Chapter 53: Ghost in the Machine

The four of them made the slow trip though the Alarei's many halls searching for Geth or Rael. Jack was bothered by the fact that other than the residential zone, they hadn't encountered any more Geth. Wasn't the entire ship supposed to be overrun with them? He shouldn't be complaining, the fight had used up most of his own ammo and he wasn't sure the ammo he scavenged from the Geth would even work with his assault rifle. The lack of Geth was just something he could focus on instead of the discovery they made in the medbay. It was going to take him a long time for that recording to fade in his memory. How could all of the other Admirals just watch, or, actively participate in the experiments done to Kal? Were all of them cowards? He could imagine someone like Xen actually believed in what Gerrel was doing, but not the others.

Tali held up a hand to stop them, "Jack, look at the ground..."

Upon first glance, Jack didn't know what made this flooring different from any other that they had come across. Quarian blood went in a trail leading ahead of them only interrupted by the occasional Geth footprint. After looking at the dried blood on his armor from Vasa's coughing fit, Jack noticed the difference instantly. The blood trail on the ground had the signature Quarian glow to it. Since the dried blood didn't have the glow, he could assume it was fresher. That opened up the possibility that whoever was bleeding could still be alive. There was definitely a lot of the blood everywhere but, he remembered coming back to the ship after Virmire and Kal had ultimately made it.

Jack started to sprint past her, "Come on, someone might still be alive!"

Saren grunted behind him, "We should be looking for the Geth's repair drone. Not chasing dying Quarians!"

He ignored Saren and kept running forward to follow the blood trail. Jack came to help Tali and the crew of the Alarei, and that's what he was going to do despite the experiments that were happening here. The sound of gunfire only made him start running faster so he could help. They were actually going to save someone and get them out of here. He rounded the corner and found a fairly familiar Geth shooting at several of it's companions. Legion looked exactly the same as when Jack had last seen him on Ilos. Apparently, the Quarians hadn't bothered to repair the old wound from Jack's shotgun, maybe it made him feel unique. The good thing was Legion shot at the other Geth meaning whatever happened in here before, Legion was still on their side.

Jack was going to call out to him and help shoot the other Geth but, Legion was already disappearing through a door on the right. Presumedly, he was chasing Geth that were trying to escape and kill them before that. He was about to shoulder his way through the door when he looked forward to what had to be the tech lab. The door had been kicked open and the Quarian blood trail came to a terrible stop. On the ground in the middle of the doorway was Rael'Zorah, clearly he hadn't made it. A bullet wound had punctured his chest between two ribs and a piece of shrapnel was coming off of his back. Judging by the Geth footprints and lack of any explosion, Jack could only guess that one of the Geth units carried him here after he died.

Saren was the first to slide around the corner after him so, Jack motioned to the door Legion had gone through, "They went that way." Jack knew he needed to be here when Tali saw Rael.

Tali skidded to a stop at the sight infront of her, she slid down next to him with her omni tool scanner, "Father! No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't... They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't leave me to clean up your mess! You can't." Jack put his hand on her shoulder, "He's gone Tali..." He looked inside the room to see if he could see any evidence for what happened, "I'm sorry we couldn't save him." Tali punched Rael's shoulder weakly once and slumped against the doorway, "Damn it...! Damn it. I'm sorry."

Garrus stopped at the corner and looked at them both, "Tali I...I'm sure he would've wanted you to keep going..."

He understood the sentiment but, Jack wouldn't have phrased it that way, Tali glared at him, "Of course that's what he would've wanted. Even while we were on the Rayya together, everything was about what he wanted. I wanted a father who'd take the sick-leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way. Instead, I got orders. And this. And a panel of Admirals who think I'm a traitor. Those were my father's gifts to me."

Garrus stood there clearly having no idea what to say, "I uhh.. I'm sor-"

She held up a hand to interrupt him, "I know, I don't need that right now. He had to know I'd come. Maybe he left a message."

As she started looking over Rael's body, Jack noticed he had two omni tools. One was on his wrist as he would've expected while the other was laying on his back next to the shrapnel coming out of his spine. If a normal Geth had carried him here, they wouldn't have rested the second omni tool on his back so gently. That only left Legion as the only logical explanation for him laying here but, why? Was Legion somehow aware Tali was going to come here and wanted to be sure she found them? It was theoretically possible but, he doubted the Geth knew much about Quarian exile practices to know she would come back and so soon. Jack guessed that Legion spent the majority of the past two years trapped in here being experimented on.

Tali hit play on the omni tool resting against Rael's back and an image of his female friend appeared, "I locked down navigation. Weapons are offline too. Our mistake won't endanger the Fleet. Hopefully that'll be enough for Gerrel to not destroy the ship immediately. They're going to be burning through the door soon. I don't have much time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Senna, if you get this honey, be strong for Dad. Mom loves you very much! I never cared about who you love! Ok? You hear me! Promise me you won't settle, leave the fleet and be happy! For me sweetheart."

Garrus cleared his throat and looked to Tali, "Do you think we should get that message to the sergeant somehow? I mean, he deserves to hear it but, it's pretty clear what she was talking about there."

Tali's own finger was hovering over the delete button, "It was pretty careless of her to openly say that." After a few seconds Tali just put the tool in her pocket, "Jona knew what she was doing though. Maybe giving him a little push is the right idea."

She tapped the tool on his wrist and an image of Rael appeared, "Tali. If you are listening, then I am dead. The Geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their main hub will be in the technicians lab where we used to keep Legion. You'll need to destroy it to stop their AI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Daro'Xen and Zaal'Koris see the data. They must-"

A loud explosion cut the vid off and Jack frowned looking around the room. According to Rael, there was supposed to be a main hub for all the Geth on the Alarel somewhere in this room. All he saw we a messy lab room with some dust on one table and an empty chair for Legion. Jack noticed that the chair had very similar restraints as the medbay where Kal was kept all those years ago. Maybe experimenting on Legion had been a way for Han'Gerrel to relive his glory days. The thought made Jack sick again, at least Legion wouldn't have felt pain in the same way a five year old would.

Tali got to her feet away from the body and looked around, "Thanks, Dad. I don't know what's worse: thinking he never really cared, or thinking that he did, and that this was the only way he could show it."

Rael's slightly more mechanical voice coming from behind them made him jump, "Oh Tali. Of course I've always cared about you. I just...didn't prioritize you the way I should have."

When they whipped around to see what was behind them, Jack saw Saren and Legion standing there. The first thing he noticed now was the fact that Legion's optical sensor was green instead of a bright blue. Jack remembered right after they had unintentionally recruited Legion on Feros, the Geth had done something similar. If memory served, he had played a recording of Saren introducing his family to Legion for the first time. However, that was an awfully specific response for Rael to have if this was just a recording, he wasn't all knowing. How could he have known Tali would make that accusation? Legion could have possibly fragmented the lines together from previous conversations he had with Rael hoping to make her feel better. Jack feared it would only accomplish the exact opposite.

Sure enough, Tali pulled out her pistol and marched straight towards him, "You did this. My father and Gerrel were going to finally scrap you so, you decided to wake all the other Geth back up to help you."

He was taken aback by the stern Quarian voice coming through Legion's vocabulator, "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya! Put that weapon down before you poke someone's helmet. Let my friend here explain what happened."

Tali's voice was going to crack, "This...this is a trick.. So I won't shoot you. There's no other explanation. He wouldn't have called you friend."

Legion's light turned to it's typical blue shade and it's natural voice, "Directly prior to his death, Rael implanted me with an ancestoral AI. It was his hope we would be able to continue our work in finding a way to defeat the old ones past his unfortunate demise."

The light turned green again and Rael added, "Copying my consciousness was the only way I could guarantee that I keep my promise Tali. I know you must be angr-"

Tali interrupted him, "I didn't care about that! I wanted to spend time with you! I wanted you to care about what I wanted! Look at the mess you got me into!"

Garrus coughed asking the question he was thinking, "Can we slow down for a minute? What's an ancestor AI?"

Legion's blue light turned towards him, "A quantum electrical scan of the frontal lobe transformed into binary. One's and zero's for the uneducated."

Rael sighed, "In basic it means my brain was scanned into a blank AI slate if you will. The AI slate simulates what I would say or do in any situation."

Tali scoffed sarcastically, "It obviously isn't perfect. You never cared about any of my feelings."

Jack nodded sort of understanding, "So your personality is layered on top of an already functioning AI. That still doesn't explain what happened here."

Legion was standing on the other side of the corner, seemingly hiding from Rael's body, "I can show you up until a certain point. Ancestor AI's malfunction and break down if they become aware of the fate to their actual physical form. It is important to keep in mind that the Creator Zorah inside this chasis is unaware of his counterparts fate."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Didn't he just hear you say that?"

Legion shook his head, "I can shut him down momentarily at the expense of my own processing power. Queing necessary recording play back, this may take a few moments."

Having heard Legion say 'I' now multiple times, he wondered what had sparked the change. On the original Normandy, Legion had always referred to himself as 'we,' to a fault. The way Jack understood it, that was because Legion as a unit actually housed 1,183 individual Geth programs. It was what made him special and able to speak in the first place so, the fact he was constantly saying 'I' was definitely concerning. Had Gerrel stripped out all but one program in his search for knowledge. The fact deactivating the ancestor AI lowered Legion's processing power seemed to support that idea. And he wouldn't put it past Gerrel to throw away a potential resource just because he could.

The wall in front of them suddenly had a projection on it making Jack put those thoughts off for later. Giving the image a close look, he realized they were seeing Legion's perspective on the lab table. To the far side of the room he could see Han'Gerrel was holding Senna's mother, Jona from what Tali said, at gunpoint while Rael was standing next to Legion. His hand was fumbling behind his back looking for the pistol he must've put down on what looked like a medical tray. Jack was frustrated wanting to tell the Rael on screen which way his hand needed to move to get the gun. How did the three of them get into this situation? Was Legion implying Gerrel had something to do with Rael's death since he opened with this?

Rael was doing his best to look for his gun subtly on the medical table behind him, "No Gerrel, you may have ruined our only chance at doing something more than saving ourselves. Legion could help us defeat the Reapers and do real good for the galaxy!"

Han laughed and stayed behind Jona, "When has the galaxy ever done anything for us?! Even as our own people starve around us, the Council puts conditions on sending aid! We should let them burn for everything they put through."

Rael put his fingers around the grip of the gun and Jack saw Legion's arm moving as well, towards the Geth repair drone, "The Council and the rest of the galaxy will treat us with more respect if we actively help them without expecting something in return. How do you expect we will survive when the Reapers have killed everyone else? Where will our pilgrims get the resources we need?"

Jona suddenly shouted making them both jump, "Legion DON'T!"

They both looked at Legion who was holding the Geth drone and sparks went through his arm to the drone, "What do you mean Creator Olam? I was reading a 50-50 percent chance Creator Zorah being injured or killed, I just wanted to help."

Rael looked up at the ceiling as a synthetic voice filled the intercom across the entire ship, "Warning, warning active Geth detected. Warning, warning this is not a drill. Warning, warning..."

Tali clasped her hand to her mouthpiece when a muzzle flash started to come from Gerrel's gun and the recording ended. Well, that explained the bullet wound to Rael's chest. They had been arguing over the fate of Legion and he took the opportunity to shoot him. It made sense really, Rael was probably one of the only Quarians on the fleet to know the full extent to everything he had done over the years on this ship. A loose end that was turning into a dangerous enemy was easy to kill. This was just more evidence to nail Gerrel to the wall, for all of his crimes. Tali's trial was going to have a very different ending than some of the Admirals probably suspected.

Saren tilted his head, "If you could, what happened next."

Legion obviously was choosing his words carefully, "Creator Olam suggested we head to the bridge so we could shut down the ship. It was important the heretics weren't able to take control and cause damage to other ships. You've already seen the recordings of what happened on the bridge. I returned with Creator Zorah to destroy the hub. You arrived shortly after."

Jack tapped his foot trying to think about what to do, "So are all the other Geth destroyed here?"

Legion tilted his head, "Affirmative Shepard-Commander. We make a good team."

While he would've loved to take Legion with them to the trial just to see Gerrel's terrified face looking down the barrel, it was a bad idea. The other Admirals would still want to research Legion after the trial. Furthermore, they would definitely destroy Rael's AI because it was illegal, they wouldn't want to be in such hot water against the Council again. He wasn't sure Rael could help them defeat the Reapers but, if there was any possibility that he could, Jack couldn't throw that away. His mind was racing on how he could get Legion out of here without the Admirals knowing.

Jack turned away from them and hit his comm to Kal, "Hey, what are you doing right now?"

Kal's voice sounded like it had forced cheer, "Helping Jack walk to the bathroom. What's up?"

Zero cut in with a grumble, "More like dragging my feet and not walking but, yeah I guess he's helping."

Jack knew this was going to be a touchy subject so he said gently, "I need you to take the Kodiak and pick up Saren and Legion, off of the Alarei..."

Kal's voice was full of shock, "Your on the ALAREI? Shit... I'm on my way..."

Jack motioned to Saren, "Take Legion back to the Normandy, we might need him down the road."

Legion's light turned green and Rael said, "We'll talk more on the ship Tali. I love you." Legion added, "Shepard-Commander, I look forward to finishing what we started together."

Tali waited till they both disappeared before starting to pace, "Everything wrong that ever happened on this ship is Gerrel's fault! When this comes up in the trial, they'll..."

Jack finished her sentence trying not to sound too eager, "They'll nail him to the fucking wall. He'll certainly lose his Grand Admiral of the military status."

It was hard not to be excited about turning the tables on Han, and not just because he was an asshole. From the beginning it was clear the power that came with controlling the entire Quarian military went to his head. He tortured his son all the way up to when he had to let him go for his pilgrimage. After Kal returned to the fleet, Han expected him to sleep with as many women as possible to spread the genes he had painfully engineered into his own son. When Kal understandably refused, Gerrel exiled him forever. It was something that was terrible to do regardless but, Jack hated him even more because Kal was the love of his life. He dared to hope the other Admirals would reinstate Kal's status with the fleet once Gerrel's actions were revealed to the Quarian public.

Tali shook her head as fast as possible and stared at him, "We absolutely can't tell them, not the other Admirals, not anyone."

Jack understood where she was coming from even though he didn't agree with it. The scandal that the revelation would create could break the fleet apart. Her people would turn against each other between Gerrel supporters and those disgusted by what happened. Some Quarian ships might leave the fleet and it could even disolve entirely. What Jack felt Tali wasn't taking into account was the fact that Gerrel had to be replaced. Another military commander had to be out there and could take Gerrel's place. Did they really pin all of their hopes on one man alone?

He tried to sound as patient as possible, "Tali, without this evidence, your looking at exile! Your dad's death won't be avenged if-"

Tali interrupted him with a shout, "You think I don't know that?! You think I want to live knowing that I can never see the fleet again?! But I can't go back into that room and say that my father was the worst war criminal in our people's history. Because that evidence that you want to so desperately use, makes my father look just as bad. The people will lose faith in the entire board. I just can't do that! I cannot."

Garrus looked between the two of them and sighed, "Why don't you both just think about what to do on the way back to the Rayya? We need to get back so no one's suspicious of the Normandy's Kodiak going back and forth."

The trip back to the Rayya was painfully quiet except for the turbulence in the shuttle. Jack was so angry that Tali wanted to bury this, and that she had a point. If Gerrel alone had been seen on the recording with Kal, he would've released it with or without Tali's blessing. He deserved to burn for what he did to Kal for half of his life. However, Rael had been the one on the video preparing an experiment on Kal. Yes, he had mentioned something about Han in the video but, Gerrel could twist it. What would be the point of throwing Tali's name through the mud even further if the real perpetrator got away with it anyways? Then again, if he said nothing Gerrel would keep doing terrible things. What if he took another Quarian child and experimented on them trying to recreate Kal's immune system? What if he failed and killed the child?

Tali landed the shuttle on the Rayya and the door opened to Senna looking around, "Wher..You weren't able to...Mom?"

She hugged him to subtly put Jona's omni tool in his hand, "I'm so sorry Senna.." She whispered, "Make sure you listen to that alone."

He was crying as softly as he could and pulled away from her, "We better get going, Gerrel started the hearing again without you."

As Senna led them through a residential zone, he could hear Gerrel on a vid screen, "We need to face facts. There has been no word. There is no reason to think Tali'Zorah survived."

Shala sounded shocked, "It's only been a few hours! It was also agreed that Tali'Zorah would not be convicted if she were killed in action."

Gerrel countered sounding smug, "It was suggested, Admiral. I recall no agreement. To that end I call for an immediate vote. With the Alarei lost, I recommend posthumously exiling Tali'Zorah."

Shala sighed, "Very well. Is the Admiralty Board prepared to render judgment?"

In almost perfect timing, they reached the courtyard and Tali said, "Sorry we're late."

Jack followed her to his old spot, "Tali'Zorah vas Rayya saved the Alarei. I hope this proves her loyalty to the Quarian people."

Admiral Xen watched her omni tool seemingly ignoring the trial, "Her loyalty was never in doubt Shepard. Only her judgment."

Shala took the opportunity to gently prod them, "Perhaps Tali'Zorah can offer something to encourage more trust in her judgment."

Jack dodged the question wanting to put them on the defensive, "Would any of you even really care if we do? You didn't waste much time declaring us dead. Go get your ship if that's the only thing you care about."

Zaal nodded regretfully, "I won't deny some of our members would rather sweep this into another cubicle. I apologize on behalf of those members, Shepard. Your success in taking back the Alarei is... very unexpected."

Shala seemingly smiled down to them, "But also very welcome... Did you find anything on the Alarei, that could clarify what happened there?"

Tali's desperate voice whispered quietly behind him, "Shepard... please..."

The evidence was on his omni tool, he could play it right now. His omni tool was glowing on his arm and could play both recordings back to back with a push of a button. If the residential zone was any indication, every Quarian on the fleet was listening to this hearing. In a short thirty seconds, everyone would know the terrible things Han'Gerrel had done. He was only hesitating because of Tali's nearly silent plea. What he was about to do didn't just effect him and Kal, it effected the entire Quarian race. Could Jack honestly live with himself if the worst case scenario came to pass?

Jack's shaking finger ultimately turned off the omni tool with a deep breath, "...We found nothing on the Alarei that we wish to submit as evidence."

Zaal's voice was frustrated and pressing, he knew everything didn't he, "Tali...?"

Tali looked down at her feet, "I have nothing to say."

Even Shala sounded disappointed, "Then... with no further testimony, I ask those rendering judgments to do so now."

Zaal stood up from his podium and started leaving the courtyard, Jack swore he could here him yell in the distance, "FUUUCK!"

Gerrel chuckled a little amused, "I assume Admiral Koris has abstained then. Guilty for me."

Admiral Xen looked at Gerrel for a long time while rubbing her thumb and finger together, "Guilty."

Shala was clearly trying not to seem upset, "Tali'Zorah, you are hereby found guilty of treason against the Quarian people and sentenced to exile. Jack'Shepard vas Normandy, the Fleet appreciates the passion and honor with which you represented one of our people."

Jack embraced the decision, this was for Tali, "With all due respect, Admiral, I didn't represent one of your people. I represented one of mine. And if you appreciate me, then listen: the Reapers are coming. I'm going to need your help to stop them. Please don't throw away your lives against the Geth. At least until we have a plan."

Shala bowed her head towards him, "So you did, thank you, Commander Shepard. I hope this board carefully considers your advice." She looked at Tali, "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, you have six hours to leave. Would you like to request any personal possessions from the Fleet?"

Tali shook her head standing tall, "No, thank you, Admiral. Everything I need is right here."

Shala readjusted her own stance, "This hearing is concluded. Go in peace. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai."

The three of them slowly made their way back through the residential zone towards where the Normandy had docked. Jack was going to wrestle with his decision for a long time to come now. What was he going to tell Kal? That he had the opportunity to make his father pay for all of the things he did to Kal and didn't take it because of Tali? It was what she wanted, and it was her trial, so it should always be up to her. He just couldn't shake the nagging feeling he could've made life better for Kal by revealing the truth. It probably wouldn't have been, Quarian homophobia would exist with or without Gerrel but, still.

Garrus felt like he had to break the uncomfortable silence, "So, how are you feeling as an exile?"

Tali was staring right at him so he knew she was talking to him, "It's not what I had hoped for either. But the good of the people comes first. My father taught me that. Thank you for honoring my decision. It means more to me than... It means a great deal. It's strange, I know what I'm leaving. I'm just not sure where I'm going.

Jack put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and he smiled, "We're going home, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Come on."

As they were about to leave through the airlock, Shala came running towards them carrying a large black bag, "Commander Shepard, before you go, please accept this gift in appreciation for you taking the time to represent one of our people."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Can I ask what it is?"

Shala caught her breath and gave him that same mysterious look as when they arrived, "I'm afraid not. Your cyar'ika will understand what's inside. Safe travels Normandy."