Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is a quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. Tali's class is Quarian Machinist and is similar to the engineer class. Tali is voiced by Liz Sroka.

Tali arrived on the Citadel after capturing a geth during her Pilgrimage. She recovered a file from its memory core that revealed Saren Arterius was behind the attack on Eden Prime. Possessing the file put her in danger and she headed to the Citadel, wanting to trade her information to the Shadow Broker in exchange for a hiding place, but was double-crossed by Fist and almost killed. Commander Shepard saved her from Saren's hired assassins - in exchange 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, 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 Normandy 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 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. 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.

Tali also offers some insight into the geth: why the quarians originally created them, how they rebelled, and how the neural network functions. She talks about how 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 Flotilla, the Normandy feels disturbingly empty, "it's as if 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 despised. 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 offence amongst the quarians, "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, but fights loyally alongside Shepard to retake the Citadel.


 * Weapon Proficiencies: Pistol, Shotgun
 * Armour Proficiencies: Light
 * Tech: Shield Boost, Sabotage, Overload, Damping, AI Hacking
 * Machinist: First Aid, Electronics, Decryption

Trivia
Quarian names are comprised of three parts - the quarian's given name, the title ('Nar' means 'child of', while 'Vas', adopted after the quarian has completed their Pilgrimage and joined a ship, means 'crew of') and the name of their ship. Therefore 'Tali'Zorah nar Rayya' means 'Tali'Zorah, who was born aboard the Rayya '. Presumably Tali's name will change once her Pilgrimage is complete and she chooses a ship.

(Source: Galactic Codex: Essentials Edition 2183)

Missions and assignments
Tali may be chosen as a squad member but there is also an assignment that is important to Tali herself. When Commander Shepard is completing UNC: Geth Incursions, to clear the geth from the Armstrong Nebula, a cache of data is recovered about 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.