A Heroin Betrayed

Washed, calmed and in a straightforward state of mind again, I summoned Miranda, Tali and Mordin to the comm room to discuss the unique piece of salvage that we had picked up on the Reaper corpse. We had the Geth stored down in EDI's AI core so that she could scan it, not to mention stop it from trying to break into Normandy's systems or contact the Geth Consensus. I personally wanted to keep hold of the Geth that had probably saved my life, turn it on and speak with it. The opportunity was too good to miss. Mordin agreed that there could be a wealth of information that the Geth could provide to us as well as providing us with a reason why it was on the Reaper in the first place.

As I had predicted, Tali was dead against reactivating the Geth and would only provide "throwing it out of the airlock" as a way to deal with the synthetic. Miranda could see the benefits of learning from the Geth, but still felt inclined to agree with Tali.

"It spoke to me," I argued, "it knew who I was and helped us. There's something we're missing here."

"It's a Geth," Tali retorted, "a single Geth can help us with nothing. It's only when there are multiple units in close proximity to each other that they gain intelligence."

"I saw this one fighting an entire group of Husks by itself. It was far more proficient with its weapons and with its bare hands than any Geth I've ever fought. Not a single Geth from Eden Prime to the Battle of the Citadel has fought like this one did."

"You're the Commander," Miranda said, "what do you want to do?"

"I'm going to reactivate it and speak with it, see if it has anything on the Collectors or the Reapers that we don't, and ask how it knew who I was. If it makes you feel better, Tali, you can come with me and help me destroy it if the Geth tries anything."

Mordin and Miranda trusted my instincts and declined my offer for them to join me whereas Tali's inborn hatred of the Geth encouraged her to come along, armed with a handgun. Together we entered the small room where the Geth's body was lying still on the floor at the back of the room.

"EDI," I said, "bring up a shield. We'll keep it contained as a precaution."

The shield appeared and EDI said to me,

"I have raised additional firewalls to defend against any hacking attempts as well."

"No reason to trust a Geth," Tali muttered in agreement. I used my Omni tool to gain temporary access to the Geth's system while it was down and activated it. There was a spark and the machine's fingers seemed to twitch and spasm before its head-light lit up and the synthetic sat up slowly. The Geth stood up and turned to face me, standing almost right up against the force field. This was the first time that I noticed that it had moving plates on its head that moved and flexed as if trying to portray emotions, the same way that an organic's facial expressions would.

We stood looking at each other for a moment and I could hear the buzzing and stuttering noises coming from the machine. Eventually I broke the silence,

"Can you understand me?"

"Yes," said the fuzzy, computerised voice.

"Are you going to attack me?"

"No."

"You know who I am?"

"We have heard of you."

"You mean I've fought other Geth," I said.

"Geth have never met you," the Geth replied, "You are Gardner, human male, Systems Alliance, Commander. You have fought Heretics and oppose the Old Machines."

Suddenly I found myself lost as none of those last two titles meant anything to me,

"Heretics? Old Machines?"

"The Old Machines are what organics refer to as Reapers. Heretics were formerly Geth. When the Old Machine you call Sovereign offered Geth their technology in return for servitude some Geth rejected the offer, others accepted. Those that accepted became the Heretics."

"So it's true," Tali said as she stood beside me.

"What?" I asked. Tali looked between the Geth and I before explaining,

"There's been a theory going around Quarian scientists for a while that a divide exists in the Geth Consensus and that there has even been some fighting between the two factions."

"This is incorrect," the Geth stated, "the Geth do not fight the Heretics. The Heretics do not fight the Geth. We accept each other. The difference lies in the decision made about the Old Machines."

The Geth stopped for a moment and its face plates began moving quickly as if in deep thought,

"Gardner-Commander opposes Heretics. Gardner-Commander opposes Old Machines. Mutual cooperation would be beneficial to both the Geth and Normandy SR2."

It took a moment for my mind to click on to what the Geth was suggesting,

"Are you saying you want to join us?"

"Yes."

Tali could not believe what was going on,

"Scott, you can't let this happen! Don't forget what these things did when we were fighting against Saren."

"Those mobile platforms were Heretics, not Geth. Geth desire peace with Creators, but have been forced to defend themselves many times when Creators have decided to attack. Creator-Zorah and her people could learn from Gardner-Commander."

"Commander will do fine," I told the Geth.

I was hesitant, but I dropped the force field with my Omni tool and waited while the Geth stood motionless. I could feel Tali's hand twitching by her pistol but I dissuaded her, not wanting the AI core being shot up after all.

"So what should we call you?" I asked the synthetic.

"Geth," it answered.

"No, just you, the individual standing in front of me."

"There is no individual, we are all Geth. There are currently one-thousand-one-hundred-eighty-three programs running in this platform."

"How is that possible?" Tali said, amazed by what she was hearing.

"Ours is a unique hardware platform designed to operate alone, outside of Geth Space."

Out of nowhere I heard EDI's voice as she came up with the perfect name for the Geth,

""My name is Legion; for we are many"."

"That's appropriate," I agreed. The Geth's plates flicked and flapped before it said,

"We accept this as a suitable metaphor. We are Legion, an avatar of the Geth."

"Then welcome to the crew Legion," I help out a hand and Legion looked at it as if puzzled. After a few seconds it slowly held out its own hand and held it level with mine, but did not grasp the act of a hand shake. I shook the Geth's hand and said,

"Looking forward to working with you."

"This has been a strange day," Tali said as she left the room, waving a hand in the air that told me she just wanted to forget this had even happened.

With a Geth now officially on our team, I had to pretty much go around every single member of the crew and tell them that this was ok and not to shoot Legion on sight. Some of my team and crew did not seem too bothered about the event but most, especially Tali, were utterly dejected, hugely sceptical or just thought I had gone completely crazy. However, in the face of all of this I did not bother to try and plead my case. I had made my decision and was certain that we had gained a valuable asset for the Normandy.

"So this is a good twist to the story," Sophie joked when I went to sit down with her, "the evil robots that attacked the Citadel and put people on spikes are turning good?"

"I hope you're not planning on telling anyone this "story"," I said back, "at least until we're done with the Collectors and we have to try and explain it all to the entire galaxy."

"No, don't worry," my sister replied, "everything to do with you is a big secret, can't talk to anybody."

"That must be hard for someone like you," I laughed. Sophie laughed as well,

"Yep. So how's Tali taking the whole Geth situation?"

"She's a bit baffled and confused, like us all really. But she's a smart woman, she'll come around."

"And…" she paused, "you and her?"

I smiled happily, unable to conceal my feelings,

"We're back together again. And this time the Collectors aren't going to ruin it."

Sophie sat back in her chair with a satisfied look on her face,

"I knew something had changed recently, I read it all over your face!"

"Why do I even bother to try and hide things from you?" I chuckled.

"I don't know… you really suck at it!" she grinned, "but I'm happy for you. My big hero brother deserves someone like Tali."

"She's amazing," I said as if to myself.

Sophie and I chatted for a while and I asked if she had talked with mum and dad recently.

"No," she said, "I keep wanting to but it's hard. I can't tell them where I am, what I'm doing or who I'm with. They keep asking me if I've heard the rumours about you and if I know anything… I just have to keep lying to them."

"I know it's hard, but you're doing the right thing. Every time I go into my cabin I want to switch on my computer and call them or send them an e-mail. But how much pain would that cause them? Think of the questions they'll ask. And you know that they won't be able to keep it to themselves, it'll spread around the family and then before you know it half of Britain will have heard."

Sophie laughed again,

"Yeah, I'm so glad I moved to Aberdeen when I did. Sometimes the whole "small town" thing really annoyed me. Suppose you wouldn't remember. The Alliance had you trekking all over Alliance Space since you were what, eighteen?"

"The Alliance," I said like an old man remembering his younger days, "seems like forever since I could call myself an Alliance Marine. First the Council makes me a Spectre and now I'm a Cerberus Agent, a bloody turn-cloak."

"Hoi, come on," she told me off. "You're working with Cerberus for the same reason all of us are, to save millions of lives. That's not something people can hate you for. Look at the people you have in our team; an Asari, a Turian, a Quarian, a Salarian, a Krogan, a Drell and now even a damn Geth! That is not a normal Cerberus unit from what I've heard about them."

"You're right," I told her, "they're all here because it's a good cause."

"Exactly."

"Thanks Sophie. I should go, check that the Quarian and the Geth haven't killed each other yet."

I had meant what I said to Sophie as a joke, but when I got down to the engineering deck and found Tali I became concerned. She was standing at her computer with her head in her hands and muttering to herself,

"I don't understand…why? What's happened?"

"Tali? Are you ok?" I said as I moved beside her. Tali turned to me with her shoulders hunched and her hands fidgeting together,

"I just received a message from the Fleet… I'm being charged with treason!"

Tali's words hit me harder than any bullet I had taken before,

"What? Is it because you're working with Cerberus?"

"I'm not working with Cerberus. I'm working with you and I got proper leave to serve on the Normandy."

I could hear that she was struggling not to cry and I put my arm around her and led her somewhere that no one else would be present.

"I'm scared Scott," Tali whimpered to me.

"Have they told you on what grounds they're charging you?"

"No. I've only been told that I need to report back to the Rayya for a hearing by the Admiralty Board."

A flicker of hope appeared in my mind,

"Well that's ok then isn't it? Your father will be able to help you."

Tali shook her head and the flicker died away,

"He would have to recuse himself. Admiral Raan might have to do the same given her ties to my family."

"How soon do you have to be there?"

"I have a week. And if I don't turn up then they'll try me in absentia. I'll probably be exiled."

"That won't happen," I told her, "they can't do that to you."

Tali buried her head in my chest and I held her as a part of me,

"Scott," she said softly, "I know we have our mission but I have to go. I have to find out why they're doing this and prove my innocence."

I did not want her to go, but I knew that Tali was right. Then, suddenly, I felt a wave of inspiration,

"EDI," I asked, "any updates on how long the IFF will take to install?"

"I have narrowed the approximate time down to between three to four weeks," the AI responded, "I am working at optimum capacity."

"I know EDI," I said to her, "its ok. We're not taking chances with this thing. Tali will give you the coordinates for the Migrant Fleet and we'll get there as soon as possible."

Tali's eyes looked up and met mine,

"I was going to book passage on another ship…"

"You heard EDI, we've got time to spare. We're going to go to the Fleet and face the Admirals, make them see that they're wrong."

"Thank you, Scott. This means a lot to me."

Two days later, the Normandy was out near the fringes of the galaxy on an approach vector to one of the massive Quarian Live-Ships. Tali's childhood ship, the Rayya. I had ordered weapons powered down and the stealth systems disengaged in order to appear as small a threat as possible. The Quarians had a tendency to blast strange ships out of the sky after only minimal questioning.

"Unknown vessel, we have your ship flagged as Cerberus; verify," announced a Quarian controller. Tali was on the bridge with me and spoke into the comm,

"After time adrift among open stars, through tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."

The passphrase worked and the controller came back,

"Permission to dock granted. Proceed to docking cradle 4 and Captain Kar'Danna will meet you. Welcome home Tali'Zorah."

"Requesting permission for Commander Scott Gardner, captain of the Normandy, to come aboard," Tali continued.

"Permission granted," the controller said after a slight delay. Joker guided the Normandy along the planned flight path provided by the Quarians while Tali turned to me,

"You'll need to put on your armour and keep it fully pressurised to keep the ship clean of germs… no offense."

I laughed and went to get suited up before we arrived at the Live-Ship, the Quarian equivalent of a city. Just a few of my Human germs getting loose into their ventilation systems could have half of the people living on board stricken by sickness in a matter of hours. A parting gift that I really did not want to leave for the Quarians.

When the Normandy had docked and the airlock opened to let us onboard the Rayya we were met by the ship's captain and a detachment of marines. Captain Kar'Danna welcomed Tali warmly,

"Tali, it is good to have you back."

"Really?" Tali asked, "I would rather be returning to a much better situation than this!"

The captain stepped back, sensing Tali's sadness and frail state of mind,

"It is not so bad Tali. You have friends who want to see your name cleared, but the charges are very serious."

"What are the charges?" Tali asked.

"You're being charged with sending active Geth back to the fleet."

"What?" Tali and I said at the same time.

"I would never do that!" Tali pleaded, "I only sent parts and pieces that were of no harm to anyone."

"I'm sorry Tali," Kar'Danna said meaningfully, "but I cannot tell you anymore. Admiral Raan is waiting for you just ahead and the rest of the Admirals are on their way to begin the trial."

"I could never do that…" Tali repeated again to me and I tried to encourage her,

"It'll be ok Tali. You heard the Captain, you still have friends and allies. And no matter what happens I'll be here."

I turned to the captain of the Rayya,

"Point us in the right direction captain, we'll set this straight."

"I've heard a lot about you Commander Gardner. I'm glad Tali has someone like you on her side," he reached out and I shook his hand. Together, Tali and I moved down through the ship towards where Tali told me that the main plaza was located. On the way we were met by another Quarian dressed in a mostly black envirosuit with purple and gold stitching that gave her a regal look. Tali saw her and ran ahead a few steps and hugged the Quarian woman,

"Auntie Raan!" Tali said happily before turning back to me, "Scott, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, a close friend of my father's."

I had noticed that when Tali had hugged her "Aunt", Shala had not hugged her back but then proceeded to speak to as any family member would to another,

"I'm glad you came so quickly Tali'Zorah vas… Normandy. I was not sure how much time I could give you that the other Admirals would agree with."

"Admiral Raan serves on the Board with my father… wait," Tali looked suspiciously at the Admiral, "you just called me "vas Normandy"."

"Yes, I did Tali," Shala responded, "the Board moved to have you tried under that name."

Tali returned to her previous distraught and defeated mood when I said,

"I take it being associated with a Human ship is a bad sign?"

"They've stripped me of my ship name!" Tali told me, "they might as well have declared me exiled already."

"It's not over Tali," Raan tried to reassure her, "you still have friends who know you as Tali'Zorah vas Neema, whatever we must call you legally."

"Are you going to be able to help her Admiral?" I asked Shala'Raan.

"For my part, I will be there to make sure that the trial proceeds fairly. But I had to recuse myself because of my close connections to Tali and her father."

"I suppose father would have had to do the same," Tali said. Raan hesitated before answering,

"You'll see inside child. We must go soon."

While we walked with Admiral Raan I asked,

"Does Tali have someone to speak in her defence?"

"Yes she does… Commander Gardner," Raan answered. I halted immediately and hoped that Shala was not meaning what I thought she was insinuating,

"You don't mean…"

"Yes Commander. You will be her representative as recognised by Quarian law. You are the captain of the ship she serves on. Among our culture that means that your voice carries weight. Being the man that you are, saviour of the Citadel and close friend to Tali, will also gain you some favour."

"Some, but not enough for me to simply tell the Admirals where they can stick their accusations?"

"Actions such as that may not go down too well with the Board, I'm afraid. But between us, I wish it could be that simple."

I looked at Tali to see what her reaction to this news would be,

"So… you would actually speak for me against the Board?" Tali said quietly.

"Of course I will," I told her. I had almost reached for her hand but stopped myself, fearing that that would only harm Tali's case,

"I'll do everything in my power to prove your innocence."

"I couldn't ask for a better councillor," Tali said gratefully.

We all entered the main plaza where the hearing was to be held and found three of the Admirals already at their stations and ready to proceed. They were Daro'Xen, Zaal'Koris and Han'Gerrel, as I was told, and Shala Raan promptly took her post on an upper podium from where she would ensure the fairness and smooth running of the trial. There was a crowd of hundreds of Quarians gathered all around us and waiting patiently for Tali's trial to begin. From what I could tell, Tali's father had not even bothered to appear, and Tali had noticed the exact same thing.

"Come on Tali," I told her, "everything is going to be alright."

Tali remained silent and we walked down the steps to stand before the panel of judges that were the Admirals. The plaza went completely silent and Shala'Raan began the trial,

"Blessed be the ancestors who allowed us to live to this season. Keelah Se'lai."

Every Quarian repeated the phrase and Shala swiftly moved on,

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, you stand accused of treason for sending active Geth back to the Migrant Fleet. Do you have anyone to speak in your defence?"

The Admiral called Zaal'Koris suddenly put a hand in the air and called aloud,

"Objection: A Human has no business at a trial containing such sensitive military matters."

"Then perhaps you should not have moved to have Tali tried under that name," Shala countered, "Commander Gardner has every right to be here as the captain of the vessel Tali serves on."

Zaal shook his head and studied me for a moment before uttering,

"Objection withdrawn."

My mind was racing as I tried to find something to say. I was no lawyer and certainly had no love for their ilk, yet here I was, desperately needing some legal advice. Then inspiration hit me as I thought about how the Board had tried to weaken Tali's position by changing her ship name,

"I'll speak for Tali'Zorah, since her ship's captain has been forbidden from being here today."

"No one has been forbidden from anything…" Zaal began before Han'Gerrel shouted over him,

"Lie to them if you must Zaal, but don't lie to me. You were the one that insisted on this trial after the incident. You're trying to play Tali."

"Admirals please," Shala said from her post and calmed the Board down. "Commander Gardner, please continue."

There was a divide between the Admirals, an underlying cause to this trial. If I could just work out what it was and have the Admirals fighting against each other and maybe turn the crowd against them, then Tali would get out of here unscathed.

"You may have moved to have Tali be called "vas Normandy", but in her heart she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud member of the Migrant Fleet. She would never do anything to endanger the lives of the Quarians."

"To clarify, Commander Gardner," Daro'Xen said with a cold but assertive voice, "Tali's loyalty was never in question, only her judgement."

"I would never send active Geth back to the Fleet," Tali said, "I only sent back small parts and pieces as father instructed."

"Then explain how Geth seized the ship that your father was working on!" Zaal'Koris yelled at her.

The crowd was shocked and a vast amount of muttering and speculation began to go on all around us.

"What are you talking about?" Tali asked in a shaky voice, "what's happened?"

"I'm sorry Tali," Han said, "but Geth seized the Alarei and from what we can tell they've killed everyone on board. Your father included."

Tali was too dumbstruck to even speak, I could hear her about to break down in tears at the horrible news she had just had thrown at her.

"Admirals," I addressed them, "I appreciate the need for this trial, but our first priority must surely be to retake the Alarei and ensure the safety of the Migrant Fleet."

"We have already tried, Gardner," Zaal said, "our strike teams have been beaten back by waves of Geth, both times."

"Then send me and Tali," I replied to him, "we'll clear the ship and find the evidence to prove that she cannot be guilty of such a crime."

I looked at Tali and she gave an affirmative nod before she turned to the Board and told them,

"I will go with Scott."

"The simplest course of action would be to destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honourable death…" Zaal said harshly.

"I'm looking for my father you Bosh'Tet!" Tali exploded. Before Zaal'Koris could bellow back Shala stepped in and delivered her verdict,

"So it is decided: Tali and Commander Gardner will attempt to retake the Alarei. This hearing will continue upon your return or upon confirmation that you have been killed in action."

The Admirals left the stand and went with their own entourages to various parts of the plaza, not allowed to discuss matters of the trial while the hearing had been put on hold. Tali and I were left alone and without a word we returned to the Normandy to gather our weapons together for our assault on the Quarian ship.

"Are you ok Tali?" I eventually said as we re-entered the plaza, "they threw a lot of flak at you, and that was before they told you about your father."

"I don't know," Tali said miserably, "I don't know what to think about this. Either I made an error when I chose a certain part to send back to father or he has reactivated them himself. That would make him guilty of breaking our most sacredly held laws."

"Would it help if we spoke to anyone before we went? I got the feeling that there's some infighting between the Admirals, maybe Shala could help us find an angle to work on."

We were moving through the plaza towards where Shala was when I heard a voice call out to me,

"Commander Gardner? How did you get on the Rayya?"

I turned to meet the Quarian who had called out but I did not know who I was talking to.

"Scott, it's Veetor," Tali whispered to me. I gently held out a hand to shake Veetor's and greeted him warmly,

"From Freedom's Progress? I'm glad to see that you're alright."

"Yes… I am, sort of, but only because of your help," he replied in his jumpy manner.

"Are you here to help Tali?" I asked him, "she could really use some friends right now."

"I already did, and so did the soldier Kal'Reegar. The Admirals came to see me and I told them how you all helped me when the monsters attacked. I told the Admirals that they were wrong to believe in what they thought you did."

"That was very brave Veetor," Tali said gladly to him, "thank you for all your help. Is Kal around here?"

Veetor pointed back towards where a group of Quarian marines were gathered and we both bid fond farewells to the young Quarian,

"Thank you Veetor," I said, "and take good care of yourself, ok?"

Tali and I strolled over to the marines and one of them detached himself from the group and came over to us,

"Ma'am, Commander. Glad to see you both. Wish it was for a better reason though," Kal'Reegar said.

"Good to see you too Kal," Tali said.

"How are you doing after Haestrom?" I asked, remembering how he had barely been holding together after the vicious battle on the radiation-baked planet.

"Got off pretty lightly, was down for about a week with infection though."

"Glad you're ok. Did the Admirals ask for you as well?" I asked.

"They sure did," the Quarian marine told me, "when they told me what Tali was being accused of I told them they could go to hell. I'm here now just in case they tried any bullshit, I was going to kick off at them if they did. Glad to see it wasn't necessary though."

"Thanks, Kal," Tali said, "do you know anything about what we'll be facing on the Alarei?"

Kal'Reegar shook his head,

"Unfortunately not Ma'am. All I've heard is that the marines who went over there were forced back by dozens of Geth coming at them."

"Then it can't have been just from the parts that I sent father, I only sent small parts that wouldn't self-activate."

"I don't know about any of that Tali, I just shoot things. But… be careful over there!"

It had been good for Tali to bump into Kal and Veetor and hear that there was active support for her among the people of the Migrant Fleet. When we reached Shala'Raan, Tali was in a much better, though still concerned, mood.

"I am so sorry for what happened down there, Tali," Shala said, almost pleading to my girlfriend for forgiveness, "but the Admirals needed to hear the shock in your voice when you were told about Rael."

"So you set me up?" Tali replied scornfully.

"It was the only way to get the Admirals to pay real attention to you, there's no room for sentimentality anymore."

"For someone who claims to care for Tali that was a stab in the back," I told Shala, "but if you really want to help her maybe you could clear up a certain issue for me."

"I am listening Commander," she said, not used to being spoken to in such a way by one of an inferior rank.

"There's a lot of infighting going on behind the scenes isn't there. And now Tali's been drawn into it."

Admiral Raan was stunned that I was calling her out like this but there was no way for her to deny it,

"You are right. The real, underlying issue has gotten out of hand and has spilled over into this… fragile situation which we find ourselves in. The Admirals are trying to decide whether or not to go to war with the Geth and try to reclaim our homeworld. The presence of the Geth on the Alarei and Rael'Zorah's possible involvement makes this a touchy issue."

"Are we that close to fighting for the homeworld?" Tali asked in amazement.

"I don't know child. I feel that if we were to go to war now, we may have a chance. But our losses would be so catastrophic that it would not matter."

I was completely against this idea,

"You can't destroy your fleet and your people against the Geth, we'll need both against the Reapers when they come," I told her matter-of-factly. Tali agreed that her people would be needed to fight against the Reapers, but the prospect of recapturing the homeworld from the Quarians' old enemy was too tantalisingly tempting for her to dismiss it in the same way.

Shala went on to tell us that Zaal'Koris was also against the war and was a devoted Geth Apologist, a man who believed that there should be peace between the Geth and Quarians. Han'Gerrel on the other hand wanted nothing more than to bring the full might of the Migrant Fleet against the synthetics and wipe them from the face of the galaxy in a glorious war of redemption for the Quarian race. Daro'Xen was more interested in discovering new ways to fight the Geth through digital warfare and using technology over brute force and an incredible amount of firepower and, for the moment, was undecided about the war.

Rael'Zorah, Tali's father, had been thought to have been in Han's camp, but if he was reassembling Geth from the parts that Tali and other pilgrims sent him and was reactivating them on purpose, then perhaps he was also looking for a new way of destroying his enemy.

"If Rael really was bringing back Geth to test weapons or hacking techniques against them, then you know what that would mean, Tali," Shala informed the young, terrified Quarian.

"He would be wiped from all the records of the Fleet, turned into the worst war criminal in the Migrant Fleet's history," Tali said hauntingly. She turned to me,

"We can't let this happen Scott."

"We won't," I told her, "Thank you Admiral Raan, but we should get going."

"Good luck Commander," she replied, "and Tali, I wish you all the best. Please come back to us."