Linariley T’eavius

"We must be willing to learn from our past mistakes and acknowledge them if we are to ever move forward and ensure the promise of a better future for our children, our grandchildren, and their descendants will be fulfilled. Failure to do so jeopardizes the values of all who came before us, who gave their lives to make all of this possible. So I ask of you, do not squander it. Because we may never get another chance to make things right."

- Linariley T'eavius

Linariley T'eavius (born c. 1572) is an asari matron, a very powerful biotic and former asari commando who served within the Armali Republican Guard. She is the third and current First Minister of the Interstellar Republic in the post-Reaper War era.

Born to an asari mother and turian father, Linariley enlisted in the military in 1734 CE and began training as an asari commando. As she rose through the ranks, Linariley gained prominence during her nearly four-and-a-half century career within the Armali Republican Guard where she almost single-handedly defended an asari colony from Blood Pack mercenaries for three weeks before reinforcements arrived. In 2162, while on an infiltration mission deep within the Terminus Systems, she was ambushed by pirates and mercenary gangs, captured and tortured by Aria T'Loak before being rescued by turian Spectre Saren Arterius.

Linariley continued to serve as a commando and became famous for her role in foiling multiple assassination attempts on the Citadel Council in 2158, earning her medals and a hero status. She later played a role in the Eden Prime War, where she helped evacuate the Council to the Destiny Ascension during Battle of the Citadel, and would later witness the destruction of the Reaper known as Sovereign at the hands of the human Commander John Shepard. Although the Council would later officially deny the existence of the Reapers, Linariley was one of the few who believed Shepard's warnings. When the Reapers eventually returned to invade the galaxy once more in 2186, Linariley fought alongside her comrades on Thessia as they fought desperately to fend off the Reaper onslaught. She survived the end of the war, and witnessed the beginning of a new golden age.

Several years later after the Citadel Council's decision to reorganize into the Interstellar Republic, amidst a public call for a change in leadership, Linariley challenged and defeated the incumbent First Minister, salarian Vormaw Huksa, during the general election of 2196 and was inaugurated within three months.

Early life
A native of the asari colony world Illium, Linariley T'eavius grew up in the city Nos Astra. Her mother was an asari erotic dancer and her father was a distinguished turian soldier of the 43rd Marine Division. When her father died in combat, Linariley was raised by her mother for the next 100 years before enrolling in the asari military while still in her matron stage.

Military career
She was stationed on Thessia and served with distinction as a commando in the Armali Republican Guard for almost five centuries, often at times visiting her ailing mother before ultimately passing away in 2076. By the year 2157, Linariley was part of the Citadel Council's delegation to negotiate a ceasefire between the Turian Hierarchy and the newly-encountered human Systems Alliance in the Relay 318 Incident—where her talents in diplomacy and tactfulness attracted the attention of Thessia's governing body, the influential Council of Matriarchs. The following year afterwards, Linariley's unit responded to an emergency distress call sent from one of the asari colonies, where they were struggling against the invading Blood Pack mercenaries. With the aid of her unit, the elite commandos of the Armali Republican Guard almost single-handedly fended them off for three weeks before reinforcements arrived.

She would later become famous among the galactic community by uncovering a batarian plot to assassinate the Council and thwarted more than eight attempts despite the dangers it posed, where her courage and selflessness earned praise and hero status.

At some point, Linariley was dispatched on an infiltration mission deep within the Terminus Systems; however, while neutralizing hostile targets, she was lured into an ambush by pirates and mercenary gangs, captured and delivered to Omega for interrogation, where she was personally tortured by the infamous "Pirate Queen of Omega" and de-facto leader of the Terminus Systems, Aria T'Loak before being rescued by turian Spectre Saren Arterius four months later.

Eden Prime War
Following the geth attack on Eden Prime, Linariley was among the visiting dignitaries who witnessed the Council's appointment of Alliance commander John Shepard as the first human Spectre.

During the Battle of the Citadel, she helped evacuate the Council to the Citadel Fleet's flagship, the Destiny Ascension and opted to stay behind to protect as many civilians as possible against Saren's geth and krogan army. When the Reaper known as Sovereign was destroyed by the Alliance Fifth Fleet and Saren's death at Shepard's hands, Linariley was one of the few who heeded Shepard's warnings about the Reapers' inevitable return from dark space and quietly began making preparations despite her superiors' orders not to do so.

Reaper invasion
When the Reapers invaded the galaxy in 2186, Linariley and her comrades within the Armali Republican Guard fought in the Second Battle of Parnitha on Thessia in a seemingly desperate attempt to defend the asari homeworld from the Reapers' all-out assault. When the Allied forces activated the Crucible superweapon and destroyed the Reapers, Linariley was among the survivors on Thessia.

Although somewhat relieved that the war was finally over, she was shocked upon learning the Council of Matriarch knowingly violated Citadel Council law by withholding a Prothean beacon from the entire galactic community and the immediate repercussions the asari faced afterwards, both politically and socially.

Political advisor
"The one problem I am able to find in this new government is there has been a certain lack of wanting to sit down and discuss what should be witin the best interest of our constituents." "And the only downside is that career politicians tend to not actually do anything in regards to dealing with serious threats to security until chaos shows up at our front doorstep. No offense, madam Councilor, but you and your colleagues fall into that category."

- Former Citadel Councilor Tevos and Linariley T'eavius

Following the pyrrhic Citadel Allied Forces victory during the Reaper invasion, Linariley was selected to oversee reconstruction efforts on Thessia and Illium. During this time, she became more personally acquainted with Shepard and the two became good friends. By the time the Citadel Council reorganized as the Interstellar Republic, her political standing earned her and former Councilor Tevos a position on First Minister Selius Orodas's advisory council, where she became one of the more moderate and few pro-Shepard members in the body.

First Minister of the Interstellar Republic
"Armali has been relatively quiet in the last two or three years. Since Shepard defeated the Reapers, the Council of Matriarchs have poured more of its resources into relief and recovery efforts across not just asari space, but its neighbors, too. In that time period, we've managed to stave off threats of famine and our people have taken the chance to do something more than they ever thought possible."

- A Citadel News Network announcement on Thessia

2196 election
Linariley announced her intent to challenge incumbent First Minister Vormaw Huksa in the 2196 general election. Vormaw immediately placed himself as the candidate who championed progressivism—citing his administration's recent accomplishments in developing medical treatment to various illnesses and increased funding for promising science projects. Linariley made her view clear—a dissatisfied citizenry troubled by a lack of active leadership and contrasted with C-Sec's investigation of Vormaw on alleged corruption charges and abuse of power.

She began her campaign by visiting multiple planets and colonies across Citadel space in a "listening tour". Linariley promised to improve aid to planetary reconstruction efforts to worlds still recovering from the Reaper invasion and affirmative action in case of a crisis. She suggested the Office of the First Minister establish an outreach program so as to keep the public informed of current events and to meet with their head of state via extranet instead of being continuously hampered by bureaucracy and political red tape.

The election soon drew the attention of the entire galaxy when Shepard endorsed Linariley at one of her rallies. During their televised debate, word was leaked to the media about Vormaw's role in silencing dissenters, accepting bribes from special interest groups and his impending criminal investigation. Vormaw denied the allegations as a fabrication and accused Linariley of slander. With the help of Shepard, who was in the audience and presented evidence to the moderators, Vormaw was unable to deny the accusations anymore. With public opinion swayed by the revelation and Shepard's endorsement of Linariley, she easily defeated Vormaw in a historic landslide with 85% of the vote.

Tenure
"My friends, today marks the beginning of a new era, one that has continuously been passed down from those who have previously came before us. From generation to generation, each cycle seeks to improve the lives of others―our friends, our families, our neighbors and even random strangers. Each of us are destined to make a difference to the best of our capabilities, and each of us has the potential to make it so. Regardless of who we are or where we come from, we are one. From the day we are born until the day we die, we are one."

- Linariley T'eavius, during her swearing-in ceremony

Linariley was inaugurated as the third First Minister of the Interstellar Republic. In her first days in office, she issued an executive order pressuring companies such as ExoGeni Corporation to increase funding for planetary reconstruction efforts and Synthetic Insights, Ltd. to produce mechs and other autonomous synthetics to enhance the signal range and strength of multiple Quantum Entanglement Communicators across the colonies to re-establish communication.

Personality and traits
Linariley was a charismatic and firm individual. While managing reconstruction efforts on Thessia and Illium after the Reaper invasion, she promoted mutual cooperation and perseverance. When she was elected to her first term as First Minister, Linariley refused to cave into the desires of special interests and routinely performed checks and balances on both the complex bureaucracy on the Citadel and within her own administration so as to keep them in line, ensuring no one overstepped his/her respective boundaries and relegated or outright reprimanded any who did. This often earned her political rivals.

Novels

 * Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy (First appearance)

Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy

 * "I look at all of this, this image of hope and peace, and yet I'm reminded of how many lives we lost to make it possible. That's one of the many reasons why I decided to take a stand and extend a helping hand to those less fortunate than us."
 * "That sort of thinking got us into this mess. Consider this a foolhardy notion if you must, but I will not repeat my predecessor's mistake."
 * (to Patrozi) "I believe that since this is matter of public safety and a matter of protecting our borders, the proper authority lies with the Minister of Defense. Your concerns will be taken under advisement, Minister Patrozi, but it's not up to you to decide what our men and women in uniform can and can't do. The order imposing restrictive limitations on our military by the Minister of Foreign Affairs is hereby declared null and void."

Trivia

 * Linariley is voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard.
 * She has a close friendship with the Shepard family.