Garrus could tell Miranda was not pleased. "Goddamn it!" she swore. Legion had taken off after Tali, for some inexplicable reason. He was as surprised as anyone else. Maybe he should've seen the signs; they had displayed a good deal of interest in one another…

Miranda jabbed a finger at Samara and Garrus. "You two. Go after the geth. We might need it later. But if it looks hopeless, come back. I don't want both of you dying for it."

"What about Tali?" asked Garrus.

Miranda frowned. "She's as good as dead. If you do manage to find her, all the better. But I don't want you trying to rescue her unless she appears in your path. Understand?"

Samara and Garrus nodded, taking off in the direction Legion had gone. It moved surprisingly fast, leaping over small walls and instantaneously finding the correct path through the base. They only caught a few glimpses of it as they followed.

"Why is it doing this?" said Garrus aloud.

"I do not know," admitted Samara. "Maybe there is a remnant in its programming that causes it to protect quarians."

Garrus doubted it. It made sense, but he doubted it.

There were no Collectors down the path Legion followed, which Garrus found rather odd. Perhaps there simply weren't any idling around; they were all waiting for the intruders to arrive.

Confident that there were no Collectors around, Garrus called out. "Legion! Come back!" He caught another glimpse of the geth as it rounded a corner. It didn't appear to have heard him. "Legion!" he yelled again. He and Samara rounded the corner, only to see Legion standing a few feet away. It was facing them, plates moving in between an angry and a nervous expression.

"Legion, what are you doing?" asked Garrus between breaths.

"We might need you later on," said Samara, apparently not as winded as Garrus. "Come back with us."

Legion shook its head. "We cannot."

"Why?" she asked.

Legion blinked, and began to pace back and forth. "We cannot allow Tali'Zorah to die. We have not yet reached a consensus."

"About what?" asked Garrus.

"Her."

Garrus frowned. He knew Legion expressed an interest in Tali. And he had seen Tali was not entirely adverse to the idea either. He didn't like where this was going. "Why is it taking you so long? You always decide things quickly."

"Emotions are an organic process. They are difficult to comprehend. They do not make sense. We are not entirely prepared to make decisions regarding them."

"Whose? Yours or hers?"

Legion paused, and stopped pacing. "Yes." It paused for another moment before clarifying. "Both."

Garrus took a step forwards. "…What kind of emotions are we talking about?"

Legion shifted uncomfortably. "We are still learning organic emotions. It is possible that we have made an error in our processes-"

"You're avoiding the question."

Legion paused again, this one longer than the last. It took a look over its shoulder before answering. "Mutual interest. Attraction. Love."

Garrus already had an inkling that that would be the answer. However, this didn't make him anymore prepared for it. The sheer absurdity of the idea hit him all at once. A geth feeling emotion? A quarian returning it? A quarian and a geth?

Samara, however, simply smiled. "Come, Garrus. We should return to Miranda."

"Why?"

"We were told to abandon the hunt if it looked hopeless. Does it not look so to you?"

Garrus frowned. Legion was being selfish. They might all have to suffer for it. But if he was in the geth's place, he would be doing the same thing. "Alright. But you're going to tell her what happened."

"I shall tell her the quest was futile."

Garrus smiled. "Works for me."

Legion was astonished. It had expected to be dragged back to the group. And it wouldn't have resisted.

Samara leaned forward and put her hand on its shoulder. "Good luck, Legion."

"Thank you."

Garrus nodded his head at Legion. "Be careful."

"We will endeavor to do so." The two turned and jogged back the way they had come. After a moment, Legion took off at a run in the opposite direction. It had lost a lot of ground to the Collectors.

A pipe was in the way. Legion jumped over it.

There was a pair of pillars. Legion squeezed between them.

There was a corner. Legion rounded it. And stopped. And stared.

This was a huge room. A massive room. And every available surface was covered in pods. Pods big enough to contain most any individual in the galaxy. If Tali was in one of them…

It saw the Collectors. They were far away, but they were still carrying Tali. Legion continued to make its way toward them. The Collectors finally stopped at the far wall and opened one of the pods. Legion saw which it was, and its photographic memory ensured Tali would be rescued. It was close, only about a hundred meters…

It stopped in time to avoid careening into the chasm. It looked around for some sort of transport and saw a button. It had no idea what it was for, but didn't hesitate to press it. Slowly, a series of hexagonal platforms began to rise and form a bridge across the chasm. On the far side of them room, the Collectors closed the pod. Legion aimed the Widow and fired.

One of the Collectors tumbled into the pit. The other one noticed Legion's presence and pulled out an assault rifle. Legion ran across the still-forming bridge, folding the Widow back up and pulling out the Geth Pulse Rifle. The Collector began to fire in Legion's direction, but up in the air it was a sitting duck. Legion felt its shields shudder as the Collector managed to land a few shots on it, but it wasn't able to fix aim on it. Legion pointed the rifle up at the Collector, now barely 50 feet away, and opened fire.

Legion was an uncannily precise shot. Most geth were. That, coupled with the fact that it was able to hold the gun steady while running, and while factoring recoil in, meant the Collector stood no chance. Geth Pulse Rifles were designed to tear through shields, and the Collector experienced it first hand as the rounds ripped through its exoskeleton, splattering green fluid on the wall behind it. It hung in the air for a moment, wings still fluttering feebly, before dropping.

Legion didn't change its speed until it reached the wall. Tali was in one of these pods, it knew. But they were all identical, so it was impossible to pinpoint the one Tali had been put into. It peered inside each one, looking for the easily-identifiable purple fabric Tali wore over her enviro-suit.

It stopped and rubbed a hand over the viewport of one of the pods, clearing away condensation that had gathered on the glass. There was a human. Legion looked closer, only to have the man wake up. He looked around, a look of panic on his face, and then his eyes fixed on Legion. He screamed and passed out. The man would likely die, Legion noted before moving on.

It looked into three other pods before spotting the purple color it had come to recognize. Legion tapped on the glass, hoping to elicit some sort of response. Tali twitched slightly, but was otherwise unresponsive. It wasn't a good sign.

Legion looked for a way to open the pod. It was sealed, but not well enough to prevent Legion from prying it open. With a hiss, the pod opened, and Tali tumbled out. Legion caught her and gently lowered her to the floor.

"Tali'Zorah," it said, gently shaking her shoulder. "You must wake up. The longer you are-" It stopped. If she was unconscious, she wouldn't be able to hear. Instead, it bent down and held its auditory receiver close to her chest, looking for a heartbeat. If she was dead, this side-trip would be in vain, and the repercussions would not be pleasant.

It found it. Legion relaxed. If she was alive, she could be woken up. Even if she didn't wake up here or now, her chances of survival were good. It carefully gathered her up in its arms, holding her under her back and behind her knees, and began to walk back the way it had come. The path would be clear; there were not Collectors ahead, and the fire team would have cleared a path it could follow. It just hoped they caught up in time.

"Tali'Zorah," it repeated. "Tali'Zorah, can you hear us?" Even if she was not fully awake, the sound of a familiar voice might bring her back from unconsciousness. "Tali'Zorah, our survival may depend upon your consciousness. If we must carry you, we may not be able to catch up with the remainder of the squad in time."

It was silent for a few moments. "However, dying with you is preferable to dying alone." It was silent again. "Living with you is preferable to dying with you." It tightened its grip on Tali's shoulder. "Do not die, Tali'Zorah. We wish to know what it is like living with you."

Legion looked over its shoulders, worried somebody else had heard its words. Then it bent its head closer to Tali. "You must wake up, Tali'Zorah," it said quietly. "Wake up."

Legion closed its eye for a moment. It didn't think it could actually wake Tali up just by talking to her, but it was willing to try. It didn't want her to die without knowing…

"Legion?"

Legion snapped its head back up, the plates on its head rising slowly. Tali stirred in its arms. "Legion?" she repeated. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Tali'Zorah."

"What happened?"

"You were taken by Collectors. We rescued you."

"I didn't think Miranda would risk the mission just to save me."

"She would not. We came here of our own accord."

Tali was silent for a moment. "Why?"

"Clarify."

"Why would you put yourself and the mission at risk, just to save me?"

Legion considered the question. "We do not know. But consensus was reached instantly. We wanted to save you, though we do not know why."

"Are you just doing this to try and get on my good side again?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"No. We did this because…" It trailed off. It had finally reached a consensus. "It has taken us a long time to reach this decision. We understand now. We love you, Tali'Zorah."

Tali was silent. She merely looked up into Legion's eye, the blank faceplate offering no way to gauge her reaction. Then she put her head forwards and whispered something into Legion's audio receiver. Legion nodded.

"I love you, Tali'Zorah."

Garrus couldn't help but feel guilty. Legion had wanted to go off, that was true, but he hadn't done anything to stop it. Samara had even supported the decision, though it almost certainly meant Legion would die.

Commander Shepard wanted everyone to come out of this mission alive. So much for that.

Miranda's eyes darted from Garrus to Samara, cold and accusing. "Where's Legion?" she asked.

"We could not recover it," said Samara. Her pleasantly lyrical voice made even news like that easier to bear.

Miranda sighed. "A shame, really." She shook her head as if to ward off the thought. "Come on, we're almost there."

Garrus nodded and fell into his place in the squad. Maybe killing a few Collectors would make him feel better. At the very least it would take his mind off it.

Unfortunately, there were no more Collectors to be found. The squad waited in front of a large door Shepard would open so they could continue to the heart of the base. Garrus paced around, thinking about earlier events. The guilt had gone away, replaced by curiosity. What caused Legion's feelings to change so suddenly? Did it find Tali? There was a lot he didn't know.

Grunt's voice broke Garrus from his thoughts. "Footsteps," he growled. "Something's coming."

Garrus pulled out his assault rifle automatically. "Ready, everyone," said Miranda. "It might be another sneak attack."

Garrus could hear the footsteps now. They echoed loudly through the organic metal structure. He pressed the stock to his shoulder and waited. Maybe he'd get to kill some more Collectors after all.

Legion came into view, followed closely by Tali. Everyone lowered their guns and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Legion!" said Miranda, stepping forwards. "Tali! You're both alive!"

Legion nodded. "Chances of survival are higher than you might think."

Tali gave a small shrug. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Legion. Without him, I'd be… well, I don't even know."

A frown crossed Miranda's lips for a fraction of a second. "That's good to hear. But Legion, you can't run off like that. If you hadn't brought back Tali, I'd…" She shrugged. "Suffice to say, I would not be happy."

"Acknowledged." Miranda turned back to wait at the door, and Legion and Tali retreated to a small area away from everybody else. Garrus watched them out of the corner of his eye; he didn't want them to catch him staring. They stood close to each other, talking about… something. Whatever it was, Tali seemed happy. Legion… well, you could never tell with that thing.

Garrus sighed. If he had to guess, he'd say Legion had told Tali how it felt. And Tali felt the same way. He was happy for them, but it was still the most unusual thing he had ever seen.

This was a lot to take in. Part of Tali was bursting with joy, part was still upset at what Legion had done earlier, and another part was still focused on the mission. "Why did you lie to me?" she asked.

"We thought your feelings would negatively impact the mission," said Legion.

Tali understood. She wasn't happy, but she understood. "At least you're looking out for me."

"We care about you Tali'Zorah. We want to see you survive this mission. When you were captured, we realized what we had to do."

Tali smiled and leaned in. "I can't tell you how happy this makes me, Legion."

Legion stared at her for a moment, plates moving erratically. "We understand. However…" It paused for a moment. "This does not come naturally for us. Love is not a synthetic process. We apologize in advance if we make any mistakes."

Tali gently took Legion's hands in her own and gave a small laugh. She was suddenly aware of her heartbeat. "It's all right. I-I don't have much experience with this either, to be honest. We'll both be learning as we, as we go along."

The great door at the end of the room finally opened. The team filed through, guns drawn in case of Collector attack.

"Come on, Legion, let's go," said Tali, dropping its hands. "M-maybe later, after the mission, we, we can talk in private."

Legion raised a plate in a curious expression. "We look forward to the exchange of data."

Tali stopped and turned to Legion. "Don't say it like that. It makes it sound… unnatural."

"It is not entirely natural," Legion pointed out.

"I guess, but… but don't say it like that, alright?"

Legion's plates assumed a faintly amused expression. "Acknowledged."