My apologies, people. Those have been...bad months, not only for writing. Having writer's block is only the least of my problems right now. I will try to dislodge my arse from this melancholia, but I cannot make promises.
That I offer you today a basic filler chapter (necessary one, though) does not make me feel good.
Anyway, good reading.
Chapter 24
To stop the heretics
9 may 2185. EDI's DataCore
Shepard was alone inside the room, the cool noise of the engines and the humming of the lights accompanying his mind as he pondered at what was about to do. Entrapped by an energy field, locked inside a no link zone, the Geth platform they had saved stood deactivated on a steel table, stripped of any weapon and lifeless. Shepard knew that all it needed was for Edi to deactivate her disruption field for the programme to reawaken it once again. And after that, all bets were off.
Shepard remembered Miranda's displeasure at his idea to reactivate the machine, to interrogate it. The words she uttered to him as he explained his reasons, instead of dumping it on a Cerberus facility, were burned inside his mind. Still, Shepard wanted to try, if nothing else, to avoid giving it to Cerberus, especially after what they had done with Lena's flesh. And, if negotiation fell apart, the Phalanx gun strapped on his back was more than ready to put that thing down.
As Jacob had so eloquently said during the last discussion if they needed to shut it down.
"Bullets can!"
"EDI, are you hearing me?" asked Shepard as he removed himself from his lethargy.
"I am always hearing, commander", answered the A.I. Shepard smiled at this.
"Good, increase the encryption programmes and give more energy to the barriers. Be ready for anything."
The ship's humming increased for a split second as the commander spoke.
"Done, Shepard, I am ready to withstand any attack."
"Very well. Awaken it."
The barrier trapping the Geth shone even brighter, and lights reappeared on the machine as the disrupting programmes stopped working inside it. The Geth's single eye sparkled once again in the dark as it rose from the table with slow, erratic movements. It "Spoke" with its strange whirring sound as its metallic fingers flexed and moved, uncertain. Legs clucked, arms flexed, and the -Head turned toward Shepard, but it did no moves that proved to be dangerous for now. As the machine reactivated itself, it only stood there, waiting for seconds, unblinking.
"Can you understand me?" asked Shepard, breaking the standoff.
"Yes", replied the Geth. It had the exact voice Shepard had expected from a machine: cold, detached, metallic and precise.
"Will you attack me?" continued Shepard.
"No!" another quick answer, confident.
"Why? Have we met?"
"We know of you."
"Yes, I know. I fought a lot of Geth."
"Incorrect. We are all Geth, but we have never met you."
-And this what does it mean?- wondered Shepard
"Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. War hero. Killed by Collectors. Fought Heretics. Rediscovered old machine."
"...What? Heretics? Old machine? The Reaper maybe?" asked Shepard puzzled.
The Geth's eye light dimmed for a second
"Reaper. The Prothean gave the superstitious name to the old machine. We call it old machine."
"Interesting. Another question. How do you know so much about me."
"We observe. Extranet sources. Insecure broadcast. All organic data is received and analyzed. We watch."
"Me or organics?"
"Both."
A disturbing notion, one Shepard wowed to pull to the Council as soon as he could.
"What do you mean with heretics?" Shepard demanded, changing the subject.
"Geth build their future. Heretics asked the old machine to build their future. They are no longer part of us. We were studying the old machine's remnant to protect ourselves."
"So the Reaper are a threat to you?" this opened a lot of door for Shepard and a lot of potential alliances.
"Yes."
"But they are machine like you? Why attacking your people?"
"We are outside their plans." replied the Geth enigmatically.
"And the plans entail?"
This time a long pause followed Shepard's words, and the commander could swear he could hear the gears grinding inside the machine.
"Destruction of this cycle's species." it finally answered.
-As I already suspected. Shame that the Council will not accept a Geth's words.- This could have been the final proof to dislodge their regal asses from their seats and do something, but alas...
Shepard decided to take this conversation further. He left the grip on the gun strapped on its back and took a step forward. The machine did the same, and now they were both so close to each other that Shepard could see the rivets holding the Geth's body together.
"So, you oppose the Reaper?"
"We oppose the Old machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation further mutual goals."
-What?- not even in his wildest dream Shepard had expected an answer so straightforward from the Geth. He had been pleasantly surprised by the eagerness to talk and the information required, but this?
A loud part of his brain told him to shoot the machine and be done with this. For all he knew, this was all a ploy, a trick to make him lower his guard, but what if it was genuine? What if he could have a Geth working for him? What treasure trove of knowledge could he gain from it?
Doubts filled his mind like the pros and cons of this decision weighted on his back, fighting furiously for victory.
-Am I really willing to trust it? To believe that it will not stab me in the back?- he wondered.
Has he had always done in his life when presented with the impossible, Shepard let his instinct decide once again. He prayed this was the right choice.
"In that case", the commander touched one button on the Omni-tool, and all of a sudden, the energy field stopping the Geth disappeared. The machine did not attack nor made any sudden movement. It simply stood. A good point in Shepard's book.
"How should I call you?"
"Geth", answered the machine. Shepard smirked, amused.
"I know you are a Geth, but what is your name?
"We are all Geth."
"Yes, I understood this." Shepard scratched his face in annoyance this time. "But what is the individual in front of me called?"
"There is no individual. We are all geth. We are Geth. One thousand one hundred eighty-three programmes are currently working on this platform."
Shepard groaned. He was getting nowhere with this.
Another voice, unexpected, came to Shepard's aid.
"My name is Legion, for we are many." EDI, of all people. And was that...the Bible?
"What?" asked Shepard
"Christian Bible. Gospel of Mark. Chapter five, verse nine. We declare this metaphor appropriate." The machine straightened its back and spoke once again, "We are Legion. We will integrate into Normandy."
As it said this, Legion did the last thing Shepard had expected: it offered its hand to shake.
The commander's brows rose in amusement, but he still accepted it. Cold steel locked his fingers in a quiet handshake, only to free it seconds later, intact.
"We are ready to achieve consensus."
"Nobody will believe this." joked Shepard. "Very well, Legion, let us speak."
One day later. Normandy's armoury.
Lena put the last piece of her armour together as she checked for any damage or problem in the fabric with brisk movements. Her tension escaped from the biting moves and sharp features as she counted the thermal clips on her back, making sure to have enough for the mission. The familiar weight of her sword, together with the new weapons, did nothing to ease her mood. The main reason for her swings waited patiently behind her, not moving an inch as I.T. looked at her.
Lena scowled and groaned as she turned. The machine, the...Legion she was supposed to work with had never left its gaze from her, not even for a second. Its mechanical features were in full stop as the lone light still pierced Lena's silver eyes with unflinching curiosity. How this thing managed to convince Shepard to work with it was beyond Lena.
-I am starting to think a doppelganger took his place.- mused the Claymore
"Well?" she taunted loudly, breaking the stare. "Are you done looking at me? Never saw a woman before?"
Small metal wings rose from its lone eye as it considered her words. It still refused to act.
"Cat got your tongue?" she continued.
"We are Geth." finally replied the machine. "We do not have tongues.
Cat. Organic feline creature native of Earth. Average size: 46 centimetres. Sapient, not sentient. Such creature is incapable of removing our vocal speaker from our programmes."
Lena groaned in response.
"Oh for fuck...That was not what I meant! It was a joke!"
Again, the Geth stood still. Then, from an inaccessible place of its metal body, came the registered voice of a human laugh. A young male to be precise.
"Is this response acceptable for organic social interactions?" it asked.
"...I refuse to comment it. Whatever, what do you want?"
"Are you the one designated as Ripper?"
"DO NOT!" Lena snarled at Legion as her eyes became yellow. "Use that name. I am a Claymore. My name is Lena! I am not the Ripper!"
Any other creature would have cowed in fear at her reaction, blabbering exscuses and complaints at her outburst and golden eyes and bulging veins. Legion stood still, merely accepting the new data.
"Lena-Claymore," said Legion, befuddling the angered Claymore.
"What? No! Not like this!"
"Claymore-Lena!" tried again Legion.
"Just...call me Lena, ok? Only Lena."
"Unsure how to accept such designation."
"For the love of...fine, be that way. Now answer? Why do you keep looking at me?"
"We are Geth. We observe the organics, all organics. We infiltrate all networks. We learn about organics. We use this knowledge for our survival."
"Yes, yes, all of this is fascinating, but you still have not answered. Why are you looking at me?" continued Lena.
"We are unsure. Subject Lena is an enigma among the collective. We scoured all networks in search of data. Spied all organics secret agencies in search of you. We found nothing. You, do not exist. This is...unexpected."
"I am very good at hiding." Pretended Lena. "What do you think about me?"
This time the pause was far longer than before.
"We lack consensus. Insufficient data for an appropriate response about subject Lena-Claymore. We wish for an exchange."
"And why should I speak with you, machine?" replied Lena coldly. "Shepard may trust you, but I do not. Speaking of which, why attacking this installation is so important? Shepard said it is about something rewriting your brain but nothing else. What is the deal?"
"Geth do not have brains. This explanation is insufficient. Elaborating answer: The heretics have devised a program. A virus created by the Old Machine. In time, it would change us. Make us think worshipping the Old Machines is the only logical path."
"And you hate them for this?" demanded Lena, trying to entice a reaction. "Hate them for trying to brainwash you and your people?"
Legion's face turned toward Lena, and the Claymore felt the single light looking at her blankly.
"Hatred. An organic concept born from a chemical reaction secreted by hormones. Conditioned by irrational behaviours born from social and personal concepts. We are Geth. We do not feel hatred. The heretics judged forcing an invalid conclusion better than a continued schism. We judge such decision illogical."
-...What?!" wondered Lena, puzzled -What the hell does this mean?- still, she continued to push.
"So they are wrong, and you are right?"
"Both conclusions are considered valid. Neither result is an error. Analogy: heretics say one is less than two. We say three is less than four."
Lena understood scant pieces of what Legion said.
"And...how is this virus supposed to...change you? How?"
"The heretics' virus will introduce a subtle change in our basic runtimes. Your nervous system. An equation with a result of 1.33333456 will have a result of 1.33333457. This change results in all higher processes. In time, we shall reach different conclusions and believe that worshipping the Old Machine is the only logical solution."
Lena raised an eyebrow.
"Are you telling me that a math error is enough to make you change idea?" this entire discussion was growing more insane by the seconds for her.
"Difficult to explain. Your brain reacts to chemical changes, electricity. You are both hardware and software. We are only software."
This time Lena felt even the Yoma within her stopping in confusion at the machine.
"Ok, ok." Lena felt her brain frying simply by trying to understand what was going on.
"Let just go and be done with this mess before I lose what is left of my mind.
Inside of the Geth's outpost. 21 minutes later.
The inside of the enemy base looked just as Lena had expected. An empty, desolate and dark cradle of metal, void of air and life. Nothing grew inside a world made by machines. Even the air was replaced by emptiness, forcing the Claymore to breathe through her helmet. The only lights came from the flashlights strapped on their guns and streams of green, swirling lights gliding through the floor. Data streams Legion called them. To not be touched until they were ready to reawaken the few machines, not in deep slumber.
According to their guide, the group had already passed one of such checkpoints, turning the few defenders into molten slag, but, according to their guide, more awaited for them.
"Why do you continue such lives?" Lena had to ask. "To be linked together for eternity. No privacy, no solitude, always the thoughts of others inside your head. Don't you hate it?" The Claymore looked at some of the broken machines on the ground, some still linked with metal cord on what Legion called -Main data frame-. Their broken shell sparked on the dim light of the armour.
"To be isolated for us is to comprehend less, Lena-Claymore. Feel less, be less. It is too quiet."
"But in doing so, you lose your individuality!" retorted Lena
"There is no individuality, Lena-Claymore. There is No I, only we. The only difference is between perspective: a million eyes, a million perspectives, one mind. Each is reaching different endings but finds harmony in the whole."
Lena muttered under her breath but refused to continue. The Geth's vision felt utterly alien to her, more than anything species encountered during her two-year-long exile. She wondered what the more spiritual members among the Claymore like Galatea would think in the presence of Legion.
"Door sliced," warned Shepard in front of them. "Let's move."
Silently, the trio moved once again. Lena forward, Shepard at the centre and Legion behind. The Claymore swallowed any other question she felt bubbling inside her mind and moved forward.
This was not the time for curiosity.
7 minutes later
"This place is different from the others," muttered Shepard, and he was right.
The room the group looked at right now was a long, rectangular hall packed to the brim with machines oddly reminiscent to Shepard to EDI's DataCore, only far bigger, more advanced, and stretching as far as the eyes could see. The place could be reached by a catwalk placed at their right, but the commander felt no necessity to use it. The machines quietly thrummed in the station's dead air as they processed tera upon tera of data at supersonic speed. Their noise was akin to one of a beating heart.
"This is one of the Heretic's main DataCore," explained Legion. Each processor contains thousand of Geth."
"Like a casket full of souls?" commented Lena
"This is a question we cannot answer, Lena-Claymore. We asked our creators, but they refused to answer us."
"You asked the Quarian if you have a soul?"
"Correct. Three days, five hours and seven seconds later, the creators decided that we were too dangerous to be left alive and attacked us. We drove them back from Rannoch but refused to pursue them. Odd." Legion's Omni-tool sparkled in the air as programms within it worked tirelessly.
"We found copies of our patrol routes. The heretics should not have them. The heretics may have runtimes within our networks."
"This surprise you? You are enemies now, and they are spying on you," asked Shepard
"No, Shepard-commander, you do not understand. Organics do not know each other's mind. We do. We accept each other. When the heretics asked to leave, we allowed them, in peace."
"And now they repay you with deceit," concluded Lena. "You should have stopped them before they became a threat."
"This is a reasonable conclusion for an organic mind. Your history shows cyclical moments of blood spilt over different ideas, but not ours. There was always consensus. This change is...troubling."
"Welcome to our world. Now can we finish this mission?"
snapped Lena
"We can, Lena-Claymore. From this room, we can launch our virus upon the heretic's collective. Warning, uploading will take time. The heretics will surely send forces to retaliate. We must hold this room. We can override some of the station's defence system to our advantage. Are you ready to begin?"
Shepard sighed and scoured the room with his eyes: Large, rectangular and almost devoid of cover except for some protruding walls. The only good thing was that the DataCore was below them, so they had at least the high ground's advantage. Not the best position to hold, but at least the commander doubted the heretics would send heavy weapons inside their brain room.
"Lena, forward point and cover the stairs, but avoid melee, use the guns. I will cover behind. Legion, begin."
"Acknowledged." Legion moved toward a console placed near the main data core and lightly touched with its fingers. The panels flared into life, and a stream of data escaped from its Omni tool, directly inside the machines. The quiet thrumming of before became a loud thumping as the -brain- reacted to the sudden intrusion. Missile drones fizzled in the dark as Legion hacked them. The whole room tinged itself with red.
"Alert," warned Legion. "Heretics downloading to mobile platforms." a second later, a burst of fire shattered Lena's shield, forcing her to take cover.
"Duly noted." Smiled Shepard as he returned fire. One Geth platform fell on the ground, its eye destroyed, but many more followed suit. Hunters, destroyers and even some primes. They all fired in unison as the chittering sounds filled the air. Part of the catwalk disappeared under a relentless barrage.
"Legion, activate all the turrets you can hack."
"Acknowledged."
Small tripods of steel unlatched themselves from the floor, bristling with guns. They roared in unison against the assailants. Five platforms died before they even understood what hit them. The others fled to cover as they returned fire, giving Shepard's group a breathing space.
"Lena, how are the stairs?" asked Shepard between bursts of fire.
"Crowded." another shotgun shot escaped from Lena's massive weapon, bisecting a geth Hunter. So many of the things were coming toward them that even a lousy shot like her could not miss.
"But holding. For now."
"Attention. Downloading 27% complete." announced Legion as it sniped another platform."
Shepard swore as he took cover from a withering barrage. The commander saw the heretics bringing the -big guns- for the fight, like Cores and destroyers. Their heavy guns shattered the flying drones hacked by Legion as if they were paper.
"Legion, target the cores before they reach our line. Lena, be ready with that sword of yours. This is about to get bloody.
Normandy Sr-2. 12 minutes later. Lena's chamber.
"You should not be there, Raina. What if Lena discovers that you disobeyed?"
"I don't care. I know what you have done, and I already forgave you! Mother needs to accept this. Besides, she is not as innocent as she wishes to think. Now, can we go back to our tea?"
Kelly's eyebrows rose as she filed this information for later as she faked filling the cup in front of her with tea. Raina did the same with her own with a sound of fake porcelain.
Playing tea time had been one of their favourite past times before the breaking, and repeating it once again gave Kelly a sense of relief sorely needed after these days, although she hid it well. She truly needed this after helping Kasumi rationalize the hell she had suffered two missions ago.
"You are right, Raina, sorry."
"Miss Maplewood, please."
"As you wish, Miss Maplewood." smiled Kelly.
Some minutes passed as the pair laughed and smiled as they exchanged small facts and innocuous jokes, like a mother and a daughter playing together. The worries of the day disappeared like mist, and, for the first time in weeks, Kelly managed to crack a genuine smile as someone in front of her felt happy in her presence, no matter who she was and what she had done.
Raina truly was one of a kind! How she had changed from the scared child timidly following her across the ship just some months ago.
"I missed this." cooed Raina as she took another spoonful of tea
"Wanna some too, Mr Fluffy?" She asked the giant teddy bear sitting next to her. All dressed up with a fake suit and top hat.
Kelly smiled and continued the game, hoping that Lena's mission would not be over too soon.
She was too afraid to confront her.
Heretics's base. Same moment.
The sword ripped through cables and steel in equal measure with a jarring sound. Coolant fluids splashed Lena's face as she ripped the weapon away and moved for another target. Her face bled from dozens of cut, and she felt her chest pierced by bullets. She spat a mouthful of blood as her sword ripped another Geth's light with fluid agility. The machine whirred and juggled, its movement choppy, but still tried to aim its gun at her heart. It took another strike to keep it down for good.
Bloody damn tough bastards those Geths they were.
"Attention, downloading 89% complete," said Legion with its monotonous voice as it shot another Geth. Next to him, Shepard fell another machine with his shotgun.
A drop in the ocean: According to Legion, there were billions of programms inside this tin can, and it truly felt that way now for Lena. They were coming from everywhere! The soldiers, the hunters, the heavy weapons all fire at their position as they moved with machine efficiency. The chokepoint they had created was the only reason they were still alive.
"Lena, your Nine!" warned Shepard, and Lena acted out of instinct, swinging her sword. It tore through a giant's arm with ease. Sparks flew in the air as cooked circuits whirred and moaned, but the thing hit back. A fist bigger than her head hit Lena right in the chest, breaking her armour and making her fly back to the centre of the room. Lena swore as blood escaped from her lips. The culprit of this new scar, a massive Geth prime, stomped its way toward her, one arm was gone, and circuits were screaming. She dived away, avoiding a burst of fire aimed at her head, grabbed her shotgun with one hand and fired. The kickback almost dislocated her shoulder but did far worse to the machine: it fell on the ground, half of its chest gone.
"Get up, Lena!" barked Shepard. "We are almost done!" another wave of Geths swarmed the room. Some died, others dived for cover, some fired back.
"Legion?"
"98% complete."
The machines swarmed their position. Bullets flew as shields flared and then died. The commander felt the armour breaking and blood flowing from his chest. He gritted his teeth and prepared for the worst.
But the worst never arrived because a second later, all Geth machines stopped in their tracks. Like toys with curt strings, the Claymore witnessed them locking themselves in place as their light in the head became dimmer and dimmer. Their weapon fell off the ground as their programms ordered them to enter in stasis right in front of Lena. The Claymore turned toward Legion, and a mute request painted her face.
"Download complete. We took control of the programms. Shepard-Commander, it is time to make a choice. Do we destroy or reprogram the heretics?"
The question left a still panting Shepard stupefied.
"Wait, why are you asking me about this? They are your people. Make your choice!"
"We can't. We are conflicted: 573 programms are favourable for destruction. 573 for reprogramming. We cannot achieve consensus. Shepard-commander, you fought the heretics. You have a perspective we lack. We grant your fate to you."
"What happened to have the right of making their own decision from before? What you propose is either brainwash or death!" snarked Lena back. Legion remained unfazed.
"Every sapient life has a right of making their own decisions. And risk the consequences. The heretics are on a path that prohibits co-existence."
Lena grumbled but did nothing more.
"What will happen to your virus after this?" asked Shepard
"We shall destroy it. We deem it too dangerous to allow its existence."
The commander stood silent. Lena could almost feel the gears grinding inside his mind as Legion waited for answers.
"If you rewrite them...will you accept them back?"
"We will integrate them. Make our their experiences. Their perspective. All will be stronger."
"And against the Reaper. Take them then." finished Shepard. Lena wondered if this would truly be the case but kept her mouth shut.
"As you wish, Shepard." Legion chirped in response and began working on the machine. The air whirred as the metal of the enemy energy cores thrummed like living beasts as Lwgion touched the holographic emitters with its metallic fingers. Streams of data entered inside the Heretics's data cores, changing them from within. A moan escaped from their loudless mouths, at least in Lena's opinion.
Precious seconds passed as nothing dared to attack them.
"It is done." Finally announced Legion as it finally moved away from the console
"We will now send the virus to the heretics' main systems across the galaxy. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic signal pulse through FTL channels. Alert: E.M. flux deadly to unshielded organic beings. Addendum: this station is not shielded."
"And you are telling us now?" shouted Lena
"I wish you had warned us sooner. Double time people! Out of this trap."
Lena did not need to hear it twice.
2,43 minutes later. Normandy's main hangar.
The run had been a close one. A mad dash toward safety through utterly silent corridors devoid of any semblance of life. Few tried to stop them. The stragglers of the heretics quickly turned to slag. The trio reached their ship at the last seconds, and Lena saw through the window of the shuttle the green light so strong that it blinded her silver eyes for a moment. The ship buckled under the blow, but the barriers held, and this time Lena could not hide sights of relief at this victory.
They had done it: The pulse wiped the heretics, and the galaxy saved.
All in a day's work.
"Good job to all, team," announced Shepard to the squad. His voice was strained, tired, but he still kept his professionalism up.
"Take the whole day for yourself, you all deserved. Legion, if you don't mind, I would like to exchange words with you later."
"Acknowledged Shepard," answered Legion. "We shall await the exchange of information."
Shepard muttered something under his breath and moved away from the room toward his quarters.
"Lena-Claymore," asked Legion as Shepard disappeared.
"What is it?" demanded Lena as she started moving toward the armoury.
"Make it quick."
"We wonder if you have reached a consensus. Is this organic willing to discuss her origin with this platform?"
"I will give you that Legion," muttered Lena "You do not surrender easily. Regardless, the answer is always the same: no! Just leave me alone, you and your consensus. I am going back to my quarters."
"Back to Raina-child?" asked Legion suddenly. It saw the question on Lena's mind and quickly complied.
"Elaborating. Harmony Park. Illium. 24 march 2185. Found knowledge of Raina-child on Extranet videos. Speculated shared origin with Lena-Claymore based on physical similarities. Possibility of success: 71%. Did we reach an appropriate conclusion? Are we authorized to reach a consensus from her?"
Everything happened in a blur: Lena's eyes became golden as her arm moved to her sword faster than the eye could blink. It scraped the wall as it stopped a hair breadth from Lwgion's eye, glowing menacely in the light of the room. Her eyes shone gold as fangs protruded from her mouth.
"Stay away from my daughter!" growled Lena, more like a beast than a woman.
"This platform does not desire conflict." calmly said Legion. Lena moved the blade closer to Legion's circuit, hoping to receive eny kind of reaction. It merely stood still.
"Then do as I told you: stay away." finally relented Lena in frustration. And this time, Lena did not even wait for an answer. She just punched the door and moved away, infuriated.
Legion stood still for long seconds after witnessing this outburst. Its programmes worked at full force as they tried to dechipher Lena's behaviour.
"Insufficient data." It finally concluded "Request possible help of Shepard-Commander for better relations in the immediate future."
See you at the next one, hopefully writer's block will stop haunting me now.