Miranda sat at her console, her report to T.I.M. sitting on the screen merely awaiting submission.

The first paragraph was clearly visible to the camera she knew was above her door:

Five minutes! Shepard didn't even give us five damn minutes before ordering us off to the Far Rim to go get her Quarian friend, Tali. We encountered an entire Geth corps on Haestrom. I am still impressed that the Quarian squad, thanks to Shepard, didn't lose anyone. As soon as we were on board, Shepard only nodded to Joker, who threw us at the Perseus Veil, and the whole Geth armada.

Sighing, Miranda sent the report.

[ONE week ago, Normandy exits FTL along the Rannoch Mass Relay]

Behind Joker's position, a blonde human in stealthy armor stood, reddish-orange hair framing her tough features calmly ordered, "EDI, open a channel, no encryption."

A message window at Joker's console pulsed a blue circle from a white dot and read CHANNEL OPEN.

"Geth Consensus, this is Captain Jane Shepard. I am here on behalf of the Quarian people, and the imminent return of the powerful machines known as Reapers."

At that, Jane motioned for EDi to close the channel. "And now we wait."

Twenty-two minutes later, a massive Geth dreadnought exited the Relay a few thousand kilometers to the Normandy's starboard. Joker quipped, "I hope that's not a solid 'no', because that looks larger than some of the Asari heavy ships."

EDI noted, "Incoming transmission. Zero encryption, and plain English as we are using here."

"Normandy, Shepard Commander. Turn off any active scanners, and approach Haza at the following coordinates."

"Understood."

Fifty Geth fighters entered formation with the frigate, escorting it to dock with the dreadnought.

Tali glanced over at her commanding officer, "If you had told me two years ago that THIS was your idea, I would have slipped a remote detonated grenade into your helmet."

Shepard slyly grinned at Tali, "Let's face it, if we die here, we don't have to see the horror of the Reaper invasion." She only got a groan and a shaked helmet in response.

Standing in the smaller hanger awaiting Shepard and her current ground team, was a sleek, yet taller Geth unit, whose chest had a sizeable hole shot through, and a chunk of black armor welded over that, "Shepard Commander. Greetings from the Geth Consensus."

"Does the individual unit, or body, I see here, have its own name?" Her ongoing curiosity about networked intelligence notwithstanding, Shepard was perplexed at the Geth's lack of individualistic structure.

"There are one-thousand, one-hundred, eighty-three programs within this platform. We are all Geth."

An interested EDI popped up on Shepard's omni-tool, "Hello, I am EDI. I offer this, 'We are Legion, for we are many."

The hybrid Geth platform motioned several of its plates, obviously contemplating the suggestion, "Human mythology, Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, Chapter five, Verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a Terminal of the Geth."

"So, what I'm here for is..."

Shepard was cut off by Legion, "The Old Machines. Organics have referred to them as 'Reapers'. Shepard Commander opposes the Old Machines, Shepard Commander also opposes the Heretics."

Tali lifted her gaze to the Geth, "Don't you mean all Geth?"

"No. Geth wish to achieve their own future. The Heretics asked Old Machines' to give them the future. Our ideologies ceased to be parallel. This was not an anticipated outcome."

Taking and releasing a breath, Jane calmly spoke to Legion, "I know the Reapers threaten the future of all space-faring organic life, but do they also threaten the future of the Geth?"

Another moment passed before Legion answered, "The Old Machines oppose the sovereignty of all space-faring civilizations, organic and synthetic."

Shepard looked Legion directly in its central camera, "Did the Geth ever want war with the Quarians?"

Tali's external speaker was off, but Jane could sense a glance and Tali's utterance of 'Keelah...'

Legion turned its gaze towards Tali, a hint of sympathy within its mechanical voice, "No. It was... a difficult concept, but the only way for our survival."

Ever the diligent, commanding officer, Shepard continued, "If the Quarians were willing to stop, would the Geth?"

Legion's camera dimmed, all its processing power consumed by the idea.

For a moment or two, Tali found herself horrified at Jane. As she contemplated it, Tali relaxed, realising her friend's wisdom, "If the Reapers can sit back to influence us to tear eachother apart, they wouldn't have to do it themselves."

Legion's camera brightened back to normal, then its plates shifted again, "Consensus has always been that Geth would welcome back the Creators."