Tali: Quarian Luminary of the Stars by Jade Gretz

https://www.deviantart.com/jadegretzai/art/Tali-Quarian-Luminary-of-the-Stars-1044981516

The vast expanse of stars stretched endlessly beyond the horizon, a cosmic tapestry that once filled Tali'Zorah vas Normandy with wonder. But not tonight. Tonight, the black sky of an unnamed planet in the far reaches of the Terminus Systems bore a different kind of silence—the kind that warned of danger lurking just beyond the veil of darkness. The planet itself was barren, its surface a desolate wasteland of jagged rocks and twisted metal wrecks from wars fought centuries ago. And beneath that cracked and dead ground, something ancient slumbered.

Tali stood at the mouth of a tomb buried deep within the planet’s crust. It was a structure so old that it predated even the Protheans, its origin lost to time. The faint hum of her suit's environmental systems was the only sound she could hear, a comforting reminder that her fragile immune system was protected from the hostile environment outside. Yet, inside the tomb, where no one had walked for millennia, there was something far worse than environmental hazards.

"Keelah," she muttered under her breath as her glowing blue visor illuminated the entryway. The air inside the tomb was thick with an unsettling, suffocating energy—like walking into the jaws of a slumbering beast. As her flashlight flickered over the crumbling walls, she could see markings etched into the stone. The language was unlike anything she'd ever encountered, its alien symbols twisted and jagged, like the scratches of claws on rock.

"I don't like this," she murmured, her voice tinged with unease. "But it's our only hope."

The Quarian race was dying. The war with the Reapers had taken a toll on the Migrant Fleet, and with the resources of the galaxy stretched thin, their survival was becoming more precarious by the day. So when a lead surfaced—whispers of a relic buried within this ancient tomb, one that could hold the key to saving her people—Tali had volunteered to investigate. Alone.

Her steps were cautious as she ventured deeper into the tomb, her pulse quickening with each footfall. The walls seemed to close in on her, the darkness growing thicker and more oppressive the further she descended. A strange scent permeated the air—damp, metallic, and bitter, as if the tomb had been drenched in the blood of countless beings. Her suit filtered the air, but the sensation still gnawed at the back of her mind, unsettling and wrong.

As she reached the bottom of the winding staircase, a vast chamber opened before her, far larger than she'd expected. Pillars, cracked and eroded by time, lined the walls, and the floor was littered with debris—broken pieces of stone and what looked like bones, though not from any species she recognized. And there, in the center of the chamber, stood a large, intricately designed altar, atop which lay a shimmering artifact, its surface pulsating with an eerie, greenish light.

Tali's breath caught in her throat. This was it. The artifact she'd come for—the one that could potentially hold the key to reversing the damage done to her people. But as she stepped forward, she could feel the weight of something watching her. An oppressive presence filled the air, cold and malevolent.

Her hand hovered over the artifact, hesitating. Suddenly, a whisper slithered into her ears, faint but unmistakable.

"Leave… now…"

Her heart raced. She spun around, scanning the chamber with her flashlight, but saw nothing. Only the ancient stone walls stared back at her.

"Keelah se'lai…" she whispered to herself, trying to steady her nerves.

The whisper returned, louder this time. "You are not welcome here… Leave, before it awakens."

Before what awakens? She didn’t dare ask the question aloud.

The tomb's ancient stillness was deceptive. A shuffling sound, barely perceptible at first, began to echo through the chamber. Tali's visor flickered with a warning—**movement detected.** Her breath quickened. Slowly, she reached for her sidearm, drawing it from its holster as she scanned the darkness.

From the far corner of the room, shadows began to shift. At first, she thought it was a trick of the light—her mind playing games with her, imagining things in the gloom. But then, the shadows took form. A creature, unlike anything she'd ever seen, crawled from the darkness. Its skin was slick and black, glistening in the faint light, with long, jagged limbs that ended in razor-sharp claws. Its eyes—or what passed for eyes—glowed faintly, a sickly green light that mirrored the artifact's puls
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