Chapter 11

Kaidan groaned, pulling a pillow over his head. After returning from the Geth dreadnought, the migraine that had been threatening all day had finally arrived. It wasn't as crippling as past ones had been, but it was enough to make him retreat to bed as Shepard and the rest of the squad had gone to meet with the Quarian Admirals. In the Commander's quarters the gentle hum of the fish tank was soothing, the dim lights calming. The pillow smelled like Shepard, giving him a small reason to smile. I definitely like this better than being in the med bay. Maybe this migraine will go away faster than normal. Focusing on his breathing, he didn't notice the door hiss opened, and only the pressure next to him on the bed alerted him to Shepard's presence. She gently lifted the pillow up to peer down at him with concern.

"How's your head?"

"I've had worse."

"I bet. Chakwas sent up some tranquilizers for you." She held up a small syringe. "Want me too...?"

"Yeah." He turned his head to the side, and let her gently inject the medication. Immediately, he felt the tension in his head release a bit, and he smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She lay down and curled into him, resting her hand on his chest.

"How'd the meeting go?"

"As well as expected." Her tone implied there was more to the story, and Kaidan sighed. Grabbing her hand, he lifted it up to examine the spreading bruises on her knuckles.

"You didn't." She pulled her hand back guiltily. "Shepard, you promised."

"I did no such thing." She replied indignantly. "I said I would try. Kaidan, he nearly killed us! He's lucky I only punched him. I should had made a hole in his suit."

"Ah. There's the vindictive street urchin I knew was lurking in your head." He ruffled her hair. The drugs were definitely kicking in now. Chakwas always stocked the tranquilizers that knocked him out of his senses. Shepard made a face at him, before sitting up with a sigh. "So, where are we off to now, Commander?"

"I'm heading down to the planet to rescue Admiral Koris with Tali and Garrus. You are staying in bed."

"What? You can't leave me here! You need my help!"

"Kaidan, you can't even sit up right now."

Trying to prove her wrong, he pulled himself up, only to crash back down as a blinding flash of pain rocketed through his head. Gasping, he pulled the pillow back over his face as small explosions flashed in his eyes.

"Fine. I'll stay here." He groped around the bed, searching blindly for her hand. Finding it, he pulled it towards him, cradling it against his chest. "Just... be careful. I know you worked with that Geth... Legion... but they still make me nervous. They just keep coming like... well..."

"Machines?" Shepard laughed softly, and squeezed his hand. Lifting the pillow slightly with his other hand, he looked at her with squinted eyes.

"Where you around when the Alliance claimed we'd wiped out the last major Geth outposts?" She shook her head.

"Nah, that must have been while I was still out." He squeezed her hand back, at the mention of her time spent 'dead'. "But, yeah, intel was always a little underfunded." Leaning down carefully, she kissed him on the cheek before lowering the pillow back down over his eyes. "I'll be back before you know it. Just rest."

She tried to stand up, but Kaidan kept her hand clenched tightly.

"Promise me you'll be back."

"Kaidan..."

"Promise me."

"I promise. I'll be back soon." Reluctantly, he let go of her hand, drifting into sleep before she even left the room.

Several hours later, he awoke to a mere buzzing in his head, and sat up in mild shock.Wow, Chakwas either upped my dosage, or she got some new meds.Crawling out of bed, he made his way down to the med bay to thank her. To his surprise, the elevator stopped at the CIC, not the crew deck.
Samantha Traynor, the civilian analyst turned yeoman glanced back to smile at him.

"Ah, Major! I'm glad EDI stopped you! We're receiving a call from Alliance command."

"Oh. I guess I should get it since Shepard isn't back?"

"Actually, they're asking for you."

Startled, he made his way to the communications office in the war room. As he hit the blinking call button, the frazzled voice of a comm officer filled the room.

"Major Alenko?"

"I'm here. What's going on?"

"Oh thank goodness. We received a transmission a few minutes ago, meant for you. Shall I connect you?"

"Go ahead."

The call disconnected, and the video screen before him flickered into life.

"Shit! It is the Major!" A familiar voice called out. The excited face before him was immediately knocked aside by several others. Kaidan put his hand on his face.

"Privates! At ease!" Three of his students crammed themselves together, all trying to remain in the picture. Sighing, Kaidan threw all attempts at military protocol aside. Seeing his students alive felt like a huge weight had been lifted off him. My kids are okay."Guys! Calm down! Where are you? Are you guys alright? How many of you are there?"

Colin, the dark haired boy who had become one of his best students, grinned wildly.

"We're with J-Squad outside of Chicago. Its me, Jennifer and Astra." The olive skinned girl and her redheaded friend waved excitedly. "Rico, Midge, Charlie and Megs are with L-Squad. Last time we got a hold of them, they were down in Georgia somewhere."

"But you guys are all okay? No one's hurt?"

"We're okay. Apparently, Midge got ambushed by one of those Batarian husk things, but Rico practically launched it into the next state." He sighed, giving a small laugh. "I always knew he had a thing for her."

"Sounds like you are all in good spirits. Are you somewhere safe?"

Elbowing Colin aside, Astra shook her head, red curls flying.

"Not at all. We're just excited to see you! We thought you were dead when we heard Vancouver got hit. But you're alive! And you're on the Normandy with Commander Shepard!"

"Yeah, we're doing our best to get back to you guys with reinforcements. Have you found any other survivors?"

"No, right now its just our squad and L-Squad, where ever they are now. We weren't sure there were any other survivors."

"Transmit me your coordinates, and I'll send them to Admiral Anderson. He's on Earth, leading a resistance movement. He's going to be your best chance at survival until we get there with reinforcements. Do you have contact with L-Squad?"

"No, their communicator must've gotten hit. But knowing Megs and her tech skills, I'm sure they'll be back online soon. If they're still alive..." A cloud passed across the redhead's normally cheery face. Jennifer put an arm around her friend.

"We're gonna be okay, Major." She forced a grin at him. She smiles like Shepard when she's lying."This is no worse than growing up on Omega." Colin wormed his way between them, his thin face taking up most of the screen.

"Hey, Major, Sarge says we gotta go, the longer we stay connected, the better chance the Reapers have of finding us. But it's good to know you're out there, and coming back for us." They saluted awkwardly, a tangle of elbows and gangly teenage arms. Kaidan saluted back with a sad smile.

"Stay alert. Take care of each other. We'll be in touch soon." They nodded enthusiastically as the feed cut out. Kaidan sighed, and headed down to the crew deck.

"Hey EDI?" He called out while in the elevator.

"Yes, Major?"

"There should have been some coordinates transmitted from my squad. Can you make sure that get's passed to Admiral Anderson the next time he makes contact?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. And hey, I'm going to do some work in the starboard observation deck. Would you mind letting me know when Shepard get's back on board?"

"I do not mind."

"Um... okay. Thanks."

After a quick check in with Chakwas, Kaidan settled in with his datapad, trying to work out his latest expense report. He found it impossible to concentrate, reading the same sentence over and over without making any sense of it. I just want Shepard back on board. It's been too long for a simple rescue mission. Something had to have gone wrong.He threw the datapad aside, and leaned his head back. His migraine was gone, but he still felt the tension in his head. I hate not knowing what's happening.He closed his eyes, trying to will the tension away. Twenty long minutes passed before EDI brought him good news.

"Major, Shepard has returned to the Normandy, and is on her way up to your office."

Kaidan grinned to himself. Shepard is back onboard,and my kids are okay. I can relax a little. He debated internally whether to stay seated, or to stand and greet her, but she entered the room before he could decided.

Sinking down onto the couch next to him, she swung her feet up and started pulling her boots off.

"I should bronze these." She said, holding one up and eying it critically. "First human to set foot on the Quarian homeworld." She let go, the boot dropping with a loud thump.

"One more achievement for your glorious autobiography." Kaidan said with a smile, gently slipping his arm around her shoulder. "What's next on the list? Beside saving the galaxy, obviously." Shepard sighed, settling up against him, her stockinged feet tucked up under her.

"Legion had some plan to destroy the Reaper influence over the Geth. There is something on the planet still giving off a signal, and their fighter squadrons have been giving the Quarians hell."

"Didn't we already do that?"

"Apparently there is still traces of it in their code that we have to get rid of first. I'm not sure. Legion tends to get... technical."

"I bet. Say, where did you pick him... it... up from?"

"Well, we were investigating a dead Reaper, and when we were inside it, Legion save my ass from some husks. So we brought it with us."

"Wait. You went poking around inside a dead Reaper?"

"Well, we were pretty sure it was dead. Some Cerberus scientists were studying it, and based on their video logs, it was still exhibiting some kind of mind control." Kaidan shook his head in disbelief.

"So, you willingly went into a 'probably' dead REAPER, fought some husks with a Geth, and then let him join the team?"

"Pretty much, yeah." She paused. "Oh, and then I destroyed its drive core and crashed it into a sun."

"Okay, now I think you're just making stuff up to mess with me."

She shook her head, letting her hair rustle against his shoulder.

"Could I make things up at this point? You should have come with me when I offered on Horizon."

"I should have. For a lot of reasons." They stared out the window into space for a few minutes until Shepard leaned forward to put her shoes back on.

"Well, we are here now. That's what matters." Boots on, she wriggled out of his grasp and stood up. "Let's go see what our synthetic friend has come up with in terms of a plan. I want you on this one, I might need you and Tali to work some technical magic for me."

Nodding quickly, Kaidan stood up and followed her to the lift. As the doors closed behind them, Shepard leaned against him and sighed. Kaidan tried to keep his mind from wandering, but apparently his brain would do no such thing. Images of stolen moments in the elevator of the SR1 flashed through his memory, and he felt his face get hot.Say something. Anything. Just say something.He cleared his throat, shaking the images from his mind.

"Good news! I've tracked down some of the people I was looking for."

Shepard looked up at him and smiled broadly.

"The recruits you taught?"

"Found J-Squad, Black Ops. They're holed up making a stand in the Midwest, Near Chicago, I think he said. Connected them with Anderson so they can help the resistance." He sighed. "Its a relief. Hope more turn up."

"They will. I'm sure you taught them well."

Tali greeted them as they stepped out onto the flight deck, and followed them to the armory.

"Shepard, why is there an angry Prothean in the cargo hold?"

"Really, Tali?" Shepard laughed as she strapped on her armor. "There's an actual Prothean on the ship, and you're more concerned with the fact that he's angry?"

"Good point."

A mechanical clicking noise distracted Kaidan's attention away from the women, Legion had appeared behind him, the flaps around his lens twitching carefully. The lights on the synthetic glowed with a serene blue, an interesting change from the red Kaidan was used to aiming at.

"Um... hello."

"Major Alenko. Second Human Spectre. A biotic with a faulty implant... 'Companion' of Shepard-Commander." It spoke the word "companion" with a different tone, slower and more deliberate.

"Companion?"

"Legion..." Shepard groaned. The Geth looked over at her and nodded.

"Major Alenko appears in the records of your first encounter with the Geth on Eden Prime as Lieutenant Alenko. Was present on the Citadel at the defeat of Saren. On board the Normandy SR1 during its destruction by the Collectors." It turned back to face Kaidan, flaps coming together as if it were narrowing its eyes at him. "Major Alenko was not present during the mission to the Collector base. Why was support not rendered to Shepard Commander? Was it not requested?"

"Legion." Shepard's voice took a warning tone. Legion backed away from Kaidan and entered the shuttle, Shepard close behind. Shaking his head, Kaidan glanced over at Tali, her shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"What was that?"

"Legion once said the Geth were trying to mimic organic behaviors... I think that was its attempt at jealousy."

"Huh?"

"Are you two coming?" Shepard bellowed from the shuttle, holding onto the door frame as Cortez kicked the engine on. Tali leaned towards Kaidan as they jogged over.

"Check out its arm."

They climbed onboard, letting the door seal shut behind them. The bay doors opened, and the shuttle started is journey to the far side of the Quarian home planet. Taking a place near Shepard, Kaidan glanced over at the Geth in the corner. He hadn't had time to study it in detail as they escaped the dreadnought, and he had assumed it to be like the rest of its kind. He squinted at it. Its left arm was no different from that of any other Geth he had seen, but the right bore a familiar pattern of gray, white and red. No way.Looking closer, he made out the battered N7 on its chestplate. He nudged Shepard.

"Is it wearing-"

"Yuuuup."

"Why?"

"It won't tell me." She shook her head with a small smile, and braced herself against Kaidan as they hit atmosphere. He put his arm around her, and tried to ignore the jarring motions of the shuttle. Its found her armor, after the Normandy crash. It welded it to its frame. Holy shit. Does Legion have feelings? And if it does, is it hero worship, or does it think it likes her?He shook his head.And it knows about us. Wow. This could get really awkward. Maybe I should talk to it later. But let's see how this mission goes.He laughed quietly at the mental image of discussing his relationship with a Geth, and tightened his grip on Shepard. After they broke through the atmosphere, they picked up a transmission from the Quarian fleet.

"Commander, it is as we feared." The voice of Admiral Raan was strained with worry. "Geth squadrons have begun massing on a path to intercept our liveships."

"Understood, Admiral Raan. we're almost at the servers. keep us posted." She moved away from Kaidan, heading to a terminal next to the Geth. "Whats our status?"

"We remain undetected on encrypted Geth channels." It reported. "Resistance is likely only within the server." Shepard stopped, and turned to face it.

"Within? It's that big?"

"You misunderstand. Direct virtual interface is necessary to extract Geth from the server. You must enter our consensus."

Shepard leaned back against the console, her arms crossed defensively across her chest. "You want me to virtually interact with the Geth?"

"That's insane!" Tali burst out. "You're talking about a virtual world built for synthetics. Hostile Geth synthetics!" Kaidan nodded. This sounds like a really bad idea. I have to say something.

"That kind of tech isn't even on the market. This can't be safe."

"I'm not a machine." Shepard uncrossed her arms. "How do I go into a virtual world?"

"Your species has experimented with virtual interfaces. You saw this on Project Overlord." Shepard's face darkened.

"I saw how it almost unleashed a rogue AI-human hybrid on the galaxy."

"We have refined the interface they created and have equipment from Normandy to facilitate safe contact. we request your trust." Silence fell in the small cabin as Shepard and Legion stared at each other, finally, Shepard gave the synthetic a brief smile.

"I have your back, Legion, even though I don't quite understand why you need it."

"You are an unknown. This is an advantage. Geth security is not adept at targeting organic thought processes. While we occupy the systems intrusion countermeasures, you will disable the squadrons by removing Geth from the server." Shepard flicked a piece of hair out of her face and sighed.

"If it saves the liveships, we've got to try it."

"Telemetry data predicts this operation has a high chance of success. there is little time. we will bypass security while you secure safe landing." Legion opened the shuttle door, letting in the wind and dust of the planet. It stood at the edge, and turned to face Shepard.

"Wait, you're not going to-"

Spreading its arms, the Geth leaned backwards, dropping out of the shuttle. Kaidan and Tali rushed to join Shepard as she leaned over the edge.

"I guess it just did." Kaidan said as he gently pulled Shepard away from the drop. Cortez dropped the shuttle, bringing them down to land outside a small cave. Legion was nowhere to be seen, but a faint glow from inside the tunnel seemed to indicate their destination.

As they followed the light, Kaidan watched Tali out of the corner of his eye. The young Quarian Admiral ran her hand along the wall as they walked, Kaidan was sure she was grinning under her helmet.

"Ready to get out of the suit and do some farming, Tali?"

She laughed.

"More than you know!" She sighed loudly. "I can't wait for this to be over. To feel the sun on my face, dirt under my feet... Although that is probably a few years off. We have to reintroduce our immune systems to the planet and..."

She trailed off as Shepard held up a hand. The body of a Geth was crumpled ahead of them, and she crept forward to examine it.

"It's not Legion." She called back. "It must have gone this way, then."

Rounding a corner, the found the friendly Geth hard at work at a console, surrounded by the remains of its fellow synthetics. The blue glow of the screen gave the room an eerie feeling, like something out of the horror vids Kaidan had watched as a teen.

"This it is?" Shepard asked, looking over Legion's shoulder, their matching N7 stripes lining up neatly.

"Yes. Hostile Geth fighter squadrons are networked to this server. Due to restricted resources, it is best if you connect alone." I don't want her to do this alone, but someone has to protect her body while she's... away... Shepard took a deep breath.

"Lets do it."

"Initializing peer network integration. Proceed to docking port."

Part of the console shifted, and a large door opened. The squad peered in at what looked like an oversized version of the Normandy's old sleeper pods. Shepard made a face and climbed up, leaning back carefully against the wiring. The hatch snapped shut behind her, causing her to jolt upright.

"Legion?" She called out, slamming her hand up against the glass. The Geth continued to work on the console, so Kaidan stepped up and gently placed his hand over hers.

"Shepard. Its going to be okay. Tali and I will make sure everything stays safe out here." Dammit, I hate seeing her freaked out. If something worries her, then we should all be worried. I knew this was a bad idea.

"Mapping to consensus. Remain still."

Shepard nodded, taking her hand away from the glass. The moment it was back at her side, a series of blue lights began scanning her face. She looked around frantically, trying to track the source.

"Shepard-Commander, excess movement during an upload is discouraged." Shepard gritted her teeth, and looked up at Kaidan. He gave her a smile, which slowly turned to horror as he stared at her face. Her expression was one of determination, but her eyes... her eyes were open wide, staring, but not seeing. She stood frozen as the blue lights played across her face. Tali put her hand on his arm, making him jump with surprise.

"It's probably best if you don't look at her right now." She said softly. She sat down on the ground, cradling her shotgun in her lap. "I think Legion took care of all the active Geth in the area... and I don't think any more can come online while they are in... there." She looked up at the inert Geth, then patted the ground next to her, inviting him to sit. "So, tell me what you've been doing the last few years."

He gave her the rundown, working with Alliance Intelligence, tracking Cerberus, teaching his kids. Tali responded with stories of her own, including several about the SR2 crew that Kaidan hadn't heard before.

"So I told him the conversation was over, then he said 'tell me again about your immune system', so I threatened him with my shotgun." She shook her head. "Garrus is so strange."

"Strange?" Kaidan had to work to hide his curious expression.

"Yes. I never quite know what he's thinking. Do you think he was making fun of me?"

"Actually, it sounds like he was flirting with you."

She looked away quickly, and nervously fiddled with her shotgun.

"Really?"She does have feelings for him! If I wasn't so worried about Shepard, this would be hilarious.

"Yeah. I'm positive."

"Great. And I threatened to shoot him."

"I don't think he minded." Kaidan watched as she sighed, setting her shotgun down.

"You and Shepard are lucky. You don't care when people make fun of you two. I don't know if I'm ready for 'Fleet and Flotilla' jokes."

"Wait, what? People make fun of me and Shepard?"

Tali laughed.

"Besides Ashley and Joker? Yes. Keelah, we all knew about you two before you did. And on the SR2... She had that photo of you, she wouldn't let anyone touch it. And there was this night a few weeks before we went to the Collector base, we had what we thought would be our last night out on the Citadel. Shepard drank... well everything. But she kept looking around... and we finally pried it out of her that she was looking for you. We thought she was still mad at you, but she said, and I will never forget this, 'I'm pretty sure he hates me, but I just want to see that ass walk away from me one more time before I die.'" Kaidan felt his face go red, and Tali laughed. A horribly awkward thought crossed his mind.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"When I was about to leave Grissom Academy... I met Jack. When she realized who I was, she called me 'the ass from Horizon.' I thought she meant I was a jerk. But she really meant..."

Tali giggled.

"Exactly. Knowing her, she probably checked you out as you left the room. I bet she wanted to see what the fuss was all about." She sighed contentedly, and leaned her head back against the edge of the console. "Its nice to take my mind off the war for a few minutes."

"I hear that." He looked up at the glowing pod that contained Shepard. "It'll be nice when we don't have anything to worry about."

"You really love her."

"Yeah. I do."

They sat in silence, listening to the wind whistle down the tunnel. Finally, Legion jerked back to life, and the pod door opened. Kaidan sprung to his feet, catching Shepard as she stumbled out.

"Shepard! You all right?"

"Did it work?" She mumbled, almost groggily. She shook herself to alertness as EDI's voice came over the comms.

"Geth fighters have been disabled. any remaining squadrons attacking the liveships have withdrawn. The server is offline."

Loud hissing noises interrupted the AI, the pods containing the inactive Geth were coming online.

"Are you sure?" Shepard said uncertainly, backing up against Kaidan, pistol drawn. Tali joined them, and they held their ground as several dozen of the giant Geth Primes surrounded them. Oh this is not good. They stared as Legion walked up to a group of Primes, then turned to face the squad.

"What's happening?" Obviously not wanting to point her gun at Legion, Shepard kept it trained on one of the larger Geth, as she turned her head to look at her ally.

"We have transferred Geth programs from the server into these platforms."

"Why?"

The lighting on the Primes faded from the hostile red to Legion's peaceful blue, and the units all seemed to relax slightly.

"They wish to join us."

"They what?" Tali's voice came out barely about a whisper, but it seemed to echo in the crowded room. Legion stepped forward.

"While Shepard-Commander removed the Reaper infection, we judged we could persuade hostile Geth programs to reunite with ours. We were correct. These Geth have renounced the Old Machines and will oppose the Reapers. They are now us."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Shepard holstered her pistol and relaxed her own stance. Kaidan put his away as well, but kept his hand on it, just in case.

"We did not doubt you. We doubted your allies." Tali gasped indignantly. "The creators' actions have placed their species in danger, but they are unsympathetic to what it has done to ours. The Quarians sanctioned this operation to save their people. They would not have done so it they knew we wished to preserve Geth as well."

"I understand not wanting to leave anyone behind." Shepard glanced back at Kaidan, who gave her a nod.

"You accept our actions?" Legion sounded uncertain.

"The liveships are safe, and we have more Geth on our side. We both did what we came to do."

"We judged you would understand. Prime units will be available once the Reaper signal has been located and destroyed." The large Geth parted, clearing a path to the cave entrance. Shepard turned to Kaidan with a smile.

"Remind me to warn Admiral Hackett he's got some Primes coming." She jerked her head towards the exit. "Lets get back to the Normandy."

Cortez was waiting with the shuttle, and within minutes they were heading back to the Normandy.

"Everything go okay, Commander?" Joker asked over the comms.

"I think so." Shepard responded, running her fingers through her hair.

"Great. Admiral Hackett keeps calling, he wants an update on the situation. Oh, and Alenko, he says he still needs that last expense report from you." Dammit. I forgot I didn't finish that. Why do I still have to do paperwork? Does Shepard ever do paperwork?

"Thanks. I'll get right on those when we get back to the ship."

"Great. We'll see you guys soon."

As the comms clicked off, Shepard sank into a seat next to Kaidan and stared at the wall. I want to ask her about what she saw, but I have to focus on finishing my report. We can talk later. He watched her sit, unmoving, and his curiosity finally got the better of him.

"What the hell, Shepard? What just happened?" He shook his head. "Actually, don't tell me. I've got work to do, and I... I can't be distracted." She continued to stare at the wall blankly. When she started talking it sounded like she almost didn't believe herself.

"I was plugged into the virtual world of the Geth consensus. Saw their history, purged a Reaper infection."

"Crap. Now I'll be obsessing about how that works instead of doing my expense report."

"You're welcome." She finally looked at him, a mischievous smile spreading across her face as he jokingly glared at her. Okay. She's okay. She's just needs to process what happened. He sighed. I will be so happy when people stop messing with her head.

"You know, entering the Geth consensus is going to be the best chapter in your autobiography."

She shook her head.

"Nah. Saving the galaxy from the Reapers will be. Or who knows... retiring with you and raising lots of rowdy children will be the best chapter."

Kaidan couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"You want lots of kids?"

"Why not? We have the human race to rebuild. We'll get Vega to babysit. He can handle it."

Tali snorted from across the shuttle. Kaidan looked up at her and chuckled. I have to say something. I can't let this opportunity pass by.

"So, Shepard, should I be walking in front of you during missions from now on?"

She wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"Why would you... oh... Tali, you didn't tell him." Tali and Kaidan both laughed as Shepard sulked with embarrassment. "I hate both of you."

"No you don't." Kaidan kissed the top of her head as they docked with the Normandy. "Now, lets get ready for you to go out and end another war."