Legion tilted its head forwards. "It is advisable that you take point."
Tali nodded. As they neared the end of the hallway, she began to hear voices. They all had that distinctive filter that accompanied a quarian helmet.
"I've never had to kill a quarian before," she whispered.
"We have."
"I saw."
Legion blinked. "There have been circumstances before the current mission. That kill brought this platform's total to four."
Tali sighed. "Not something I needed to know."
"Apologies." It paused before continuing, seeming thoughtful. "We have killed geth. It is undesirable, but necessary."
"Well, they were shooting at us. Quarians usually don't go around shooting at each other. We have disagreements, sure, but they rarely escalate to violence. The way we're brought up, we're taught that the Flotilla is one big family."
"Many who are one. Similar to geth," Legion commented.
Tali winced. She wasn't quite ready to be compared to the geth. "Let's just keep going, Legion." She turned her head forwards and saw that they had already arrived. The pirates didn't have a true camp, just a large, pressurized breech tube that lead to a frigate moored a distance away. There were a number of crates scattered around, likely goods they were salvaging. Quarians were standing about, some talking to one another, others looking at the crates, and so on. It looked like a bunch of salvagers to Tali.
She quickly moved into an open door, with Legion following. "Are you sure they're pirates?" she asked. "They just look like they're salvaging parts of the station."
"Illegal procurement of Alliance-owned materials. Piracy."
"Well, are they really hostile?"
Legion blinked. "They fired at us."
"Well, you're a geth."
"We holstered our weapons and approached in a non-hostile manner."
"You're still a geth."
Legion paused, plates shifting. "Acknowledged." It then looked to Tali. "What is your recommended course of action?"
"I think if I went out there to talk to them, I could get us both through."
Legion nodded. "Avoid discussion of the Creator-quarian we shot."
"You mean you sh- Right."
Tali did not holster her shotgun as she walked towards the pirates. It was better to be cautious.
One of the quarians noticed her approach and called to the ship. "Captain Ubek? There's someone coming."
"Is it Traven? I sent him out scouting 10 minutes ago!" came the reply. It was oddly deep for a quarian's voice.
"No, but it's a quarian."
A large figure emerged from behind one of the crates. Tali supposed it was Ubek, and his place as captain was justified; he was large. Quarians were slimmer than most other races in the galaxy, but Ubek went against the norm. He wore a large overcoat that covered his lower half, and a black faceplate blocked out any view of his visage. One could usually pick out a quarian's features if they looked hard enough, but the captain's mask was as blank as a LOKI mech's.
He nodded to Tali. "Did you see a quarian around here? Young kid, grey and blue suit?"
Tali lowered her gun. Just enough to show that she didn't consider them a threat, but not enough to prevent her from firing when she needed to. "No, sorry."
Ubek sighed. "I was worried about that. We sent him out to… investigate that explosion. It'd be a shame if we lost him."
Tali felt a twinge of guilt.
"But enough about me," he continued. "What brings you here?"
"Me and some of my... allies were investigating a distress signal. There was an explosion, and we were separated. I'm just trying to find my way back."
"So, alone then?"
The captain's tone made Tali suspicious. "Not quite. We just want to pass through; get to the other side of the station."
"Fair enough. Where's your friend?"
"I need your word you won't shoot him."
"We wouldn't shoot at anyone unless we had reason to."
"You already did."
"We did…" Ubek stroked under the mouthpiece of his helmet. "We haven't seen anyone else today."
"Are you going to promise or not?"
Ubek shrugged. "Fine. I give you my word as captain."
Tali only half-turned her head to call to Legion; she didn't completely trust Ubek. "Legion! You can come out!" Legion emerged from the room, assault rifle held ready.
Tali heard an amused chuckle from Ubek. "Your servant?"
"No, my ally."
"What use could a geth have as an ally?"
"Cooperation furthers mutual goals," said Legion, lowering its rifle. It stopped just behind Tali, eye darting around and taking in new information.
"And it talks. Amazing." Ubek turned to the quarian who had originally spotted Tali and whispered something to him.
The quarian nodded as the captain walked back to the ship. "The captain says you're free to go," he said. "And he hopes you find your friends soon."
"Tell him he has our thanks," Tali gestured to Legion, and the two continued down the corridor. "See?" she said when they were a suitable distance away. "I told you I could talk our way out of this."
Legion remained silent for a few moments, plates moving furiously. "We have suspicions as to Captain Ubek's supposed goodwill."
Tali shrugged. "I don't trust him either, but I don't think he's going to do anything about us. He just wants to get the scrap and get out, like any salvage party."
"Intact and operational geth are difficult to procure," Legion noted. "Did you indicate affiliation with Shepard-Commander?"
"Come on Legion, give me more credit than that. I'm smarter than you think," she said, nudging him with her shoulder.
"We do not doubt your intelligence, Tali'Zorah." It raised its assault rifle again and tapped the readouts, switching to disruptor ammo.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Disruptor ammo is more efficient at combating Creators."
Tali stared at him for a moment, somewhat worried. "What are you saying…?"
"We are being followed."
Tali cast a glance over her shoulder, but it was impossible to see far down the dark hallway. "Are you sure?"
"86.548% certainty."
"What do we do?"
"Continue moving. When we locate an area that offers advantage, we will confront the enemy."
"They won't wait that long."
Legion paused. "We are aware of this. This hallway offers little in the way of cover. However, taking position in doorways is a valid tactic."
Tali switched her shotgun to disruptor ammo. "When?"
"Whenever you are prepared."
Tali nodded. "I'm ready."
Legion pointed at an open door ahead. "Position yourself there. We will take the room behind you."
Tali tried to make her duck into the open doorway seem as nonchalant as possible. She turned on her Omnitool, welcoming the familiar orange glow. "Chikktika, I hope you're ready for this." She knew her electronic combat drone couldn't really understand her, but it didn't stop her from conveying her affection.
She waited, heart pounding. She was half-sure she could make out hushed voices and soft footsteps, but it was possible her mind was playing tricks on her.
Then she saw a single shot from Legion's direction, followed by a gurgle and a thud. Then there was a hail of bullets from the other direction.
Tali poked her head out from the doorframe and held her omnitool out in the direction of the bullets. "Go for the optics, Chikktika, the optics!" There was a purple glow, and the spherical drone zoomed around, sending bolts of energy at anything that wandered nearby.
The drone was little more than a distraction, but it let Tali loose a few shots down the hall. She looked back and saw Legion, sniper rifle aimed forwards. It took another shot, and looked to Tali. "We do not expect the pursuing force is large. Escape is a possibility."
Tali nodded. "If you think it's safe, then let's…"
Her attention was drawn forwards by the appearance of a single quarian from the darkness. His suit glowed with tech armor, and over his shoulder, he carried a rocket launcher.
Tali panicked and fired a few shots at him, but his shields absorbed the impact. There was a pause, and then he fired a rocket. Tali ducked back into the room, praying that it would offer some protection. The missile zoomed past the door, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she remembered.
"Legion!"
The explosion was large enough to dislodge the furniture in her room and crack the walls. She looked out the door, hoping she wouldn't see Legion's parts scattered around. Instead, the geth was lying in the middle of the hall, struggling to get up.
Tali broke from cover, trying to cover Legion's escape with her shots. The quarian, occupied with reloading the rocket launcher, ducked back into the shadows. Tali quickly moved to Legion's side, picking it up and half-dragging him to the room. She grabbed his sniper rifle almost as an afterthought.
"Legion, are you okay?" she asked, propping it up again an upturned desk.
Legion picked its head up, flashlight eye feebly glowing to life. "Structural damage. However, this platform is still functional."
"Good to hear," she said, putting the rifle into its hands. Legion stared at it and folded it up, slotting it onto its back. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Opposing force is larger than expected. Coupled with heavy weapons and this platform's injury, this fight is nearly unwinnable." It blinked. "They desire us alive. The rocket did not impact our room directly, but the room behind it."
Tali opened her omnitool again and frantically tried to establish an audio link to Shepard. A thought flashed across her mind that she should have done that in the first place. "Shepard? Shepard, can you hear me?" But her cries were met with static.
"They are scrambling outgoing signals," said Legion. "We have already attempted communication with Shepard-Commander."
"So, what do we do now?"
"Surrender."
Tali took a deep breath, her pride ready to take a hit. "Alright." She took Legion's sniper rifle from its back, and along with her shotgun, tossed them out the doorway. She kept her pistol and his assault rifle, just in case.
The enemy fire ceased. There were footsteps, then the quarian with the rocket launcher appeared in the doorway, weapon aimed at the two of them. Tali raised her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. After a few moments, Legion did the same.
"Smart choice," said the quarian.
***
Tali and Legion were placed in adjacent cells. They were low-tech; just a cube of steel bars, but still inescapable for anyone who wasn't a krogan.
The two had their weapons and omnitools taken away, and were marched back to the ship. She didn't see captain Ubek, but had a feeling she soon would. The ship was a typical frigate, dingy, but usable and surprisingly clean, and only slightly modified with stronger shields and more efficient engines. Perfect for pirates.
Tali paced back and forth in her cell, trying to formulate an escape plan. She wasn't having much luck. Legion was merely standing stock-still in the middle of his cell, occasionally glancing around.
"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" she asked, not breaking her stride.
"We are currently processing available data. However, there is not enough to develop a reasonable plan of escape." It turned to her, plates flicking slightly. "Waiting for further data is the most efficient option at this time."
Tali shook her head and continued pacing. Legion's mechanical patience was starting to get on her nerves.
The room's only door opened, braking Tali from her thoughts and catching Legion's attention. Ubek strolled into the room at a leisurely pace. "I see you two made yourselves comfortable. Just sit tight, and I'm sure your friends will come to your aid."
"You don't know the half of it," Tali hissed. "When they're done here, we'll be free, and you'll be dead."
"Perhaps. But I'm taking steps to try and avoid that outcome." He sat down on a nearby chair and leaned back. "Do you know why we came here in the first place? Security mechs. Expensive if you buy 'em from the manufacturers you know. We set up a trap, the signal and the bomb, just as a little insurance in case anyone else came by, mind you, and went to getting the things onboard.
"See, I figured that we'd at least come out with some free mechs. And if someone else came along, well, we'd see what we could do with them. The slavery business is pretty big on some of the Terminus systems, you know. But when we saw the Normandy docking, I knew we had something big. Think of how much the Alliance would pay to have Commander Shepard back!"
"Shepard has a way of dealing with scum like you."
"Yes, I know. And it wouldn't be good for my health. It's good I caught some of his teammates instead."
"There's nothing to stop Shepard from killing you after we get back."
"Which is why the commander won't be getting both of you back. As I said before, as a little insurance. The ransom gets paid for one of you, and we zoom off. Shepard won't dare fire on us if we've got a teammate aboard."
"Shepard is prepared to make sacrifices."
"No matter who we keep, I'm sure we can get a good price," continued Ubek, ignoring Tali. "A fully intact geth, or the daughter of Rael'Zorah."
"Don't you dare say his name," said Tali, advancing to the bars. "You don't deserve it. Ubek nar Tasi,"she spat. Ubek, child of no one.
Ubek laughed. "You quarians are so concerned with identity. Child of who, crew of what. Too much emphasis on your surroundings, and not enough on yourselves."
Tali leaned forwards, pressing her mask against the bars. "What are you talking about…?"
Ubek laughed again and tapped a console on the wall. The doors shut, and there was a hiss, signaling the room was pressurized.
He reached under his faceplate and popped the seals, drawing it away from his face with another hiss.
Tali gasped.
Ubek laughed and stood up. "Never seen a batarian before?"
Tali should have realized it. He didn't know geth could talk. And she had never heard of quarian pirates. Batarian pirates, on the other hand, didn't make her blink. Their race had a reputation for being criminals.
Batarians had four eyes, flat noses, and skin that ranged from green to brown, but were otherwise indistinguishable from humans if they wore a helmet. Or quarians, if they worse a cloak.
"Gullible race, you quarians," said Ubek, replacing his faceplate. Tali noted he actually had three fingers, likely a wound from a previous battle. "Just spout a few things about wanting to break free from society's norm, and all the so-called rebels come running. And none of them have ever questioned me."
Tali glared at him. "You bosh'tet," she said, voice low and filled with poison. "Corrupting all these people."
"Corrupting? I just gave them an opening. They willingly came to my side."
"They wouldn't if they knew the truth!"
"Keep thinking that. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, rising from his seat, "I have a few calls to make." He left the room, depressurizing it on his way out.
Tali relaxed her muscles, letting her face rest against the bars. She knew some quarians never came back from their pilgrimage, but they were the exception rather than the rule. And she never would have thought they would be desperate enough to turn to piracy. After all, being raised on the flotilla, with goods at a premium, stealing was one of the worst crimes.
"Heretics," said Legion, breaking her concentration.
"What?" she asked, tilting her head in Legion's direction. It had approached the wall the two cells shared, and was looking at her.
"You worry about the motivation of pirates. In turn, you worry about your people. But pirates are heretics. You cannot compare them to other Creators."
"Thank you Legion, but you don't understand. Quarians aren't raised that way. We think of the needs of others before ourselves."
"Geth believe that we make our own future. But some follow the old machines. There is always dissent." His plates clicked into a curious expression. "Another similarity between geth and Creators. Even a highly-controlled environment will produce those who think differently."
Tali sighed and walked over to Legion. "For a machine, you're really philosophic. There's… there's a lot I don't understand about you."
Legion blinked. "We have many talents. Example: We have formulated a plan of escape."
