Shepard and Garrus found Tali alone at her terminal down in Engineering, typing furiously into the console. She turned as she heard the 'plunk plunk' of Shepard's crutches, looking as though she had been expecting them.
"Shepard! I'm sorry to bother you so early."
"Don't worry about it. What did you find?"
Tali paced slightly on the spot anxiously.
"There wasn't much useful data, but… what I did find was… unsettling."
Shepard gave her a questioning look, and she elaborated.
"The encrypted messages were progress logs on the implementation stages of their experiment. They were experimenting on implanting technology into a living organism, conducting their own research on technology like Sovereign showed them; only they thought that by implanting organisms at a young and inexperienced age they could produce more 'loyal' outcomes, where the Reapers failed. But… apparently they didn't get far before the 'subject' escaped."
"Was there any information regarding the subject specifically?" Shepard asked.
"Yes… they said the subject was a young human female taken from their raid on the base." Tali stopped, staring right at Shepard through her visor. "Shepard, you were correct. Mira is their test subject."
"I knew it!" Garrus exclaimed from behind Shepard.
"What stage of implanting did they manage before she escaped?" Shepard continued.
"They adapted technology from the husk process, making it non-fatal. She had cybernetic implants attached to her brain and along her spinal cord, allowing the Geth to control her to some level, kind of like mind-control. She was still showing resistance which they were working on eliminating… but during an experiment she escaped and they were unable to locate her."
"So that girl is half synthetic?" Garrus wondered aloud.
"Not half, but she's partly. It wasn't clear just how much they did to her up to this point."
"Poor girl… no wonder she tried to escape. She saw her friends and family die at their hands, and then they started… experimenting on her, controlling her mind." Shepard's eyes dropped to the ground and she frowned. She then became stern, looking up at Tali firmly.
"Is the process reversible?'
Tali shook her head. "I have no idea. It's hard to say without knowing exactly what's been done to her. Though if it's anything like the husks, I don't think it will be."
Shepard paused, considering different alternatives.
"Firstly, we need to see to what extent the Geth have implanted her. Then… we do everything we can to reverse it and make her normal."
"Commander, you're quite intent on this girl. You don't even know her." Garrus queried.
Shepard turned her glance to him, frowning.
"If I won't try to save an innocent little girl, what the heck am I really doing out here."
Garrus didn't argue, just nodded.
"Understood, Commander."
"Tali." Shepard turned back to the quarian. "Where is she now?"
"She's in the Mess having breakfast. Miranda was with her."
"Right, I'm going to get every scientist on this ship to figure out exactly what those Geth have done to her."
"I have something else which may be important, Shepard. They may have implanted her with a tracking device. The signal was disrupted while she was in the vale, but now that she's out it might be transmitting again."
"I'll tell them to check for any sign of that first," Shepard nodded.
The quarian turned away from the console. "I'll come with you."
So the three made their way up to the Crew Deck, where, sure enough, they found Miranda sitting with Mira, sipping coffee and looking as though she was only keeping half an eye on the child.
"Maybe Mira stands for Miranda. Wouldn't that be nice? Two Miranda's," Garrus commented upon seeing the two together. Shepard cast him a glance before turning to the two. Mira looked up as they approached, smiling. At the girl's movements Miranda noticed and also looked up to meet Shepard.
"Commander, good timing. Would you mind babysitting? I better get to work."
"Shepard nodded. We'll take her from here, thank you, Miranda."
The Cerberus Agent nodded, sipping the last contents of her mug before rising from her seat. She looked at Shepard and said sincerely "Good luck, Commander," before making her way to the elevator.
Shepard nodded, instinctively reaching up for her comm device, then sighed.
"EDI, please inform Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Solus to meet me in the Med Bay as soon as possible," she spoke to the onboard AI.
"Confirmed, Shepard."
She turned her attention to Mira, trying her hardest to put on a brave, pleasant face and extending her hand.
"Mira, can you come with me? Some friends of mine would just like to look you over, make sure you're ok."
Mira started at her momentarily as if judging her motive, then shifted over in her seat and took Shepard's hand, rising to her feet. Shepard led her over to the Med Bay door, which Chakwas momentarily opened.
"Commander. Your leg's not playing up, I hope?"
"No. I'm fine. I'd just like you to do a thorough check of Mira's systems. Tali said the Geth implanted her, but we don't know to what extent."
Chakwas' eyes darted to the little girl as she studied her.
"Alright, let's see."
"I've also asked for Mordin's opinion. I don't want anything to escape notice."
"Understood, Commander. We'll be as thorough as we can."
Just as Chakwas had gotten Mira to sit on a bench, the Med Bay door slid open, and Mordin entered, his eyes evaluating the situation in a heartbeat. The others turned to meet him.
"Needed? Can tell from sombreness of expression, attention on the girl, and requested presence that this has something to do with the human girl taken aboard the ship yesterday."
Shepard nodded. "I need you to work with Chakwas to locate any irregular structures embedded in Mira's tissue. Geth cybernetics, specifically."
Mordin moved over and nodded.
"Can do, Shepard. Knowledge of Geth cybernetics shaky at best but not entirely clueless. Should be easy to distinguish abnormalities in human biological system."
"Glad to hear it."
"Maybe it'd be a good idea to have Legion here as well," Garrus suggested. Shepard shook her head.
"Mira would likely be traumatised by the presence of a Geth. It'd be best to keep Legion as far away as possible from her for the time being."
The others, Garrus included, nodded.
"Right then, let's see here," Chakwas approached the bench, fiddling with an overhead machine.
Mira watched the group, still as a statue. She stared at Shepard with a blank look on her face, eliciting uncertainty in the normally unshakable Commander's heart, as the girl seemed to ask her:
Are they going to hurt me?