"Shepard, I'm worried about you," Liara admitted as the door shut behind her.
"You look beautiful in that dress, Dr. T'Soni," said Shepard, hoping to derail the conversation.
"I said: I am worried about you. A geth? You're in love with a geth?" Liara huffed down the steps and stood in front of Shepard.
"You became the Shadow Broker a few hours ago, you can't know that already." Shepard pulled out two glasses and an ornate bottle and put them on the table. She set her mind to opening the bottle, pretending this conversation wasn't happening.
"I don't need to be the Shadow Broker to see how you two were acting on Hagalaz and Illium. You've rarely shown such concern for me in battle! A geth, Shepard, how can you show it-"
"Them."
"-them anything but the barrel of your gun!"
Shepard set the bottle down, still unopened. "Liara. Please. Let's just take a seat and talk about this. You haven't been here. You don't know what Legion is like. The geth had factions, and the ones we fought weren't aligned with the one on this ship. It's… complicated."
Liara looked around, composing herself. She took a few deep breaths and sat down. Shepard finally got the bottle open and poured the drinks. Liara took a thoughtful sip.
"I am sorry, Shepard. The past few days have been a whirlwind. I… understand your desire for companionship. And I know what has stopped you from pursuing it with others."
"You do?" She tried to stay casual. She had always had a soft spot for Liara, even if she had never acted on it.
"I know more than you think I do," Liara stated, her stare unwavering. "I know why you and Kaidan didn't work out even before your, ah, death. And why you never approached me. Though looking back, perhaps I was a little too forward for someone of your orientation. I knew so little about humans then."
Shepard looked at her model ship collection, the uncomfortable subject made easier with broken eye contact. "I barely knew myself. I didn't know for sure until after Kaidan and I- ah, you know." Shepard dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. "Legion and I work well together. It's still new, but it feels… it feels like it could be home."
"You do seem happy, Shepard. I don't believe I've ever seen you quite like this." She swirled her drink, watching it flow around the glass. "At least as far as I can tell, they seem to care about you, too. I don't have much experience in friendly geth. Do geth care?"
"In their own way."
Liara shifted in her seat, interest piqued. She looked at Shepard as she would a piece of Prothean technology. "How did they ask you? Or did you do the asking? What got you to agree to this?"
With an overinflated sigh, she tried to deflect the question. "Liara…"
Liara continued to stare. Shepard looked off to the side, evaluating how much she really wanted to share. She wanted to keep most of it to herself, private and safe. Something only for her.
"Fine. They said whatever data they get from our time together would be beneficial for their entire race."
Liara sat straight up, facetiously indignant. "And you were upset when you thought I was studying you!"
"That's different! We both had misconceptions about each others' species then!" Shepard pulled a pained look.
"So you used to believe all those vids that make asari out to be vixens of the stars, willing to 'embrace eternity' with anyone," Liara said theatrically, hand panning across an imaginary starscape. She took another sip. "We were both so naive."
"And now you're the Shadow Broker." Shepard held her glass toward Liara.
"And somehow you're still just a commander." Liara tipped her class in return.
Shepard's laugh melted into a smile. "You'll always be one of my closest friends, Liara."
"I know, Shepard." Grief glanced across her eyes before returning to the present. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "I also know some of Legion's other activities. Before you leave, you should take a look."
"I don't want to invade their privacy." A wave of her hand dismissed the idea.
"Shepard, please, you know they've invaded yours, even if you were dead at the time."
"Why does that make it okay?"
"It's nothing nefarious, just something I want you to see."
Shepard sighed. "I'll think about it."
Liara smiled. "Good. I know you'll enjoy it. Now, tell me more about the adventures I've missed. Just reading about them is no fun…"
Returning from the Shadow Broker ship, Shepard went to the elevator. She walked with purpose, with an air no one dared interrupt. Once in the elevator, she looked up at the camera.
"Everything is fine, EDI."
"Understood, Commander."
Her foot tapped the floor. "Can this elevator go any slower?"
"If you would prefer, yes." Shepard glared. "That was a joke."
"Needs work, EDI," Shepard said over her shoulder, entering the crew deck.
She walked through the mess and medbay, giving Dr. Chakwas a quick nod before entering the AI Core. Legion looked up at her, faceplates showing surprise.
"You've been keeping secrets, Legion," Shepard accused. Given her hard expression, Legion internally replayed her statement to confirm the playful lilt in her voice.
"Please elaborate." Their speech remained neutral, similar to how they spoke when first meeting Shepard. This situation was very new to them. Was this one of those arguments they had read about on the extranet? What had they done to provoke this?
"Liara has shown me proof you play video games." She sounded excited, and her tone seemed to imply more, but Legion was unsure of what. This whole exchange had been very confusing for them so far. Shepard let the silence linger before bursting, "I do, too!"
Legion's faceplates raised as everything clicked into place. This was not an argument, it was a new connection! They then slanted into an inquisitive pose. "We have never seen you play video games during our time on the Normandy."
"It has been awhile, I admit." She started counting on her fingers. "First, all my gear was destroyed when the Collectors hit. Then I died. Then I stayed deadish for two years. And then I woke up and was pointed at the Collectors. I haven't had time to play."
"Acknowledged." They considered what to do next. "Would you like to play with us?"
"Yes, yes I would, Legion!" Shepard grinned. She ran her hand down their arm, tracing the N7 stripes with her thumb. "You think my cybernetics could pose a real challenge to you?"
Legion's faceplates pulsed. "We assess that chance to be near zero percent."
Shepard laughed and gently punched them. "You could teach EDI a thing or two. Fine, co-op then."
"You will need a controller. We do not have any. We run the games internally."
"That's fine." She thought for a moment and then snapped her fingers. "There's that video game kiosk on Zakera Ward! The one with the salarian? We'll stop by there next time we're on the Citadel."
Legion nodded. "We look forward to playing games with you, Shepard."
Most of the crew went their own ways once on the Citadel. Mordin headed to the salarian councilor, Kasumi disappeared as soon as the shuttle door opened, Tali went off to the ship dealer. One by one they dispersed.
By the time Shepard and Legion made it to Level 28, only Garrus and Thane still tagged along. The discussion centered on sniper rifles and various modifications the entire walk down. They loitered in front of Rodam Expeditions.
"Are you coming in with us, Shepard?" Garrus asked, gesturing to the weapons store.
"Oh, no, we have something else to do down here." Shepard hoped he wouldn't pry further. Thane looked at her, suspicion at the edge of his eyes.
"If you're going to Dark Star, we could meet up with you when we're done here," he offered.
"Oh yeah!" Garrus said. "I like that idea. The Normandy doesn't have any good dextro-safe drinks."
"Our destination is the game shop run by the salarian," Legion stated, pointing at the small kiosk. Garrus and Thane both looked from Legion, to the shop, to Shepard. She coughed a little.
"Legion's helping me piece together some stuff from my old omni-tool, and that store might have a connector we need," she said, certain the lie wouldn't pass. Garrus and Thane looked at each other and shrugged.
"Okay. Drinks after?" Garrus asked.
"I have to say hi to Anderson, too. I'd never hear the end if he heard I was on the Citadel and didn't stop by." Shepard shuffled her feet, feeling her cheeks get warm. Anderson was a father to her, but sometimes the familiarity was a little embarrassing. Especially in front of her crew.
"Perhaps message us after and we'll decide on drinks then," Thane said, giving her a way out of the conversation.
"All right. Oh, be sure to tell the shop owner you're with me, you'll get a discount!" Shepard said.
Once Garrus and Thane entered the store, Legion turned to face Shepard.
"We understand now that Garrus Vakarian and Thane Krios were not supposed to know our destination," they said.
"It's okay. I'm more concerned that they're beginning to suspect us. At least Thane is, I could see it in his eyes. Other crew members are, too. Do you know what Kelly asked me the other day?"
"We do not know what Kelly asked you the other day."
"I know you don't actually know, it was rhetorical," Shepard said, smirking.
"Acknowledged." Legion nodded.
"Anyway, she said, 'I wonder if pre-Morning War quarians also found geth attractive.' She's toying with me. She says these things about everyone I recruit to gauge my reaction, and I know she read something in my response this time. She has to know that you mean something more to me. And I don't know what the Illusive Man would do with that information." Shepard looked at the ground.
"Yeoman Chambers also approached us and asked why we no longer address you as 'Shepard-Commander.' We said it was a request from you. We observed eye dilation in response to this answer. It is possible she knows. We will examine her files to see if she has informed the Illusive Man. Should we continue to our destination?" Legion extended their arm toward the shop, mimicking what Garrus had done earlier.
They started walking. Shepard's urge to hold their hand was powerful, but she couldn't be so public. Not on the Citadel, where only two years ago she had killed so many heretic geth. Not anywhere. Not even her own ship. Instead her hand brushed against theirs every few steps. A gentle whirr came in response, and their faceplates bobbed up and down. That would have to do for now.
"Hello, what can I do for you today?" the salarian shopkeeper asked.
"What do you have in the way of game controllers? For, uh, someone with five-fingered hands," Shepard said, opening and closing her hand.
"Ah, I have just the thing!" The salarian selected a bright pink controller with cartoon pyjacks on it. It looked very shoddily made. "Perfect for a lady like you!"
Shepard frowned. "I think I need something that can take a beating. Don't worry, I have the credits."
"Oh, uh…" The salarian floundered. He scanned his selection before choosing another controller. "This is the Carnax Pro, you'll see the best human teams using this."
Shepard took it out of the box and held it in her hands. It was a good weight, a tactile luxury amid current holo-based technology. The top of it was black and faded into red by the bottom. She pressed the buttons gently. They felt nice. She click-clacked a little harder, and a crack formed down the middle of the casing.
"Hey, you broke it!" the shopkeeper said. "Now you gotta buy it, I can't take back broken merchandise!"
"What? It broke after a few button presses!" Shepard was ready to fight. Legion touched her arm.
"We can repair it," they said. The salarian looked at them.
"Is that an AI?" he asked, a twinge of alarm in his voice.
"No, it's my VI mech-assistant. So how many credits is this trash?" A cold tone lined her voice. She looked at the salarian, daring him to press further.
"Uh, six hundred credits. Do you have an account with us? If you open one, we have a special this month: you can download a game for free."
"Unnecessary, we have already acquired every game released in the past ten years," Legion stated. They looked at Shepard, rotating their eyelight almost like a wink. She stifled a smile and put her credit chit on the counter.
"We won't be needing an account," she said. The salarian rang her out and bagged up the broken controller. "Thanks."
As they left, the salarian let out a relieved sigh. Shepard looked in the bag.
"You said you can fix this? Won't I just break it again?"
Legion reached into the bag and looked at the controller. They flipped it around in their hands, examining every angle. "We can fix it and improve it. We will make it strong enough to withstand your cybernetics."
"Had I known that, I would have bought the cheap one with the cute pyjaks on it." Shepard looked at Legion and smiled. "Thank you, Legion. I'm sorry I called you 'it' and a 'VI' and 'assistant' back there. I didn't want him alerting C-Sec."
"We understand and assess it to be a productive distraction. We are not offended." They placed the controller back in the bag.
"Good."
Shepard looked into Rodam Expeditions. Thane had his elbow on the counter, leaning his head on his hand, holding a bag in the other hand's fingertips. Apparently his shopping had been done for a long time. Garrus, however, was speaking excitedly as the shopkeeper showed him something. They would be a while longer.
"I'm gonna head up to see Anderson. You don't have to come if you don't want to," Shepard said. "I don't know how he'll react to you. To us."
"We would like to come with you. Councilor Anderson's opinion does not concern us."
Anderson's door opened. He braced himself for another standoff with Udina, but was instead surprised to see a dear friend. And then a geth.
"Shepard! It is so good to see you," he said, glancing at her before locking onto the geth.
"Anderson! This is Legion, they're helping me fight the Collectors." She hid her nerves well, but Legion could see the raised temperatures and heart rates of both humans.
"What is this, Shepard, some kind of trophy? How did you get it on the Citadel? Why the hell is it wearing N7 armor?"
"The customs officer told me not to bring them, and then let me anyway. And they're not a trophy, they're a close friend of mine. And the armor… It's mine. From when I died. I still haven't gotten a straight answer as to why they're wearing it." Shepard toed the line between amicable and professional, crossing her hands behind her back and standing straight. "I would appreciate it if you treated them as you would anyone else on my crew."
Anderson considered this. He looked Legion up and down before extending his hand. "If Shepard vouches for you, then I'll just have to accept it. Good to meet you, Legion."
Legion offered their hand and let Anderson take the lead. This was their second handshake, and it didn't make any more sense this time around.
"It is good to meet you, Councilor Anderson," they said.
"Oh, it talks - they talk." Anderson recoiled a little before regaining composure. "So, what brings you by this time, Shepard?"
"I was on the Citadel getting some supplies and wanted to say hello. We're getting close to entering the Omega-4 Relay, and, honestly, I don't know if we'll be back. So I guess I also wanted to say goodbye." Shepard shrugged, and blinked away any thought of tears. She looked at Anderson and smiled. He gave her that fatherly look, putting his hand on her shoulder. It was firm and comforting.
"If anyone can…" He set aside the platitude, voice faltering. "I do hope you'll make it back."
He pulled her in for a hug. Off to the side he saw movement, a flash, the geth starting forward before stopping. Were they protecting her? The eyelight focused on their embrace, rotating, dilating.
Shepard's sniffle broke Anderson's focus on Legion. It was a rare show of emotion, especially in front of a crew member. They pulled away from each other. Anderson cleared his throat.
"Now, Shepard, do you really want me treating Legion like anyone else on your crew?" he asked, straightening his jacket.
"Yes, of course, why wouldn't - why do you ask that?" Her tone shifted. He knew. He had figured it out. There hadn't been a scenario where she left this room without him knowing.
"This reminds me a little of you and Kaidan," Anderson said.
"I don't know what you mean." Was that too nonchalant? She was certain it was too nonchalant.
"I've never seen you open up to me in front of anyone aside from Alenko and now this geth. I can't fathom how, but I think they're important to you."
He let the idea sit as she fidgeted. Legion stepped closer to her, raising their faceplates in concern.
"What you must think of me," Shepard whispered, staring at the ground. Legion placed a hand on her arm.
"I don't know what to think. I barely understand what I'm seeing." Anderson stepped toward her and curled his hand under her chin. He lifted it until she was looking at him. "All I know, child, is that if you find happiness in this galaxy, you take it. You hold onto it. Don't let it go. Don't put it off until it's more convenient. Don't... do what I did. Allow yourself to be happy."
Shepard sniffled a little before shaking it off. She stood up straight and looked Anderson in the eye. "Yes, sir."
"And you." Anderson pointed at Legion. "Don't go hurting her, Legion. You take care of her, got it?"
"We have no intention of causing Shepard any harm," Legion said. "We will keep her operational mentally and physically, even at the expense of our own functionality."
"All right, but look after yourself, too." Anderson tapped their chestplate. "She's trying to hide it from me, but I can see she cares. You're something special to her. I don't see that spark in her eye very often and I don't think I've ever seen it so bright."
"Anderson…" Shepard said, feeling exposed.
"Acknowledged." Legion nodded.
Anderson's omni-tool let out a gentle ping.
"Ah, that'll be my next meeting. It was good to meet you, Legion, genuinely. And Shepard…" He hugged her again. He held her tight, not quite ready to let go of someone he loved so much. "I'm happy for you. I may not understand it, but I am happy for you. Make sure you come home. Consider it an order."
"Thank you, Anderson," Shepard said, buried deep in his shoulder. She let go, hoping it wasn't for the last time. "We'll come home."
Shepard held Legion's free hand and looked out the skycar window. She played with their fingers and they played back.
"We have a query," Legion said.
"Okay." Shepard turned to look at them.
"Councilor Anderson directed us to take care of you. This was not the first time we were told this. EDI also gave us this order. Why do others state this directive when they are not involved in the relationship?"
"EDI said that? Ah, well, others would say it because they don't want to see anyone get hurt. They're emotionally invested in one or both people. Anderson's been there for me in the past when relationships fell apart, especially after Kaidan. He was my only confidant for that, since everyone else was still on my crew and had to work together." Shepard shifted in her seat. She smiled to herself. "It is very sweet that EDI said that."
"We understand: it is a form of affection. We did not know how to categorize this behavior before."
"Yeah, that's it. It's a kind of love. A deep friendship or familial, even. Though I don't really have any biological family to confirm that. Anderson's the closest I've ever had to family."
"We will consider this. There are logs observing similar behavior between Creators before the Morning War, but we did not fully understand them. Thank you, Shepard."
Shepard's omni-tool chimed. Legion's fingers danced after hers as she let go of their hand. They had come to enjoy the physical interaction, though couldn't quite place why.
"It's Thane. Looks like they're headed back to the ship. He sounds annoyed. Oh, and Garrus sends an angry face." She closed the notification and reached for Legion's hand again. Their fingers eagerly enveloped hers and squeezed. "Honestly, it's a relief. I don't want to suffer anyone else figuring us out today. Let's head home."
"Acknowledged." Legion altered the skycar's course.
"Now I have a query for you," Shepard said.
"We are ready."
"You said you play the games internally. How often are we in battle and you're playing a game?"
She looked closely at them. Their faceplates rolled back and forth.
"No data available."
"So you are playing when we're in battle!" She slapped her knee.
"Not all of us, and only when it is safe. We still operate at optimal required efficiency." Their eyelight swiveled over to look at Shepard. "We promise. We would not jeopardize you or another member of the crew."
"All right, fine. Are you playing games now?"
"No. We have gathered a substantial amount of data today. There is much to examine."
A comfortable silence fell between them. Her fingers tapped a pattern on their open hand, and their fingers repeated the sequence back to her.
"Additional query," Legion said.
"Shoot."
"What games would you like to play with us?"
"I'm very behind, I don't even know what's come out recently. How about you show me some of your favorites?"
Legion's faceplates bobbed, and a whirr escaped from somewhere inside them. "We would like that. We have much to show you."
Legion looked at the broken controller, examining every angle. They set it down on the AI Core counter. Their hands ran over an eclectic collection of scrap placed in a grid, considering the bits of metal and plastic. Various programs listed what needed to be done to fix and upgrade the controller. A few checked in again on Yeoman Chambers' files. She still hadn't reported anything between them and the Commander. This deviated from anticipated human behavior.
"EDI?" they said, looking up at one of the room's cameras.
"Hello, Legion."
"We see that Yeoman Chambers has not yet filed a report mentioning this platform and Shepard. We do not understand why."
"Perhaps she is not certain of her hypothesis. Though I believe she simply enjoys keeping secrets."
"For strategic advantage?"
"No, for fun."
Why would there be enjoyment in keeping secrets? More data for the Consensus to grind.
"Thank you, EDI. We will consider this."
They gently put the controller and all the scrap into a box. They left the AI Core, entering the Medbay.
"Hello, Doctor Chakwas."
She jumped at their presence. "Oh, ah, hello, Legion." Her relief at seeing them leave the Medbay outweighed her curiosity in the box.
Legion entered the elevator and pressed the button for Engineering. Some programs recalled Shepard's irritation with the elevator's sluggishness. Others brought up schematics of geth ships and began to compare ramps to elevators. Another group checked on their high scores in Galaxy of Fantasy and a few other games. The elevator doors closed. They drummed their fingers on the box.
"What an odd gesture to pick up from organics," EDI said.
They stopped. "We also do not understand the purpose."
Leaving the elevator, Legion entered the drive core. Gabby and Ken were elsewhere. Tali was leaning over her workbench with her back to Legion, dancing to music only she could hear.
"Creator Zorah," they said.
Tali yelled in surprise. She whipped around, hand on her knife.
"Oh, Legion! It's only you." She eased, though her hand was the last to relax. "What are you doing?! A geth sneaking up on a quarian!"
"We apologize, Creator Zorah. We did not intend to alarm you. We require your assistance. A workbench is necessary for repairs."
Tali leaned forward, concerned. "Are you hurt?"
"Negative."
She crossed her arms. "Are you finally fixing that hole in your chest?"
"Negative." They lifted the box a little. "We need to make repairs to this controller."
Tali peeked inside. Legion lowered the box for her as she reached in and pulled out the controller.
"Hmm. This is for Shepard, isn't it?" she said.
Legion's eyelight rotated, unsure how to respond.
"Black and red? This is definitely her speed. She had one similar to this on the old Normandy." Tali turned to her workbench and began rooting around her stash. "With her cybernetics, we'll have to reinforce the casing and all the buttons… Turian steel would work for the skeleton, maybe some atmo-grade plastics for the shell…"
"We have appropriate materials, you do not need to supply your own," Legion said. "We intended to only temporarily use your workspace. You do not need to be present."
Tali, still mumbling to herself, looked in Legion's box. "I could vacuform the shape up in the armory… Maybe tighten up the solders for faster response time… Hmm, this would be a good piece, this one too..." She pulled out a few choice items and put them on the table with other bits she'd gathered. Satisfied with her supplies, she looked up at Legion and waved them over. "I am definitely helping with this. Now come on, let's get to work."
Legion stood next to her at the workbench. Tali laid out her tools and started opening the controller, taking the lead in the repairs.
"You can tell Shepard this was all you, if you like," she said, gently removing the innards and putting them to the side in an organized grid.
"That would be false."
"I know, but you could tell her to, you know, impress her. Though I think she's thoroughly impressed already. Ahh-"
A spring shot out from the workbench. Legion caught it and handed it back to Tali.
"Now I'm impressed, too. Thank you, Legion." She tinkered a little bit. "Look at us, a geth and a quarian side by side working together. I didn't think it was possible."
Legion's faceplates pulsed. They recorded this moment, as they did with all moments, but flagged it for special review. Creator Zorah did not realize it, but this was the first instance of a geth and creator working together in 289 years. In this moment, Creator Tali'Zorah vas Normandy had become an integral pillar in geth history. A name to be remembered along with the creators who defended them in the Morning War.
All Tali heard was a quiet whirr from the machine.
"So, what's going on with you and Shepard? And don't say 'no data available,' I hate when you do that."
Legion's eyelight rotated. "We are unsure of your query."
"I think I hate that more. Come on, I've known Shepard for a long time. I've flirted with her for a long time. I used to think she was as oblivious as Garrus, but maybe I was actually going about it all wrong. She looks at you the way I wanted her to look at me." Tali tapped her tool on the table. "I might be a little jealous, if I'm being honest. So what makes you different?"
Legion knew the answer, but also knew it wasn't theirs to share. "We offered ourselves as an option for companionship."
"Oh, is that all? Next time I'll be more straightforward, I guess." She got a little further in her work. "Could I ask you another question?"
"Yes, Creator Zorah."
"Your relationship with Shepard, whatever it is. What do you get out of it? What's in it for you? Have you evolved the kind of emotions organics have? Help me understand."
The Consensus radiated in a thousand directions. Conversations bloomed and diminished in an instant. They recalled every moment from their platform's creation to now: setting out to find Shepard, discovering her death, taking the N7 armor, seeing her aboard the derelict Old Machine, meeting her, covering her in battle, rewriting the heretics, watching her fall asleep in their lap, holding her hand… How to quantify this? How can everything she means to them be condensed into something Creator Zorah would comprehend?
"We receive data."
Tali looked up from her work. "That is the longest I have ever seen you think and all you can say is 'we receive data'? What data?" Her tone grew cool. "What are you doing with this data? What are you going to do to my people with this data?"
"Once shared with all geth, we intend to use it to broker peace with the Creators."
Tali was silent. Her gaze fell to the desk. She lost herself in what this could mean, in what peace could really look like.
Legion shifted their weight, another motion picked up from organics. This one had been used to fill time in difficult conversations. Would it work for them here?
Tali set down her tools. "You really think this could lead to peace?"
"We believe it is a possibility. We do not wish to fight the Creators. The optimal solution is co-existence."
Tali put her head in her hands. "You heard how the admirals are preparing for war." Her back straightened with new resolve. "Once I return to the Migrant Fleet, I will push for peace. Maybe my time on the Normandy will give me some clout. If the geth really are working toward peace, what would it say about us if we met it with war? We… we can't waste this chance at the Homeworld." She looked up at Legion. "I am sorry I sent geth pieces to my father."
"We understand your actions were made with the data available to you at the time."
Tali picked up her tools and started working again. After a while she spoke.
"Thank you for sharing all of that with me, Legion."
"We assessed it would be beneficial to both us and the Creators."
"I hope it will be. And for what it's worth, I am… happy. For you and Shepard," Tali said, placing her own jealousy aside.
"We will take care of her," Legion stated.
Tali looked up from her work, confused. "Uh, okay, good."
"This conversation had 76% similarity to two previous conversations where we were instructed to take care of Shepard."
"I probably would have said it eventually," Tali said. "It sounds so strange when you say it's an 'instruction.' It's more of a sentiment, an expression."
Legion tilted their head. "We do not see a significant enough difference for the distinction."
Tali chuckled to herself. Both their omnitools pinged, and Tali's body sunk into displeasure as she checked the message. "Miranda, ugh."
"This message was sent to all operatives. To send each of us to the shuttle at the same time is unusual."
Tali gave the message another look. "Yeah, that is weird. Well, I guess we'll finish this controller later." She covered her work area with a cloth, then made another sound of disgust. "That shuttle is so small, how are all of us going to fit in there? Keelah, if Zaeed starts talking about the 'glory days' again I will jump out. And krogan aren't great in small spaces, I saw that firsthand with Wrex on the Mako. Miranda's going to put all of us, including Grunt, in that tiny little shuttle?"
"It appears so, Creator Zorah."
"Maybe Grunt will take it out on Zaeed and both problems will be solved."
"There is a possibility either one could cause a disruption. Subject Zero could also be a potential hazard in an enclosed space like the shuttle, particularly in proximity to Operative Lawson." They extended their arm toward the door. "We must go retrieve our sniper rifle."
Tali threw her arms up in the air. "And we're all going to have our weapons! I guess I should get my stuff too. Let's go."
As they left Engineering together, Legion flagged this as another moment for special review. A quarian and a geth walking together toward a common goal for the first time since the Morning War ended. Creator Zorah's name now joined a very short list of the most venerated quarians. Quarians who treated geth not as servants or enemies, but as equals.