Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

"Our Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya (later known as Tali'Zorah vas Neema and then Tali'Zorah vas Normandy) is a quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. Though young, Tali is a mechanical genius. She is on her Pilgrimage, a rite of passage to prove her worth and bring something of value back to her people aboard the Migrant Fleet. Her class is Quarian Machinist, similar to the Engineer class.

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is voiced by Liz Sroka.

Dossier
Having reached maturity, Tali left her birth ship, the Rayya, and departed the Migrant Fleet on her Pilgrimage. On her travels she began hearing reports of geth, who had never ventured beyond the Perseus Veil since driving her people into exile, and became curious. She tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted planet, waited until one was separated from its unit, then disabled it and removed its memory core. She recovered a file from its audio banks that revealed Saren Arterius was behind the attack on Eden Prime, but possessing the file put her in grave danger. She was pursued by Saren's forces, and escaped to the Citadel.

On her way, Tali was shot and had to go to the Med Clinic for treatment. She told Dr. Chloe Michel she wanted to trade her information to the Shadow Broker in exchange for a hiding place, but was double-crossed by Fist who was working for Saren. She was expecting to meet the Shadow Broker in person but met a "messenger" with a group of assassins. Tali threw a tech proximity mine to defend herself, and was aided by the timely arrival of Commander Shepard's team.

To repay the Commander for saving her life, Tali presented the proof that Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson needed to get Saren's Spectre status revoked. Tali's data also provided the first mention of the ancient machine race called the Reapers, who hunted the Protheans to extinction, and the mysterious Conduit. Wanting to help fight the geth and prove herself, Tali then joined Shepard's team.

Tali spends her time in the Normandy's engine room. Engineer Adams is very impressed by her knowledge, wishing his crew were half as smart as Tali. They often work together to disassemble any abandoned technology, such as old orbital probes that the Normandy's survey missions discover. Shepard can chat to Tali about her fascination with starship technology and the Normandy's unique design, especially the enormous drive core.

Tali talks about life as a quarian nomad, her Pilgrimage and the ramshackle three-hundred-year old vessels in the quarian Migrant Fleet. Her mother died five years ago due to an airborne virus and although Tali is sad about this loss, such deaths are an unfortunate fact of life aboard the Flotilla. She also reveals that her father is the head of the Admiralty Board - the highest authority of the quarian people - meaning everyone has high hopes for Tali's Pilgrimage.

Tali also offers some insight into the geth: why the quarians originally created them, how they rebelled, and how the neural network functions. She explains that her people struck first to try and stop the geth before the war started, but underestimated how far the geth had developed. Shepard can debate this with her, pointing out that the quarians basically attempted genocide against another sentient species.

At first Tali is very excited about being on board the Alliance's most advanced vessel, but she begins having problems. She can't sleep because she's not used to a ship that runs so quietly (to a quarian, a quiet ship means a dead engine or worse, a malfunctioning air filter). She also says that compared to the crowded conditions of the Migrant Fleet, the Normandy feels disturbingly empty, "it's like half the crew is missing." She manages to adjust over time and becomes much more cheerful. Tali enjoys visiting the crowded, noisy Wards on the Citadel because they feel like home, and she particularly likes the music in Flux, hoping to take a copy back to the Flotilla.

If Shepard treats Tali with respect, the quarian is very grateful, explaining that her people are usually treated like second-class citizens. On Virmire, at the salarian camp, Tali is nervous about the upcoming assault on the base, but promises she will "fight with fire" for Shepard's sake. After the mutiny, when Shepard steals the Normandy and heads to Ilos, Tali enjoys the adventure of it all, but wonders what the Council would do if the Citadel Fleet caught up with them. Shepard is sure Tali's father would pull strings to keep his little girl out of jail, but Tali isn't convinced: stealing ships is a capital offense amongst the quarians, stating that "he'd probably want to execute us himself."

If Tali goes with Shepard to Ilos, she finds the planet eerie and feels as if they are trespassing there. She claims the quarians once tried to find Ilos as a new potential homeworld, but they never expected it to feel so unwelcome. After speaking to Vigil, Tali is saddened by what happened to the Protheans - like her people, the Protheans tried to fight back against the machines, but eventually lost everything.

Missions and Assignments
When Commander Shepard is completing UNC: Geth Incursions, to clear the geth from the Armstrong Nebula, a cache of data is found in a terminal, detailing the early days of the geth.

Once back aboard the Normandy, Tali asks Shepard to give her a copy of the data. Though it is heavily encrypted and might take years to decipher, it is a perfect gift for her Pilgrimage. Shepard can refuse - this is classified Alliance data, after all - or agree to her request, hoping the Alliance doesn't find out. Obviously, if Tali receives a copy of the data, she will be very happy (it will enable her to return to her people once the mission is over) but if Shepard refuses, Tali says she will help catch Saren, but leave the crew afterwards - in order to find something of equal value and complete her Pilgrimage on her own.

Mass Effect 2
' "Shepard? Is that... you're alive?" '

Quarian Machinist

 * Rank 1
 * Health: +5.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +6.00%
 * Power Duration: +6.00%


 * Rank 2
 * Health: +10.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +12.00%
 * Power Duration: +12.00%


 * Rank 3
 * Health: +15.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +18.00%
 * Power Duration: +18.00%


 * Rank 4 Unlocks choice between Quarian Engineer or Quarian Mechanic
 * Quarian Engineer: Tali is operating at peak efficiency, increasing the duration of her powers.
 * Health: +20.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +18.00%
 * Power Duration: +25.00%
 * Quarian Mechanic: Tali's expertise in engineering firearms of all kinds increases her weapon damage.
 * Health: +20.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +25.00%
 * Power Duration: +18.00%

Dossier
Commander Shepard, while investigating the disappearance of human colonies with Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson, encounters Tali at Freedom's Progress. There, she is searching for Veetor, a fellow quarian who, in the events of his Pilgrimage, had been on the colony during the Collector attack. Tali is initially thrilled to find Shepard alive, but disappointed to see the Commander working with Cerberus. Due to that organization's anti-alien reputation and recent act of sabotage against the Flotilla, she is wary of their motives. After finding Veetor and evidence that the Collectors were behind the colony's disappearance, Shepard decides whether to let Tali return the traumatized quarian back to the Flotilla or hand him over to Cerberus for further interrogation. Tali expresses disapproval should Shepard choose the latter. Regardless of Shepard's choice, they part ways as Tali returns to the Flotilla.

Later, Shepard has the option to recruit Tali. However, she must first be rescued from the former quarian planet of Haestrom, deep within currently geth-controlled space. Shepard finds out that Tali has been sent to the planet with a contingent of quarian marines to gather data on the planet's prematurely-decaying sun. Her mission becomes jeopardized when geth land on the planet, eliminate her fellow quarians, and leave her trapped inside a building. After fighting their way through the geth and rescuing a marine named Kal'Reegar, Shepard's team reaches Tali who agrees to join them. Before they leave, Tali gives Kal'Reegar her data, which suggests that dark energy at the sun's core causes its current instability. She laments that the Admiralty Board had best make use of this information for many of her friends and colleagues perished in its gathering. Aboard the Normandy, Jacob welcomes Tali warmly, but she dismisses him and reiterates her skepticism towards Cerberus' intentions. She makes it clear that she is joining the mission for Shepard's sake, not Cerberus'.

Loyalty: Treason
Later, Tali informs Shepard that she has been charged with treason, and asks to be taken to the Flotilla to defend herself. Shepard acts as her advocate per quarian law. Once there, Tali discovers she has been accused of transporting active geth into the Flotilla. Apparently, Tali had been shipping home numerous pieces of disassembled and inoperable geth to her father's ship, the Alarei, for his research. While this in itself is not a crime, the geth parts reanimated, commandeered the Alarei, rebuilt themselves, and slew everyone aboard, including a team of quarians detached to investigate. Tali's father is among the dead, which shocks and dismays her. Nonetheless, the Admiralty Board decides that the blame for this incident lies squarely upon Tali and threatens her with exile from the Flotilla unless she — with Shepard's help — can retake the Alarei and provide evidence proving her innocence.

Fortunately for his accused daughter, Tali's father made a recording revealing all that had transpired upon the Alarei. The recording explains that, in his haste to hack the geth, Tali's father circumvented numerous security protocols which led to the geth uprising on board the ship. The video explicitly clears Tali from any wrongdoing, with her father accepting full responsibility for the blunder. Other entries show his discussions with members of his crew: they pressure him to have Tali send back larger, more active — and more risky — pieces of geth, to accelerate the project. He forcefully refuses, affirming his refusal to risk his daughter suffering any political "blowback" should something go awry.

To Tali, her father is an aloof and distant figure of authority. In an another log entry, her father reveals the reason for his mistake: he desired a better life for his daughter upon the quarian homeworld and wanted to hack the geth as soon as possible so he could reclaim it for her. These discoveries, aptly delivered to Tali after her father's death, are the most compelling declarations of love that Tali had ever heard from her father.

Unfortunately, this evidence against her father is so damning that revealing it to the Flotilla would forever tarnish and vilify his name. Tali cannot bear the thought of her father being remembered solely for endangering the Flotilla, the gravest crime a quarian can commit. She pleads with Shepard to let her accept the conviction and subsequent exile at the trial, sparing her father's reputation.

The trial has four possible outcomes:
 * Shepard presents evidence clearing Tali's name but implicating her father. Although exonerated, Tali feels that Shepard betrayed her, and does not become loyal, prompting Shepard not to speak with her, unless it is important. She also reveals that flotilla is now in great dispute - some want to immediately begin assault on Geth, while others want make latter a peace offer.
 * Shepard withholds evidence, and Tali is exiled. Yet, Tali becomes loyal to the Commander and informs him that she might regain acceptance if she reproves herself to the quarian people.
 * With sufficient Paragon or Renegade points, Shepard gives an impassioned speech, claiming either that Tali's past service proves her loyalty (if Paragon), or that the trial is a sham and but a means to further the Admiralty Board's own agendas (if Renegade). In reminding the court of Tali's service to the galaxy, Shepard's actions both exonerate Tali and spare her father's name.
 * If Shepard handed Veetor over to Tali to return to the Flotilla while on Freedom's Progress and later saved Kal'Reegar on Haestrom, Shepard rallies the crowd. Both Veetor and Kal'Reegar speak up in Tali's defense, turning the assembled crowd against the Admiralty Board, exonerating Tali and sparing her father's name.

Regardless of whether she is exiled or exonerated, Tali expresses her gratitude towards Shepard for his aid and rejoins the campaign against the Collectors as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. 

After both Legion's and Tali's loyalty missions are completed, they confront each other. Legion has been scanning data from Tali's omni-tool and sending it to the geth; needless to say, Tali strongly disapproves. Unless Shepard has amassed sufficient Paragon or Renegade points, one of them will lose loyalty.

Romance
"What could I possibly be suggesting? I mean, a young woman gets saved by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? How could she possibly develop any kind of interest in him?"

Tali is a potential romance option for a male Shepard. When Tali first joins the crew of the Normandy, Yeoman Kelly Chambers informs Shepard that Tali may wish to be "more than just friends" and describes the noticeable signals in her body language. After completing her loyalty mission, Shepard can begin courting Tali. She confirms the yeoman's thoughts, revealing that since the start of their adventures together fighting Saren, she had developed feelings for Shepard. Until this point, however, Tali was afraid to act on those feelings because she doubted that he could see who she truly was through her veiled visage.

She is happily suprised when Shepard proves her wrong by telling her he feels the same way about her. In agreeing to pursue more intimate contact, she decides that she must "feel [his] skin against [hers]." Unfortunately, quarians' weak immune system makes physical acts of affection dangerous, if not deadly. She thus requests that Shepard wait until she can adequately make herself ready. Shortly before the Normandy's entry into the Omega-4 relay, Tali informs Shepard that she has taken several antibiotics and "herbal supplements" to bolster her immune system. Speaking nonstop (a "defense mechanism"), she becomes visibly nervous about removing her bio-suit and having her first intimate experience. Shepard assuages her worries and proceeds to remove her mask, viewing her face unobstructed for the first time (but out of view of the camera). The two then consummate their love.

Afterwards, Shepard can invite Tali up to his quarters through the intercom. Two options are available: they can either cuddle on the couch or relax on the bed.

Furthermore, Tali informs Shepard that, although she is "running a fever," has a "nasty cough," and her sinuses "are filled with something [she] can't even describe" since outside of her bio-suit, it was "totally worth it." 

Mordin notices Shepard's attraction to Tali and may also give Shepard advice concerning his relationship with her. 

Suicide Mission
After the Normandy passes through the Omega-4 relay to confront the Collectors' base ship, a dogfight with several Collector drones ensues. If Shepard has not installed Tali's shield upgrades to the ship beforehand and didn't pick her up to fight the Occulus, Tali is slain in an explosion on the engineering deck after Joker is forced to ram the ship through some space debris. Otherwise, if Tali and the Normandy survive the dogfight, she can join Shepard's final assault on the Collectors' base ship. Provided that Tali is loyal, Shepard can choose her to infiltrate the base's vents and unlock the central doors for the rest of the squad. If she is brought to the encounter with the Human-Reaper, She expresses her wish for Shepard to destroy the collector station.

Trivia

 * It is possible to see Tali's face through her breathing mask, but only her eyes and nose are visible (however, given an appropriate lighting, her face is more exposed). What can be seen appears very humanoid.
 * Tali carries a knife strapped to her boot, but nothing is made of it.
 * Having completed her pilgrimage, Tali's appearance in Mass Effect 2 was redesigned to be familiar yet noticeably more mature than in Mass Effect.
 * Tali sometimes exclaims "Keelah!" when shocked. This word, a mild oath of sorts, likely refers to a quarian religious figure. It is used the same way humans might employ 'Jesus!' as an exclamation. Thus, "Keelah Se'lai" most likely means "peace be with you" or something to that effect and resembles the Islamic الله أكبر (transliteration: Allāhu Akbar, English: 'God is Great'), recited as an invocation or battle cry. Tali uses it to address Shepard at the end of her loyalty mission. (Needs verification)
 * Tali's combat drone is named Chikktika vas Paus, a subtle reference to Baldur's Gate II. Chikktika Fastpaws is the loyal raccoon familiar of Baervan Wildwanderer, a gnomish deity worshiped by Aerie.
 * When Chikktika is summoned, Tali will occasionally cry, "Go for the optics! Go for the optics!", again referencing Baldur's Gate II's Minsc, who shouts, "Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes!" to Boo, his miniature giant space hamster.
 * Tali is unmasked in-game for the first time in Mass Effect 2 as part of the conclusion to her romance subplot. While Shepard can see her face in this sequence, camera placement ensures that the player does not.
 * If the player uses mods or the console on the PC version to change the camera angle during that scene, it's shown that the mask is never actually removed from Tali's character model, with instead a new mask spawning in Shepard's hands as he puts his hands up to her face.
 * Having Tali and Garrus in your squad while on the Citadel in Mass Effect 2 will reveal some interesting conversations. Garrus will ask Tali if she misses the conversations they had had during long elevator rides, to which she replies in the negatory. Garrus adds that they had a great time asking her about life on the Flotilla; Tali states that the conversation "is over". Obviously enjoying himself, Garrus jokingly asks her to tell of her immune system again. Tali reminds him of her shotgun; satiated, Garrus lets the topic drop.