi, going out blazing, an ambush survived by luck and skill, and she called it a present.
You breathe in, taking control of yourself again and glancing at Agent Shalaya, standing in the corner -- a visible reassurance that you can beat these demons. "Lysa Vauln. I've heard so little of you, and yet everything I do suggests that I would like to meet you. Very badly." You remember Beka Vilar, assaulting your pregnant bondmate's home. Out of sight of the device's camera, your fist clenches.
Vauln smiles, on the other end of the line. "Very well delivered, Prime Minister. I almost felt a chill down my spine."
"You can only hide it so long, can you?" you spit, scowling.
"Oh, I can hide it a millennium," she replies, smiling. "Or, if I so choose, not at all. And I think we have enough to discuss without pretending." She leans forward, grinning. "I am old, Prime Minister. A thousand years and all three stages. I may yet die of old age! I've spent a very long time on the run. I feel like I'd enjoy coming in from the cold. You seem like a woman who can appreciate the value I can bring to the table."
"You have a proposal," you say, leaning back in your chair.
"I do," she says. "Prime Minister, I've come to love Virmire, especially since you came to rule it. Love what you've done with the place. If you'd have it, I'd offer you my service, in exchange for you helping me drop off the Republics' dance card. Permanently."
"You are a matriarch," you say, tilting your head. "A very old Matriarch. You can't even have that much time left."
"Then it should be trivial to arrange so lasting an end to things," she said, smiling. "After all, the ruse only needs to hold for so long."
You take a deep breath. "What form of service do you anticipate giving?" you ask.
One of Shurna's agents, sitting in the corner, slides a datapad just under the comm device. 'Trace is bouncing around a thousand redirects. Trying to nail it down.'
Vauln speaks through the background. "Why, my combat skills, of course. Only a few of us hid long enough to gain Huntress training. I was one of them. Oh, I served for centuries, before being found out. Of course, eventually I was, but by then I was a master. You may recall Beka doing the most damage, despite dear Cyntha having centuries to feed nearly undisturbed and Nalah managing to subdue one of your agents? Beka had Huntress training, too. And I am not as reckless as Beka."
"So you'd want to be used as a superweapon," you say.
"As a particularly valued soldier," snaps Vauln, finally visibly needled. It clears from her expression after a long moment. "I am powerful, yes. I am not a weapon. I am the most valuable soldier you've ever seen."
"And you'd kill rachni for us?" you ask. "Dive onto hostile worlds at the head of a team and uncomplainingly spend the last of your years churning through waves of bugs?"
Vauln's face at last cracks open into a feral grin. "Of course. And then I'd go do it again. And after every victory...I would feed." She laughs. "I think I might just be the strongest asari in the galaxy, by the time I finished! Mere decades in that grinder could give me more power than a god!"
You lean forward, despite yourself. The situation she describes is horrifying, but...Vauln has lived for nearly a thousand years, and she knows how to speak. And the picture she paints is a compelling one.
She cackles quietly. "My legacy would be awe and terror, and the ruin of entire worlds. Let the Republics know of it, once it is done! I would be the most powerful asari in history."
Your mind spins with the possibilities. Rachni worlds reduced to shattered wrecks. Offensives simplified by the mere expedient of a single woman and her support staff. The Commonwealth, able to advance without fear of isolated Rachni garrisons holding them back.
Vauln peers at you with a glint in her eye. "Give this to me, Mira. Give me that chance. I cannot promise an end to the war, but I will win campaigns for you, once my strength has grown."
Oddly enough, it is her first use of your name that does it. The familiarity shatters the spell of awe and intrigue she's attempting to weave. Only a handful of people call you Mira. You do not hold any of them in the kind of regard she is attempting to impose. You shake off the haze of near-religious terror. You blink, coming back to yourself and realizing with a bolt of dread that she nearly enthralled you through the call.
And she sees the spell breaking. All trace of emotion drops off of her face. "A pity," she says. Her biotics glow, whiting out the screen.
BOOM.
Dust rains from the ceiling, and you dart to your feet as the Ministerial House shudders on its foundations, Shurna's man doing likewise. Agent Shalaya's hand snaps to the side of her head as MSA agents burst into the room, and then she burst into action, rushing towards you.
"What's happening?!" you snap, a sinking feeling of dread in your heart telling you that you already know.
"Biotic artillery strike on the main entrance," snaps Shalaya, directing her fellow agents to the escape tunnel behind your desk. "Vauln is the likely cause. We need to remove you for your safety."
For once, you do not argue, immediately standing and moving to evacuate. "Minister Shurna?"
"Departing via another route," says Shalaya, taking you by the arm and moving you through the passageway. She kept the other hand on her ear, relaying the constant stream of updates she was receiving. "Reinforcements are en route to respond, but Vauln is demonstrating more power than we ever assumed she was capable of."
You grit your teeth. "I know. I can feel it." It takes an insanely strong biotic as the sensor or the target to cause one's biotics to resonate with an ambient source. You've never had the knack, and you're not exactly weak. Ship cores would do it for you; mass relays would do it. Never has any other biotic set you off. Not even Vilar.
Shalaya nods, increasing her pace. "There's nothing to be done here," she mutters. "We need to leave."
You all hurry down the tunnel, dust raining from the ceiling as more impacts resound from up above. Tense minutes pass with you all held in absolute silence, not even daring to breathe lest the ceiling come crashing down. You only begin to relax even a little when you reach the end, discharging you into a park several blocks away from your office. Covered by the trees, you run away from the pillar of smoke rising from your office, heading for the vehicle park nearby that holds your reserved escape vehicle. "Any updates?" you pant.
Shalaya tilts her head to the side, frowning. "Hostile is withdrawing from reinforcements," she says. "She-" Her eyes widen through her visor, and she snaps a glance over her shoulder. "Prime Minister, down!" She hurls herself fully off the ground, slamming into you, and you fall together, down a slope and into a lake.
A heartbeat later, every inch of your skin prickles and your teeth vibrate as you feel Vauln again, and then-
WHUMP
-the park explodes, biotic energy cascading over everything. Your other agents scream as they die. You feel a rumble deep in your bones as a warp strong enough to scour the earth washes over the surroundings. You and Shalaya tumble in the water, struggling to right yourselves.
After a moment, you break the water's surface again, and Shalaya hauls you to your feet, looking up. You follow suit.
Vauln drifts down through the air high overhead in a lazy arc, glowing blue-white.
Your heart sinks. To sense biotics at range takes either a strong source to sense...or a really powerful biotic.
And Vauln was very powerful.
You take a shaky breath and draw your sidearm. Shalaya grabs your wrist without even looking over. "This isn't like Vilar, Prime Minister," she says.
"I know that," you say, gritting your teeth.
"There is no fighting this," she says, her gaze never wavering from Vauln. "She's a legend. You can't fight her."
"...maybe I can't beat her," you admit. "I can always fight."
"Nobody doubts that, Prime Minister," she says, rolling her shoulders. "You can fight any battle. We all know. But we need you to fight the war. The Commonwealth won't last. Not without you. You need to keep going until you can make sure it can stand on its own." She glances over at you. "And you still have your family to think of."
You feel a stab of pain and guilt at the thought, and having forgotten. "And you don't?" you ask, trying for some levity.
She looks away. "No. Only some friends. They'll understand."
The bottom drops out of your stomach. "...I am not in the habit of leaving people to die if I can possibly help it-"
"Well, you can't!" snaps Shalaya, snapping her head back around to glare at you. After a frozen moment, her gaze softens. "...you can't. Just go. Speak to your bondmate. Hold your little girl. Carry on. I'll delay her." She lights up her own biotics.
"Agent Shalaya, you can't hope to hold her off for any measurable period of time," you say, glancing up as your enemy approaches closer. "Come with me!"
Shalaya laughs a little, marking Vauln's position as well. "Oh, don't worry about me," she said. "I was the first person to find a brood warrior, you know. First person to kill one, too. Same encounter. Beat the son of a bitch to death." She looks at you, and even though you can only see her eyes, you can tell she's smiling. "They tell me I'm a war hero, don't you know? Nothing can kill me." She turned and started walking up the slope.
You swallow hard, gripping your sidearm. Then you jerk away and start scrambling up the slope in the opposite direction, making for the vehicle park.
Then, the ground shakes again, tossing you from your feet as Vauln tires of her slow drift and slams to earth with titanic force.
"Ah, ah, Mira," she calls as you roll to a stop and begin to stand amidst the bodies of the rest of your team. "No leaving, not yet. That's rude."
You turn and see Shalaya interposing herself between Vauln and you, biotics alight and fists clenched. "Lysa Vauln!" she calls. "Get down on the ground and deactivate your biotics! This doesn't have to end like this!" She flares as hard as she can, but it's like a candle before the storm surrounding Vauln, painful even to look at.
Vauln cackles, voice echoing around the impromptu clearing she's made. "You want me to surrender? Adorable. Tell me, girl, are you even a matron yet? So eager to die?"
"I am ordering you to stop," says Shalaya. "And I am prepared to use deadly force if you do not."
Vauln laughs again. "Oh, I think I'll eat you, girl. Such bravery is to be commemorated! You'll make a fine dessert after our delicious buffet of a Prime Minister!"
Some of the tension goes out of Shalaya's shoulders, and you recognize the deceptive stillness of a soldier preparing to fight. She sighs, inaudible, only perceptible due to her shoulders moving. She looks over her shoulder at you.
You flinch, the vibrations in your teeth redoubling.
Irises glowing white with power, Shalaya nods once to you. "Sorry, Prime Minister."
She turns back, and the world tears. Her biotics pass through blue and into white, so brightly that you absolutely cannot look, no matter how you try. You raise a hand.
Vauln's own biotics flare in a startled jerk revealing yet more power, and objects begin to lift up, caught in the backlash from the two women's power.
Vauln stares, lips parted slightly. "Irae...?"
Your bodyguard -- the war hero -- the ardat-yakshi stares back. She nods, once. "Hello, Lysa."
THOOM
She vanishes into a streak of light terminating in Vauln and reappears with her arm drawn back, a biotic blast lifting the older woman into the air, tumbling. She thrusts her arm forward, and the resulting blast sends you tumbling.
You snap back to yourself and control the slide, coming back to your feet and skidding.
You're reeling. You didn't suspect this, not at all, but now a thousand things are coming together, things you dismissed as just a powerful biotic and war veteran doing what she does best. All of Shalaya's -- Irae Folan's -- excellence in the hunt to date. All of her success in bringing down the monsters bedeviling your home.
You acknowledge that, and you set it aside. Right now, none of that matters. Or, rather, it's an issue for later. Right now, Shalaya told you to run before this started.
You can work out Folan later.
Now, there's Vauln.
Kicking in your biotics, you increase mass, jerking to a halt, and then release it, dashing to the side and firing.
Vauln skids to a halt with a more impressive version of your own maneuver, raising a barrier. "Unbelievable," she snarls, ignoring you completely. "Centuries without a word, and you turn up as somebody's pet?"
"Some of us want more than another meal," says Folan. "You once convinced me that you understood that."
Vauln's eyes flicker to you and back. "She will never accept you."
Folan nods. "Perhaps."
Vauln snarls and throws a warp.
Folan sprints forward into it, letting it detonate her barrier and casting out a push that tears up soil. Vauln stumbles, and the two women clash again, biotics lending their limbs weight and speed.
Cursing, you start sprinting around the brawl, trying to get an angle on them. Think. I can't compete in power. I can't call in backup, not before this escalates further. I need some way to give Folan an edge before Vauln really starts fighting back.
Both women's skills are on full display. Vauln moves with an eerie grace that reminds you of your first mentor. Folan comes on like a hurricane, all power and force. And she has the edge in power, you can see it. You shudder at the thought of how many people died for that strength.
Yet still, Vauln is holding her own.
"You're sloppy!" she says. "No finesse! No grace! Clearly, you've remembered nothing of what I taught you."
"I haven't forgotten enough," replies Folan, focused.
Vauln shrieks in fury, throwing another warp that her junior barely dodges. "Ungrateful brat! I'm going to drain you of everything you have to give!" She lunges forward, kicking Folan in the gut and going for the grapple, insane rage on her face. Her fingers frame Folan's face.
You curse, sprinting forward.
Folan grunts, engaging her biotics and pushing back. "I will not...let you take what I have," she snarls, seizing Vauln's head as well. Their eyes film over black, debris orbiting them as they glow like novae. Then, she winces, grunting.
Vauln shrieks in laughter. "Silly girl," she says, grinning. "You think a little feeding is enough to overcome a millennia of practice? I am the legend! You're just a snack I'll step by along the way-!"
bang
Vauln stiffens, letting out a breathless grunt.
You step back, the barrel of your pistol smoking as you withdraw it through her faltering barrier.
Folan immediately takes control of the grapple, slapping Vauln's arms away and bending her backwards, fingers digging into her face. "You are alone," she snarls, eyes blackened pits.
Vauln stares back, mouth gaping, eyes wide. Then, they fall into the depths of bonding as well. She begins to seize, and you turn your head, gorge rising at the sight.
After a moment that lasts far too long, the glow fades away, and you hear the thump of a body hitting the ground. You look back and see the last flickers of blue fading away from Folan's extremities.
She immediately slumps to the ground, head hanging. "...Prime Minister."
Your fingers hurt on the grip of your pistol. "...Irae Folan."
She lets out a shaky laugh, reaching up to pull her helmet off. You can see that she's trembling, skin pale. "It's...it's been a while since I've heard that one," she admits, flashing a brittle smile and not meeting your eyes.
You nod, slowly. "I'll need you to wear an inhibitor," you say.
She shakes her head, holding up three fingers. "Three," she says, unnecessarily. "I...I'm..." she glances over at the body of her senior. "...Lysa was right about draining the rachni," she said. "She was- right-" She starts hyperventilating, holding her knees close to her chest.
You take a half-step back, unsure of what you're looking at. Slowly, you step over to the dead agents, taking the inhibitors that they've all come to carry over the course of this crisis. Only once four are in place around Folan's wrists do you step back. You wait with the ardat-yakshi, pistol drawn, until the MSA catches up to you and evacuates you from the area.
* * *
Given that ardat-yakshi melding kicks in for the sexual-equivalent forms of melding, and the fact that both of the people involved in the conversation below are asari with a full and proper understanding of the biological and cultural context of that, you should be aware going into things that the following section contains themes of sexual assault and bestiality, albeit in a form unrecognizable to human procreation. Attendant to them is a pretty detailed description of somebody displaying hellish amounts of self-loathing. Summary at the end.
You sit down across from a plain, metal table from Folan. She looks back at you, silent, eight biotic inhibitors around her arms and shackles securing her to the table. You sit patiently, waiting.
Three weeks have passed since Vauln's final attack, and Folan has said not a word. The ardat-yakshi has gone completely nonverbal, obeying every instruction but saying nothing. Not to her jailors. Not to the interrogators. Not to Shurna. Not to Kirai.
Only now are you here. You sit patiently, waiting.
She sighs. "This is going to continue until I say something, isn't it?"
"In hindsight," you say, "it was a bit of a coincidence that Beka Vilar's barrier just so happened to hit its limit when you first entered the fight. She sure didn't look like she was expecting it. And, well, sure Mira Brae had been under intense fire, but she hardly seemed to be running on dregs. But you threw her into a rock hard enough to kill her, through a barrier. These fights seem to have a tendency to turn -- swiftly, but believably -- when you enter the fray." You shake your head. "I should have guessed."
She chuckles, leaning back in her chair. "...I don't know what you want me to say, ma'am."
You lean forward, clasping your hands. "You can start by telling me how exactly you got so powerful."
She swallows. "The Rachni. When I was enlisted, there...there were always chances to feed. It really only takes a moment. Feels longer." She grimaces. "I'm...told...that melding normally is similar."
You twitch, shaking your head.
She nods hurriedly and moves on. "I made sure to get a reputation for being very sure all the hostiles were dead. Gave a good cover. Try and meld, nothing happens, move on. Try and meld, succeed, shoot it afterwards. And it worked."
"Why?" you ask.
She averts her gaze. "...I was with Lysa for a long time, before I split off. The drive to feed...it's hard to ignore, when you've indulged it at all."
"How many people?" you ask, voice hard.
Folan sighs quietly. "...seven."
"That alone would earn you a death sentence, back home," you say.
"This is home," she replies.
You blink, leaning back in your chair.
She shakes her head. "The Republics gave nothing to me. Virmire -- the Commonwealth -- they gave me a home. This is home. Not Thessia. Not any planet back there."
You lean forward again. "It could earn you a death sentence here as well, Folan."
Her fingers clench around one another, knuckles whitening. "...please call me Shalaya," she asks, a note of pleading in her tone. "I haven't wanted to be Irae in years."
You don't respond.
She growls under her breath. "I stopped feeding on people when I came to Virmire. Split off from Lysa and the others and just...existed. Lived like a hermit for a few years. I didn't...I didn't want to keep doing it. The first time was an accident. Lysa was the one to find me. She drew me in by promising that we could find a way to be better than just the next kill. She lied. I could tell, by the time we came here. So I tried to find my own way."
"But you drained rachni," you say.
She nods slowly. "I did. I signed up to fight when they came. I didn't think I had a choice. And once I was surrounded by the dead and dying, minds all around me ripe for the plucking..." She swallows. "I overestimated myself. I assumed it wouldn't have a hold on me."
"And so the compulsion snared you," you say.
To your surprise, she shakes her head. "I...not exactly. The rachni...they're not people. Not really. The workers and drones, they're just...animals, I think. Smart animals, but purpose-bred and linked into their hive mind. The queens and brood warriors do all the thinking. I've spent so much time feeding from so many rachni that people...people don't have the same draw." She shudders. "...it's not...perfect."
Revulsion twists your stomach. You grimace. "You...prefer animals?"
Folan bristles. "And what else would you prefer?! You want me to get off on eating people?!" She shudders again. "I know, all right, I- I know." She swallows hard. "It's...it revolted me too, at first, but then I thought about it, and...it was a chance, you know? Maybe if I did it often enough, I'd...I'd be fit to be around people again." She glances up at you for a moment, unable to hold it. "So...I tried."
You swallow your gorge. "...and did it work?"
She grits her teeth. "...yes. Yes, it...I don't...I don't feel the same..." She growls under her breath, a flush of shame coming over her face. "...it worked." She sighs. "The brood warriors, the reason I was so confident when I reported that they were sapient? They're people, properly. I got all the things from that bastard I get from a person. And it was-" Her lips work for a moment. "...it didn't...appeal." She closes her eyes and drops her head.
You shudder in disgust. "And Vauln?"
"Hell of a rush," says Folan, voice hoarse. "I got more power from her than anything else has given me, even the brood warrior. By a long way. But...no, ma'am, I didn't...didn't get anything...personal...out of it." She does not look up.
"So, you've redirected the urge," you say. "How have you attended to it since mustering out?"
"Fish," she says, voice harsh and ragged. "I eat my dinners twice. Please can we talk about anything else?"
You actually gag a little, at that, and leave it aside. Somebody else can...anybody else can pursue this further. "Does anybody else know?" you ask.
"Captain Torak, the CO from my old unit," she replies. "He...saw me melding with the brood warrior, after I beat it. Did me the courtesy of letting me explain myself. He agreed to keep it a secret, once I explained."
You mentally take a note to order Torak's immediate discharge. Personal loyalty is all well and good, but that should have been reported. You can think of reasons both innocent and decidedly not for him to withhold it. Even if he was enthralled, he can't be in service if he's that compromised. Outwardly, though, you nod. "Why did you leave the service?" you ask, tabbing to your notes on your datapad. "You were in various forms of frontline service for the entirety of the conflict. Void Marines, for quite some time, although you transferred to the Army as soon as you could and still see regular action. CAG, as a founding member and up through the Battle of Eletania. And after Eletania...you mustered out. First soldier to encounter a brood warrior, first person to kill one, and you did it by beating it...mostly to death...with your biotics and your bare hands, when it had something like twenty times the eezo mass you have. Promotions and fame all bound for you, and you left the service. Why?"
"It wasn't good for me," she says. "Sure, I wasn't addicted to people, but...feed the beast enough and there'll be nothing left of you. I was lucky that who I was had a good reason to be in constant action against the Rachni. Lucky that-" She swallows. "...it's easier to feed an addiction to food than people without it taking over your life. I've still been trying to wean it, but-" She shakes herself. "That isn't the point. It wasn't good. I needed to be in constant action, constant danger. Eletania was hell, but it was still one of the best times of my life. And I got reckless, in the end, and Torak saw. He convinced me I needed to step away. We tested with local life on Eletania once the campaign was over, just to make sure I could do it. And...I did." Her thumb rubs over her fingers. "I don't like my method, but it's worked. Years since I went into the MSA, and I've never felt tempted."
"You understand that we won't just take your word for that," you say.
"I'm MSA," she repeats, voice quiet but certain. "It's a common joke to tell rookies that Minister Shurna knows what they ate for breakfast that morning. It varies a little, how long it takes before people realize it's only an exaggeration. Check. You'll find nothing."
Silence falls for a moment, and then you sigh. "What now?"
She sighs as well. "I don't think it's at all possible, but I'd like to continue my job. I mostly like where my life has ended up. I'm useful. I'm under control, and-" Her eye twitches. "...maybe I'm not happy about everything, but I'm at least achieving what I want to. I want to be useful. And I can be. I'm even stronger than Lysa was, although she might have still beaten me, if not for you. But there are no more Lysas. If I can't be hidden anymore...let me be useful." She finally looks back up to meet your gaze. "Seven people who don't deserve it are dead. I can't make it right. I just want it to have been for something. I'll accept whatever you decide, and I know what's on the table, but...please."
Irae Folan discloses that, having indulged her addiction for melding for a time under Vauln's influence, she has since been unable to fight it save through complete isolation. Her eventual recourse, as a byproduct of melding with rachni she encountered during her military service, was consciously attempting to condition herself so the addiction targeted animal minds rather than sapient minds. While she finds the results humiliating and shameful, she claims to have succeeded, feeling no compulsion to meld with sapients and experiencing no satisfaction when she does so in the course of combat. She asks for the chance to be useful to the Commonwealth, stating that it is her home, but accepts any course of action you decide upon.
The last of the coven are dead or in custody, and the time has come to decide their fates.
Final Suspect List
- Beka Vilar (killed)
- Cyntha Li'Sai (captured)
- Irae Folan (surrendered)
- Lysa Vauln (killed)
- Mira Brae (killed)
- Nalah Rissiva (captured)
- Sari Cassel (captured)
- Vira Trast (captured)
[ ][PRISONERS] Life sentences in your new ardat-yakshi-spec ultramax prison. Perhaps they can be of value to research, in return for amenities.
[ ][PRISONERS] The death penalty is on the books, and these women are all superweapons on legs. Any practical use for them has ended.
Irae Folan has requested that she be put to work in Virmire's service. As she pointed out, the MoI keeps an obsessive track on MSA agents, and they have found absolutely nothing to suggest that she has targeted people in the years since her discharge. That same observation, in addition to detailed informational melds with various people she served with in the military, also finds no evidence to suggest that she has ever made use of her domination abilities at all. She will spend the remainder of her days under close supervision and with a conditional kill order hanging over her head. What will you do with her?
[ ][FOLAN] Execute her. Seven people are dead, and while she was under the influence, six of those were still her choice. Justice, however deferred, will be done.
[ ][FOLAN] Imprison her for life. Seven people are dead. Blood won't wash out blood, but justice must be done. And...perhaps, repulsive as you find her method, there is some value to be had that you aren't willing to throw away yet.
[ ][FOLAN] Remand her to the MoI. She appears to have, at least, made very minimal use of her domination capabilities in her life, but they could be absolutely priceless in an intelligence role.
[ ][FOLAN] Return her to the military. Not to her old unit, nor to the CAG. No, her power and skills demand a structure centered specifically around deploying her, with support that allows her to avoid being swarmed over and overwhelmed the way most of the coven was.
[ ][FOLAN] Retain her as an advisor in shaping your approach to ardat-yakshi. You've let the issue be due to bigger problems for too long. It's time to formalize things, and repulsive as her methods are, Folan has done something no ardat-yakshi you've heard of has ever managed to do.
Folan has expressed a clear desire to maintain the Talani Shalaya identity, making clear that she hated her life as Folan and wishes to forget it. If you're doing anything but executing her, avoiding the Republics' retaliation will demand you grant this request, but the question remains: how do you think of her?
[ ][NAME] She is Irae Folan. You cannot just walk away from your past, and while you'll call her whatever you need to, in your mind she will remain Irae Folan.
[ ][NAME] She is Talani Shalaya. She has spent years trying to build a new identity from the ground up. While parts of that identity repulse you, you cannot deny that she has changed completely from who she once was.
MANUAL MORATORIUM. APPROVAL VOTING. WRITE-INS WELCOME. THIS IS NOT A PLAN VOTE.
The combat DC in the previous update was not 45. It was 65.
Character sheet lost: Talani Shalaya. Character sheet gained: Irae Folan.
And even with the ten, your roll, factoring in Folan's true bonuses, was 76. It would have been very weird for y'all to have taken down three ardat-yakshi in close quarters with no casualties, having only beaten the DC by 3.
Well, folks, the Crisis is over, and now all that is to be determined is how you address the remains of the conflict. Your prisoners beckon, and Folan/Shalaya's fate remains to be seen. A lot has happened; what happens next is up to you.
I hope you've all enjoyed our return to posting, and I'll see you around the thread! Next update will be a proper turn post.
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ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
For the ones we captured I'm inclined for the death penalty here we leave them in a prison there's a chance they may escape and well they all seem like unrepentant murders to me so I'm not inclined to let them live in turn. And Irae or whatever I say the 2nd or third option would be best use but I don't think she can be close to the Prime Minister anymore. And I also say let her use her new name and we can claim Irae died to the Republic so there's no lose ends as well.
- Location
- Somewhere.
... @PoptartProdigy I know she's accepted anything we put her to, even death. But if she was in our shoes, what would she do with herself?
Certainly it seems to me that Irae Folan is dead, and has been for a long time. Shalaya has done her job, and done it well. Seems to be capable of controlling herself, and while her method of doing so is clearly not ideal, its drastically better than most other options readily available to her. She can be a person, and a member of society with the methods she's employed, and that's a powerful option to have. I'm certainly not inclined to kill her for killing 7 people. Its certainly murder, and those 7 people had lives that could have gone on to do great things, but rehabilitation is meant to be a part of the justice system. So, letting her go free is certainly not an option, but maintaining her as an advisor on ardat yakshi moving forward? Potentially a viable path.
I'm not sure how possible this is... but I'd assume their medical tech is drastically better than ours... could... they create a synthetic nervous system for her to try and eat? If such a thing could be built and designed to properly control and condition an ardat yakshi's addiction to be met with such a method, it seems like the kind of development that could potentially help long term.
I'm not sure how possible this is... but I'd assume their medical tech is drastically better than ours... could... they create a synthetic nervous system for her to try and eat? If such a thing could be built and designed to properly control and condition an ardat yakshi's addiction to be met with such a method, it seems like the kind of development that could potentially help long term.
Strange9
hdellaverson@gmail.com
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA
@PoptartProdigy If you wouldn't mind me asking, what's the predominant legal theory on Virmire with respect to punishment (and in particular capital punishment)? I recognize that's a potentially very broad question with a lot of answers (which may also be asking you to write an essay in response to a one-sentence question), so if giving a shorter answer would be easier for you, which of these best answers the question?
A: Similar to IRL (the Law doesn't have an underlying theory of punishment) and/or a mix without a clearly predominant theory.
B: Solace to the victims
C: Deterrence
D: Express societal condemnation
E: Kantian-style 'a murderer wills murder as an ethos so it's appropriate to give them the death penalty'
F: More complex
G: Other
I admit that I'd like to give a vote/resolution that's in keeping with Virmire's normal legal tradition.
Edit: Additionally, would a write-in a-la:
[ ][FOLAN] Retain her as a subject for any future studies on diminishing the impact (or curing) the addiction of Ardat-Yakshi to feeding. Allow her the choice of either continuing to serve in a military role (away from the Prime Minister) or living as a civilian (albeit a heavily surveilled one).
be welcome?
A: Similar to IRL (the Law doesn't have an underlying theory of punishment) and/or a mix without a clearly predominant theory.
B: Solace to the victims
C: Deterrence
D: Express societal condemnation
E: Kantian-style 'a murderer wills murder as an ethos so it's appropriate to give them the death penalty'
F: More complex
G: Other
I admit that I'd like to give a vote/resolution that's in keeping with Virmire's normal legal tradition.
Edit: Additionally, would a write-in a-la:
[ ][FOLAN] Retain her as a subject for any future studies on diminishing the impact (or curing) the addiction of Ardat-Yakshi to feeding. Allow her the choice of either continuing to serve in a military role (away from the Prime Minister) or living as a civilian (albeit a heavily surveilled one).
be welcome?
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- Location
- Somewhere.
I believe I've seen artificial meld targets in other fanworks, which leads me to think that it's plausible on the face of it, though admittedly they were much closer to the canon timeframe.
This is completely off the table for me. I've seen enough evidence to believe that she's sincere, and I'm not inclined to punish someone who so hates herself.
Also, hah. All those years, and Lysa still went out like a bitch. I am curious how she managed to figure out where we where we were calling her from, or what our excuse for her power will be.
Fair, certainly their tech isn't near canon, and they didn't make such a thing by then so far as I'm aware. But I think we've got a significant advantage in having an ardat-yakshi that seems safe to work with, who we can actually use to test things regularly and give insight into what goes right or wrong, that I don't really think the asari of canon times ever really had the option for, especially of this type that kills their meld targets. But I could be wrong, still it seems like the kind of thing worth checking yeah? Also... we'd not keep it to just Asari, which seems like it'd help with coming up with new ideas the asari never thought of, just from different cultures, backgrounds, and the like?
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Oof. That's... a really nasty life, and I respect her for trying to find a way that doesn't hurt people.
I'm inclined to go for the death penalty for the captured AYs, because... they're not trustworthy, and are a danger even imprisoned.
Shalaya, I think should be allowed to kill her old identity and be Shalaya, and probably go for either of the last two job options. It seems she'd be suited best to those.
I'm inclined to go for the death penalty for the captured AYs, because... they're not trustworthy, and are a danger even imprisoned.
Shalaya, I think should be allowed to kill her old identity and be Shalaya, and probably go for either of the last two job options. It seems she'd be suited best to those.
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
That was a hell of an update, Poptart. Way to come back in style.
So, real redemption is a rare thing, but justice is better served by a redeemed person doing good works than just another body in a cell, or a grave.
The question is how best to make use of her. I think the military is out because of the very reasons she left. Learning to dominate people for the MoI as an interrogator doesn't seem great either. For her or for security's sake.
I think she might have potential as a broader MoI agent, though. She's practically a perfect candidate for a flexible, highly capable troubleshooter who can do things quiet or loud in something like the Spectre mold. Her personal power means she can walk in dangerous places and deal with dangerous people, and her skills (military and covert) mean she can do a lot more than just a soldier or a spy could.
Proposed vote:
[] Write in: Irae Folan has earned a second chance. Talani Shalyna has earned a medal and a job. You won't risk her losing herself eating Rachni, or dominating minds all day. And your advisors would probably have you committed if you tried to keep her as a bodyguard. But the Commonwealth can use people with the skills to walk where normal agents cannot risk, and to solve problems that would otherwise be unsolvable.
So, real redemption is a rare thing, but justice is better served by a redeemed person doing good works than just another body in a cell, or a grave.
The question is how best to make use of her. I think the military is out because of the very reasons she left. Learning to dominate people for the MoI as an interrogator doesn't seem great either. For her or for security's sake.
I think she might have potential as a broader MoI agent, though. She's practically a perfect candidate for a flexible, highly capable troubleshooter who can do things quiet or loud in something like the Spectre mold. Her personal power means she can walk in dangerous places and deal with dangerous people, and her skills (military and covert) mean she can do a lot more than just a soldier or a spy could.
Proposed vote:
[] Write in: Irae Folan has earned a second chance. Talani Shalyna has earned a medal and a job. You won't risk her losing herself eating Rachni, or dominating minds all day. And your advisors would probably have you committed if you tried to keep her as a bodyguard. But the Commonwealth can use people with the skills to walk where normal agents cannot risk, and to solve problems that would otherwise be unsolvable.
- Location
- USA
She could have killed us or mind controlled us at anytime for a while now and she hasn't. She saved our lives at the cost of her freedom.
She can be a advisor and keep her new name. Or anything else good we can give her. She is going to be monitored forever now.
As to the other prisoners I don't really have a opinion. We could get some interesting research boosts from them but they also might escape and cause problems. Is ultra max secure enough? I don't know.
She can be a advisor and keep her new name. Or anything else good we can give her. She is going to be monitored forever now.
As to the other prisoners I don't really have a opinion. We could get some interesting research boosts from them but they also might escape and cause problems. Is ultra max secure enough? I don't know.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Personally I am rather firmly against the death penalty here. Ardat-Yakshi aren't going to disappear forever by executing them and having them alive could be a benefit to research, especially if Shalaya is appointed advisor. The emergence of new Ardat-Yakshi will forever be a risk, better we try to formulate some better policies on handling them.
- Location
- Washington State
Welcome back Poptart! It's great to see one of the best QM's on the site starting back up again!
Regarding the update:
I don't have particularly strong feelings on the prisoners - I'm personally leaning towards life in prison primarily because Shalaya shows that it's possible for an AY to suppress the urges, and even reform despite the addiction. While I don't have much sympathy for the prisoners given that they were largely unrepentant cannibals, the possibility of using them for research to help prevent future AY from going off the deep end seems valuable enough to be worth the risk of escape.
Regarding Shalaya I have to say I have a ton of sympathy and a great deal of respect for her. When it comes down to it, it takes a hell of a lot of willpower to overcome the AY addiction the way she did, and shows immense commitment to not being a cannibal, as well as loyalty to Virmire. She has 100% earned the right to be called by her chosen name in my opinion.
On a related note, I think the best place to put her is in shaping our approach to ardat-yakshi. She demonstrates that it's possible to not be forced to deal with AY as though they're an existential threat. That's worth it from a sapient rights angle alone - nobody should be hunted and killed or imprisoned for life just for the way they're born, not if there's any other option. If the idealistic perspective isn't doing it for you, there's also the pragmatic consideration: An AY who has grown as powerful as Shalaya has is certainly valuable on the front lines, wetwork, or as an elite troubleshooter, but I'd argue that it's far more valuable to be able to recruit new AY and more sustainably put them to the same purpose. Not to mention the fact that this is the only option which takes a long term view on what to do with future AY.
There's also reasons against each of the other choices:
Execution: What's the point? We don't get anything from this, our citizens don't get anything from this, the victims don't get anything from this, and the victims' families are unlikely to ever know, so they won't get anything from this. Besides that, it feels like a pretty cruel choice to reward Shalaya's enormous efforts to overcome her addiction and atone for her actions by giving her a bullet to the head.
Prison: Basically the same as above, if slightly more palatable. I just don't see much point in retributive justice I guess.
Remand her to the MoI: Do you really want to not just give Shalaya permission, but actively encourage her use of domination? No matter how loyal she has proven herself to be, I don't think this is a good idea. Doubly so given the significant toll wetwork like this takes on a person's mind.
Return her to the military: This also seems like a bad idea - we already know from her testimony (presumably confirmed by her CO, given that we went around melding people to make sure she wasn't using domination) that draining the Rachni was making her unstable. This has the potential to go very badly as she grows both more powerful and unstable from the experience. Not to mention the cruelty of basically demanding that she engage in bestiality for the forseeable future.
Regarding the update:
I don't have particularly strong feelings on the prisoners - I'm personally leaning towards life in prison primarily because Shalaya shows that it's possible for an AY to suppress the urges, and even reform despite the addiction. While I don't have much sympathy for the prisoners given that they were largely unrepentant cannibals, the possibility of using them for research to help prevent future AY from going off the deep end seems valuable enough to be worth the risk of escape.
Regarding Shalaya I have to say I have a ton of sympathy and a great deal of respect for her. When it comes down to it, it takes a hell of a lot of willpower to overcome the AY addiction the way she did, and shows immense commitment to not being a cannibal, as well as loyalty to Virmire. She has 100% earned the right to be called by her chosen name in my opinion.
On a related note, I think the best place to put her is in shaping our approach to ardat-yakshi. She demonstrates that it's possible to not be forced to deal with AY as though they're an existential threat. That's worth it from a sapient rights angle alone - nobody should be hunted and killed or imprisoned for life just for the way they're born, not if there's any other option. If the idealistic perspective isn't doing it for you, there's also the pragmatic consideration: An AY who has grown as powerful as Shalaya has is certainly valuable on the front lines, wetwork, or as an elite troubleshooter, but I'd argue that it's far more valuable to be able to recruit new AY and more sustainably put them to the same purpose. Not to mention the fact that this is the only option which takes a long term view on what to do with future AY.
There's also reasons against each of the other choices:
Execution: What's the point? We don't get anything from this, our citizens don't get anything from this, the victims don't get anything from this, and the victims' families are unlikely to ever know, so they won't get anything from this. Besides that, it feels like a pretty cruel choice to reward Shalaya's enormous efforts to overcome her addiction and atone for her actions by giving her a bullet to the head.
Prison: Basically the same as above, if slightly more palatable. I just don't see much point in retributive justice I guess.
Remand her to the MoI: Do you really want to not just give Shalaya permission, but actively encourage her use of domination? No matter how loyal she has proven herself to be, I don't think this is a good idea. Doubly so given the significant toll wetwork like this takes on a person's mind.
Return her to the military: This also seems like a bad idea - we already know from her testimony (presumably confirmed by her CO, given that we went around melding people to make sure she wasn't using domination) that draining the Rachni was making her unstable. This has the potential to go very badly as she grows both more powerful and unstable from the experience. Not to mention the cruelty of basically demanding that she engage in bestiality for the forseeable future.
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- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
She appreciates the consideration, and tells you that if your situations were reversed she probably would have shot you in the face as soon as you put the inhibitors on. "I don't make these kinds of decisions. I don't know how. Don't ask me to."
The Commonwealth's theory of law is born out of Virmire's, which itself was an unholy mishmash of racial council practices and Citadel Council policies bouncing destructively off of one another in the pressure cooker of the blockade years. A comprehensive reform process is likely necessary at some point, although your focus has ever been elsewhere.
So the theory of law is messy, in short, and offers contradictory guidance here. Hegemony practices actually deny her a trial and would charge Mira with criminal negligence for refraining from a summary execution. Volus practices would demand the involvement of a forensic behavioral accountant (volus have more accounting specializations than asari have therapist specialties) to determine how Folan's actions balance. Asari law would nominally bar the death penalty on principle but in practice Folan would quietly die in prison in a few weeks' time. Council law demands a formal trial and technically holds exile from Sentry Omega as the highest punishment of the land (Council law having some really weird design influences).
All of these traditions have touched your legal system and carried through into an internally-inconsistent mess of clashing systems and practices, where theory of law and scope of punishment often take a second place to determining what set of rules would be best to apply. And they offer no clear answers here, it's just that you've bashed together something mostly functional in practice that mostly relies on precedent and kind of politely ignores everything before a certain date except where it does not.
The death penalty is on the books, but use is deeply inconsistent in aim and practice.
Write-in looks good!
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Assuming we don't kill or imprison her, we'll probably be demanding she engage in bestiality anyways, as we aren't going to give her people to eat, and I don't think she can maintain the degree of control she has around folks without engaging in it. She could probably handle being isolated without such, but interacting with society likely requires her to continue to utilize the method she's got, at least until/unless we come up with a better way. (really hoping a synthetic nervous system would work, but likely take a long time to develop one that is usable for the purpose)
- Location
- Eugene OR US
This I like, a write-in where we charge her the Volus way sounds good to me.
- Location
- Washington State
That's true, but in my opinion there's a world of difference between requiring her to do what she has to in order to live a largely normal non-murderous life, and asking her to do something self-destructive which she clearly loathes for our benefit.
I don't know, it just feels exploitative to put her back on the front lines.
Ganurath
Literal Enthusiast
- Location
- A Valid Location
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[ ][FOLAN] Retain her as an advisor in shaping your approach to ardat-yakshi. You've let the issue be due to bigger problems for too long. It's time to formalize things, and repulsive as her methods are, Folan has done something no ardat-yakshi you've heard of has ever managed to do.
[ ][NAME] She is Talani Shalaya. She has spent years trying to build a new identity from the ground up. While parts of that identity repulse you, you cannot deny that she has changed completely from who she once was.
I'm indifferent on the fate of the others, but Talani Shalaya killed Irae Folan a long time ago. More importantly, keeping her alive is a small price to pay to eliminate the ardat-yakshi as a threat to Virmire. I feel like fighting to win the war rather than just the current battle is a very Mira approach to the matter.
[ ][NAME] She is Talani Shalaya. She has spent years trying to build a new identity from the ground up. While parts of that identity repulse you, you cannot deny that she has changed completely from who she once was.
I'm indifferent on the fate of the others, but Talani Shalaya killed Irae Folan a long time ago. More importantly, keeping her alive is a small price to pay to eliminate the ardat-yakshi as a threat to Virmire. I feel like fighting to win the war rather than just the current battle is a very Mira approach to the matter.
Yeah, I do agree there, and while she could potentially save a lot of lives by continuing to grow in power by eating the Rachni until she's shattering continents or the like... She's done her job, and I'd kinda rather have her working to help other AY to not be cannibals.
Edit: Especially since someone would DEFINITELY find out about it, and... I kinda expect the Asari of the Citadel/Council space would basically freak the hell out if we pulled turning an AY into a WMD with a personality. And I don't think that would go well.
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Shalaya does not seem like a danger to the public or the state and should be free to make their own decision about what they do next and also get booked in for some therapy.
We should offer them a position advising on AY affairs and rehab or in combat, or they can go do something else of their choice with some unobtrusive surveillance.
The other prisoners should be securely imprisoned and rehabilitated if possible. Maybe a positive way of life for the AY can be found with a bit of imagination and some space away from kill-on-sight persecution.
Not keen on any story about turning the AY into super soldiers without offering them genuine alternatives. Seems exploitative (your only way out is through military service) and mentally unhealthy for the AY (you are dangerous and bad, but we'll keep you alive as attack dogs - not good for self image).
We should offer them a position advising on AY affairs and rehab or in combat, or they can go do something else of their choice with some unobtrusive surveillance.
The other prisoners should be securely imprisoned and rehabilitated if possible. Maybe a positive way of life for the AY can be found with a bit of imagination and some space away from kill-on-sight persecution.
Not keen on any story about turning the AY into super soldiers without offering them genuine alternatives. Seems exploitative (your only way out is through military service) and mentally unhealthy for the AY (you are dangerous and bad, but we'll keep you alive as attack dogs - not good for self image).
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10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
There's 2 reasons for it.
1) The Asari Republics would have serious conniptions if they thought we kept an AY around as a tool.
2) You might not trust her system to be stable, and in any of the other positions her power would allow her to do serious harm.
Her system to feed on Rachni broke down around Eletania, the current one has worked for a few years, but normal AY's can hide for years too (it what she herself did before the war).
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
WELP.
We figured she couldn't do that, implicitly, by our decision to talk to her.
That could have ended badly.
Huh. Good thing we never had that bricked up.
Also, kinda glad we have that presidential protection force. They're hilariously expensive, but damn are the earning it now.
"Do you hear that?"
"I feel that!"
Sounds like an product law, like gravitation and electromagnetism. The strength of the contact scales with the product of the target's power and the sensory's power.
Maybe not a strict relationship; there are no doubt complications. But as a first order approximation, remember Murphy's second law of battle: if the enemy is in range, so are you.
If you can feel her power, she can feel yours.
DOUBLE WELP.
Do you know, I'm honestly tempted.
Okay, less tempted.
Conflicted.
...Honorable of Shalaya, to warn us. I'll give her that.
Hm. Either Shalaya lied, estimating low- dishonorable of her- or someone is using their head for more than holding up their hat and decided it'd probably be a good idea to double Shalaya's estimate on general principles.
Either way, someone deserves a commendation for good thinking.
...We should have spotted that second one.
Yeah, let's not make a point of having a whole unit of ardat-yakshi super-commandos, shall we? Sounds like a bad plan. It works far too well, and while it clearly worked (by accident) with Shalaya...
That was us getting lucky.
Yeah.
Yeah.
...
...
...
I am just going to say this.
Talani Shalaya, once known as Irae Folan, is one of the very few people in all the universe who, having lost her innate right to exist, has made a good faith effort to earn it back.
I am sincerely tempted to say that she has succeeded.
...Honestly, yes.
Yes, we're going to need to discharge him.
I am prepared to go for death penalty here. I don't really want to research ardat-yakshi. If someone suggests a reason why I should, I'll consider it, but.
After seeing what- Cyntha, was it?- what she did to a prison, I hesitate to take chances, even with a specially designed ultramax prison.
Huh. Option three or option five.
She did save our life, repeatedly, against peer opponents (ardat-yakshi with huntress training).
I don't like the military option, though. Sooner or later, someone's going to find out what she's about if she's in the military. The secret will get out that we have a rachni-ivorous biotic goddess on our side. People will ask questions. The asari species will not thank us.
[][NAME] She is Talani Shalaya. She has spent years trying to build a new identity from the ground up. While parts of that identity repulse you, you cannot deny that she has changed completely from who she once was.
...Poptart, you deliberately gender-ambiguous child of a gun, you, THAT is why you warned us!
Aaaaahaaahaaa!
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- Location
- Washington State
This actually brings up a thought - do normal people even know that Ardat-Yakshi exist, let alone the danger they pose? It's been a while since I re-read this, but I vaguely recall the Asari Republics keeping a pretty tight hold on the info.
Like, it may have been mostly ignorance rather than Torak being compromised? After all, what he saw (and presumably had explained to him when he pressed) probably paled in comparison to the reality that Shalaya covered herself in glory during the assault, presumably preserving many of his soldiers' lives. If he's not familiar with the potential threat of an Ardat-Yakshi, I can definitely see why he wouldn't report this.
That being said, once the actual AY hunt/crisis started, yeah he definitely should've reported it then.
The main reason I can think of is that having more test subjects beyond Shalaya could be helpful for developing tools/methods to mitigate/suppress the addiction that comes with AY melding, which would help with rehabilitating victims of the disease and preventing them from going off the deep end.
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