Savior

Save Me, but don't Leave Me.

Esther Shepard did not know how she had gotten herself into this situation. She had let her crew take a day of shore leave on Omega while she dealt with a few things, and right at the end she had ended up pinned to a wall by a very angry Batarian and a gun shoved into her temple. Why she had even left the ship without any armor was beyond her. Now, she was never one for admitting her fears, but right now she was terrified. She had no way of getting a message to one of her teammates, let alone fighting back without getting a bullet in the head.

"You think you're so untouchable, Miss Hero of the Citadel, don't you?" he taunted her, his four eyes glaring with hatred, "But you humans are all weak, dumb, and-" a bullet tore through his skull before he could finish his sentence. She stared at the dead body with wide eyes as it fell to the dirty metal ground. Esther blinked a few times, and then looked up to see her rescuer.

"Legion," she whispered. He had his pistol held down to his side, and the plates on his head were flaring. She sighed and ran a hand through her dark brown locks. Staring at him with a small smile, she walked over to wear he was standing.

"Shepard-Commander," he was still, brow plates twitching slightly. His optic blazed like a bright blue flame, and Shepard wondered what thoughts were running through the platform's collective mind.

"I owe you my life Legion. That Batarian bastard surly would have taken off my head if you hadn't come around." She chuckled lightly, the relief washing over her in a single wave. Esther had already collected her thoughts. This was not the first time she had walked the line between life and death.

"You did the same for us on the Collector ship, Shepard-Commander," he stated plainly, optic dilating as he stared down at her. She remembered that moment. After taking down the Reaper larvae, everything had started to collapse. Legion was sliding towards the edge, hand reaching for hers, and then she caught him.

"Yes, but you didn't have to save me from…" she sighed and let the sentence die, "Anyways, how about we go back to the ship? I was headed there anyways before that Batarian bastard shoved a gun in my face," she replied, severely wanting to get back to her cabin where she felt secure. She really did hate Omega. Esther began walking, Legion following suit, and soon enough they were back on the ship.

Esther sat on the bed in her cabin, her hamster Reggie situated in her palms. He looked quite comfortable while she talked to him.

"I just… I don't know. I don't get him," she said with frustration, "He's so unfeeling, but then he has these moments where I think that he's trying to get something across, you know?" her hamster chattered, almost as if replying, "Of course you don't know, you're just a simple creature with no problems," a squeak and more chattering. She sat him down on her knee, watching as he crawled up her leg and propped himself up against her hip. He was quite adorable, and worth the eight thousand credits she had spent on him. When Miranda had heard, she had been quite displeased. But Shepard had put her in her place. Esther was the commanding officer on this vessel, and if she wanted a hamster, then she would have one. Oh, the wonders of being in command. She straightened her slightly messed hair, picking up Reggie and putting him back in his cage. "'Till tomorrow, love," she whispered, smiling at him as he walked into his little house. Now it was time for her to make her rounds of talking with her crew to see how they were doing. First, she decided, was Legion.

"Shepard-Commander," his usual voice resounded in the small room, him looking back at her whilst she sat upon the bench behind him. "We need to tell you something," he said. She had been sitting there for a few minutes after their talk, staring at her hands; she looked up.

"What is it?" she asked inquisitively. What could Legion possibly have to tell her? It was usually Esther who started the conversation of the day, not Legion.

"We have been called back. We must return to Geth space." His words froze her. She swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. Esther thought of all those times her parents had to leave. All those times she thought she would never see them again.

"I'm sorry, honey, but we've been called out again," her mother said with sorrow.

"But…," a seven year old Esther Shepard had tears streaming down her face; her father wiped them away.

"No buts missy, and no tears," He kissed on her forehead, "Stay strong, honey. We'll be back before you know it," a false hope; a glimmer of light in the darkness. She knew it was just part of their job, but she couldn't help but feel abandoned. She didn't like the feeling.

"Oh." Her single word was barely audible, but there was a slight quiver in it. But damnit, she would not cry. She was a soldier now, the best, a galaxy wide hero. She coughed lightly. "Should we plot a course or…"

"That will not be necessary. We have given EDI the coordinates where we will be rendezvousing with a Geth ship," still so nonchalant, but was there- "We will leave in several hours," his statement cut into her thought. Several hours? That was all the time she had left until he would leave? Again, there was that feeling. It was like a sharp and cold pain right above her heart. Damnit, she would not cry. Legion was not family; he was just her comrade. Her comrade who she didn't want to lose.

"So this is goodbye," she scoffed, brows furrowing in slight anger. Not at him, but at herself. She shouldn't have become attached. Esther wanted to thank Legion again, and this would be the last time she could. Esther leant up and placed a petite kiss on the side of his head, "Thanks again for saving me earlier Legion. I'll be in my cabin until It's time for you to go." She got down from where she had been seated, walking out. The woman was stopped by Legion calling out to her.

"Shepard-Commander," he hesitated, "We do not wish to leave, but we must. To help build our future." The tiniest bit of reasoning could be heard. Esther clenched her fists into tight balls and continued on her way.

"I know, Legion, I know," and she was gone. Legion continued to stare after her, even though the door had closed. He could not comprehend why she had given him a 'kiss'. Organics were strange.

As soon as she got into the elevator, a single crystal tear slid from Esther's eye. More and more came after that, and she cried until she had none left. The elevator pinged upon its arrival to her cabin, Esther walking forward. She punched a wall, her fist glowing with the blue biotics that Cerberus had implanted into her, and let out a growl of frustration. Swiping away the tears, Esther looked up into her bathroom's mirror. Seeing the glints of red in her pupils from her cybernetics, she was once again reminded of who she was. But why did she always have to be the hero? Where was her knight in shining armor? Where was her savior? Instantly the image of Legion came to mind. On the Reaper, he had saved her from the Husks; during Tali's recruitment he had shielded her with his own body from a rocket… And the most recent event, when he had rescued her from that Batarian on Omega. She looked at the clock; Legion was going to be leaving for at least another hour or so. She walked out of her bathroom, sat at her desk, and began the tiring task of writing a mission report.

Legion and Esther stood in the airlock. Her arms were crossed across her chest, staring at the cold metal floor; and he stood in his usual pose. They were waiting for the Geth shuttle to come pick him up. And speaking of the devil, EDI announced its arrival. Esther looked at him, biting her lower lip. He held out his three fingered hand. She smiled, batted it away, and gave him one last embrace.

"I don't really know what to say Legion," she was still securely pressed up against him, "You've saved my life, I've saved yours… I know that you may not be able to feel emotion, but I just want you to know that I…," I'm going to miss you. She couldn't say it. She choked up.

"We must leave, Shepard-Commander," he gently pushed her away, cold hands on her shoulders. Her eyes were watery, her jaw was clenched, and she wouldn't look directly at him. His analysis: She did not want him to go.

"Yeah… Okay," she cleared her throat and turned around, intent on leaving the airlock and never seeing him again. But once again, his words stopped her.

"We will not forget what you did for us Shepard-Commander. When the time comes to fight the Reapers, we will stand by you once more," they pinched a nerve in her heart.

"I look forward to it," she took a deep breath, turned to look at him her light green irises, and said the dreaded words, "Good bye, Legion." And with that each turned and went their separate ways.

Esther ignored the remarks from Joker. She ignored Kelly the annoyingly cheerful secretary trying to get her to tell her what she was feeling. A death glare from the elevator shut her up very quickly. Once again on the elevator, she was on her way back to her quarters where she planned to sleep for a little while. After that… Maybe a nice bottle of wine to reminisce on the easier times.

Legion stared ahead, replaying each and every memory from their time aboard the Normandy. They remembered their talks; how Shepard had always been so curious about the Geth. How she had always wanted to know more, to hear other audio recordings, how she would press them for conversation instead going to other crew members. The fear in her eyes when that Batarian was attempting to kill her. The sadness when they had told her about leaving. Her smile, her voice, her expressions, her emotions—Everything. And those recordings were all they had left. There wouldn't be any more daily visits from Shepard-Commander. There wouldn't be any more missions watching her back and keeping her safe. All that was left was building and maintaining. Building and maintaining…