"You know that we're hiding emission for radars? Not having like...Kasumi's cloak all over the ship?" Joker commented while closing to the space station Legion pointed as source of the Heretic virus. "The will see us if they'll look through the window."
"Geth structures do not have windows. They are a structural weakness. Approach exterior cradle at this coordinates." Legion send some data to Joker's HUD. John only nodded at mute question from helmsman.
Normandy docked silently to enormous station. Shepard pondered all the way, who to take on this mission beside neccessary Legion.
"Shepard-Commander! We suggest that Creator Zorah would accompany us. This could provide insight into geth that may reason with Creator's beliefs." Legion stated while in Armory.
"Hmmm. Alright. I'll bring Tali, Max and Zaeed...Old dog could use a walk" he chuckled.
/.../
Max used a miniaturized blowtorch and quickly cut through the bolts locking cradle doors. Squad jumped down as catwalk was removed.
"Shepard-Commander. This station has little air and gravity as geth require neither. Be careful."
"This is bad idea John." Tali muttered.
"Easy there lass! Shepard won't turn his coat on you..." Zaeed made a nasty chuckle.
"Okay Legion, tell me what is the plan."
"We're building a consensus in that matter. Futher data required."
"We're blowing it up right? Destroying them?" Tali asked.
"We'll see Tali. And don't start it again. We talked about it." John shot litle sharper than he wanted. But some tough love will keep her councious. Buttering her up all the time would only make her a princess she always despised.
"I won't...John." Tali replied. Sometimes it was better to just come along with whatever Shepard will do. He wasn't wrong yet...
/.../
Fighting through station full of geth, Shepard understood what Legion meant saying geth are software. They crossed numerous geth, just standing idle. Powered off. But when he attacked a server hub that was placed every now and then, instantly every geth was switching on, as geth were downloading themselves into those platforms. However, when Legion along with Max used a combined Jammer and and John shot at the hub, no geth switched on. He thought killing geth was acrually killing them, but as it turns out. he didn't killed single Heretic during his campaing against Saren. He merely kicked out of piloting seat and they switched to new ones.
Crossing some corridor, John spotted a row of servers. Kept in special, controlled room, he glanced at field of memory drives.
"Those are the Heretics? I mean, housing them?"
"Yes. This is one of server storages. A closest to 'home' geth need or want." Legion replied.
"Got an idea beside bombing them into the void?" Max asked.
"We still build consensus." Legion twiched flaps.
"You better have an idea once we reach our destination. Or we're setting up charges." John finished discussion and motion to move out.
"Acknowledged."
/.../
"Shepard-Commander. We made a discovery!" Legion prompted squad to slow down.
"What is it?"
"We scanned Heretics servers. They contain traces of our mission, purpose and plans..."
"They spied on you? Surprised?" Max scoffed.
"You do not understand. Heretics broke off from us but peacefully. We let them go, in exchange there was no hostility. They...Betrayed us."
"They betrayed you joining with Reapers. Don't expect those who work for enemy to be civil, or respectful." John added.
"How are we become so different?" Legion asked. "We know each other minds. There are no lies or secrets. And yet, they spied on us, even after we accepted their decision."
"This is the charm of individuality. Even if geth and heretics think as one, they're still two opposite camps of beliefs. Conflict is unavoidable because there's always one side choosing war. Only difference is, how the other side would react." Shepard finished.
Legion waved his flaps extensively. "This had been added to the consensus. Thank you Commander. It will help understand us this situation."
"Anytime." John nodded and ordered move out. He wanted to be out from here as fast as possible.
/.../
Squad battled through few more geth hubs, finally they've reached a console on a balcony, overlooking a field of enormous servers.
"This is Heretics database. Virus will be stored here." Legion spoke then waved his flaps. "Shepard-Commander! We've concluded that there is another option than destruction."
"What is it?"
"Re-writing. If we would download our routine, it would be a counter-virus. Heretics would accept our routines."
"And that's...how different from what they're doing?" Max broke in.
"Heretics oppose organics and colaborate with Old Machines. Geth do not. You would terminate threat to organics." Legion replied.
"And give geth more numbers!" Tali almost shouted. "Shepard, please..."
"Brainwash them or destroy..." John pondered loudly hoping someone would make this decision for him.
"One war or another Heretics would be no more." Legion commented. "Geth oppose Old Machines. More of us, more allies in war with Old Machines."
John pondered. This was hell of a gamble...But army of geth...fighting Reapers?
"But what if another Reaper makes an offer to geth? Won't another Heretics arise?"
"Negative. We've reached consensus that Old Machines are enemies and will not let geth create their fate. We wish to exist, not serve."
John taken a deep breath and spoke. "Legion...rewrite them. Get your people."
"John!" Tali started seeing Legion approaching console.
"Trust me Tali! Just trust me..."
"You better work it out quick! Geth incoming!" Zaeed yelled throwing incendiary at one geth Hunters that were boxing squad in from both side corridors.
Team was covering Legion while he was uploading virus of his own. Tali zapped shielsd and optical cloaks of Heretics, Max and Zaeed threw their bombs, and John fired from his Mattock. Max was toying with Shepard's gun extensively. Now this rifle was punching holes in geth. In geth behind the geth too.
/.../
"Shepard-Commander, we've uploaded the routines. This station will generate an impulse through FTL channels."
"That's good right?" Max asked firing a burst.
"It wil be an EMP pulse yielding estimated 1.21 petawatts. This EM flux would be lethal to organic forms. We must leave immediately if you are to survive the blast." Legion responded clicking flaps around his eye.
"Now ain't that sweet..." John gritted his teeth.
"Like riding on a bicycle with no seat..." Max chuckled putting a shaped charge on nearby doors."I think that would be the closest route to the ship."
"Correct. We have estimately three minutes and five seconds o leave the station if we are to make it our of the system in time." Legion added.
/.../
Fighting through bunch of alerted geth while escaping space station with little gravity? Just another day at the office, john thought while he was blasting another geth on his path. He also noticed that when they were running away from a blast or anything like that, Max was even faster than John. Constantly muttering something he was an icebreaker, carving a way toward the ship.
Team made it just in time to jump into Normandy when Joker pulled it off the construction, then burned thrusters getting away into FTL.
"Shepard-Commander. Your actions were noted and appreciated. You showed a will to cooperation and proved it. Geth will not forget your actions." Legion stated then walked out of the cockpit.
"Kheelah..." Tali only shook her head and left too. John went after her.
"Err did I missed some crucial detail?" Joker carfully piped in.
"Some quarian-geth relations issues..." Max commented and realized that Zaeed already went after his bottle in his cabin, Jester was last standing team member.
"Woah...Tali must've been delighted then..."
"Yeah...Like she's on period...Joker, you're browsing all those things...does quarian girls even have periods? You know PMS and all that stuff?" Max leaned to him.
"Uh...Now that's a thing I'm dying right now to find out about, but I'm afraid at the same time." Joker replied chuckling.
"Oh you know it could be useful...She could justifiy shooting people with shotgun. 'Just those days' and nobody can complain" Max laughed.
"Hope she'll never gets that idea" Joker laughed too.
"If girl can blame any stunt on 'those days'..." A chirpy voice rang right next to Max. Kasumi materialized, kissed Max then cloaked again with giggle.
Joker just stared at Max who had a shellshocked expression. "Women..." Jester only shrugged.
"Says the guy who has one." Joker replied grumpily. He felt left out sometimes.
"Oh it's not that bad...You have EDI" Max chuckled. "What other girl would not complain about your browser's history? Or supply all those juicy facts that rots your brain?" Jester left laughing.
" . Laugh it up..." Joker spat. But then he realized that truthfully, EDI always kept him company. And never complained about his personnal life.
"You're here EDI?"
"Of course mr. Moreau." Her avatar popped up from a console.
"Good. Just checking." Joker smirked.
