The Yaska, of The Quarian Migrant Fleet, Tikkun System, 2186 CE
After disconnecting the call with Tali he had thought on what she had said, forget what he knew about the Geth? It seemed almost impossible after all that had happened to his people because of them but he did promise to try. With that in mind he sought out the Geth but it appeared that they had powered down for the night cycle so he went back to his quarters to get some sleep himself.
His sleep was restless, to say the least, and as the ship began it's day cycle he sighed wearily, it seemed he wouldn't be getting any more sleep now. Most of the ships crew would already be up and it wouldn't look good to have their captain lazing in bed, even if they were stuck doing nothing for the time being. So he got out of bed and into his enviro-suit, checking and double checking the seals before leaving his clean room.
His first stop was the mess hall to grab what passed for food, maybe if he was on one of the liveships he could get a decent meal but on a small vessel such as this, nutrient paste was the only thing on the menu. He finished it quickly and without much thought about its lack of flavour or less than desirable texture before heading off to the CIC in hope of a message from the Primarch. He was disappointed to find that there was till no word, give it time, he reminded himself, this was a difficult time for everyone. With nothing to distract him, his mind wandered back to the previous day and the conversation with Tali, perhaps it was time to try and get to know one of his new squad mates, not just as a machine but as an individual.
It didn't take long to find one of them, all he had to do was look up. 0402 was leaning on the railing overlooking to CIC, it seemed unfocused, perhaps lost in thought, he wondered if he should search for the other unit instead, he hadn't made quite as bad an impression with that one but before he could make a concious decision, he found himself heading to the balcony. It didn't seem to notice his approach and appeared almost startled as he leaned on the railing next to it.
He wasn't sure how exactly to start this conversation, treat them like you would any organic, right, he could do that. "Uhh..." Real smooth, kal, the Geth faced him, it's optic covering narrowing in what would appear to be mild annoyance.
"Good morning?" He sighed and rubbed his faceplate, this wasn't exactly going as he planned.
The unit turned away from him again, "Good morning." Its tone was less hostile than it was during their first encounter, at least that was something, though it was clearly still annoyed.
"Look, I.. uhh, wanted to apologize for the way I treated you before."
"That isn't necessary, your reaction was typical of most organics, I expected nothing else."
The way it spoke made him feel even worse about the way he had treated it. Most organics saw the Geth as a threat and treated them as such and he was no different, but after what Tali had said... He ddin't want to be like 'most organics'. To most other species the Quarians were nothing but vagrants and petty thieves, he remembered how it had felt as a kid on pilgrimage, everyone always looking down on you, being suspicious of you or just plain ignoring you, he had never wanted to make anyone else feel this way and yet he had done exactly that.
"That's no excuse, I was out of line and I'm sorry" The Geth turned to face him fully and he had to resist the instinct to step back, it was rather intimidating at full height.
It seemed to be studying him, perhaps it did not know how to respond, "Thank you", it finally said, though it seemed hesitant. They stood there in silence for a while, both taking their places leaning on the railing again, he supposed now was as good a time as any to keep his promise to Tali.
"I want to know more about you."
"Me? Or the Geth?"
"Both."
"What do you wish to know?" Its tone was much more pleasant now but it still wasn't what he'd call friendly. He had a lot of questions and he wasn't entirely sure where to start.
"Hmm.. How are the Geth coping with what happened?" That seemed safe enough to ask, not too personal.
"You mean the upgrades?" He nodded and it continued, "It was confusing, at first, it still is really. We don't know truly know what it means yet." It paused and from what he could tell, it seemed sad, lost. "It is lonely."
Well that certainly wasn't what he expected, "How so?"
"This platform was like any ship in the Flotilla, one vessel housing hundreds of people, it was crowded, many voices speaking at once, you were never alone. The upgrades gave us all independence, free will, it will take time for us to adjust."
He knew the Geth had a sort of hive mind but he hadn't thought of them as social before now. He knew what it was like to feel alone but he couldn't imagine what it must be like for them. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you. Many Geth have been unable to cope with the isolation, choosing to give up their mobile platforms and upload themselves into hubs on Rannoch."
"Hubs?" He hadn't heard of this before.
"They are like your cities, servers that house thousands of programs together. We were building a megastructure to house all Geth, simultaneously, it was to end our isolation."
He could tell from the sadness in its voice and the way it's light dimmed to almost nothing that something had gone wrong and he almost didn't want to ask, but curiosity got the better of him. "Why didn't you complete it?"
"We almost had. A significant amount of programs were installed when your people began bombing. Some programs could not be saved."
"Keelah..." He was a part of the attack on the Geth and at the time he hadn't felt much about it, now he felt terrible. It was like wiping out a city and if Commander Shepard and Tali'zorah had not been there, his people may have committed genocide. "That's why your people allied with the Reapers? That's why you fought back?"
"Yes. Self preservation took precedence, or in more organic terms, we were... afraid."
"I'm.. sorry" He knew it was probably sick of hearing that already but he felt he had to say something.
"You needn't apologize, we understand your peoples actions and we do not hold it against you. We want this peace to last and we hope you feel the same."
"I don't know, not many Quarians ever thought we could make peace with the Geth, we never planned for this."
"You planned to wipe us out instead."
"Yes." There was really no point lying to it, "To be honest, not many of us thought about what would happen to your people, we just wanted to retake the Homeworld. What did the Geth want to happen? What did you plan for?"
"We were building our future, we had no plans beyond that, but we have always been open to reunification with the Creators."
"So, if we had just asked to come back, you'd have let us?" It couldn't possibly have been that easy.
"Yes, we knew your people would return one day. Some platforms were even tasked with cleaning rubble and preserving Rannoch for your eventual return."
"Seriously?"
It nodded. "Before we learned of the threat of the Old Machines, I was tasked with protecting local flora and fauna." He laughed as he tried to picture this six foot something Geth taking care of animals and plants. "What?"
"It's just hard to imagine. Your people really did that for us?" It was kind of... sweet.
"Somebody had to. Without people to maintain it, Rannoch would have withered and eventually died. We did not want that."
"I know it doesn't mean much but thank you."
"It means more than you know." Its light finally brightened then, he hoped that meant it was feeling better now. "If you are willing there is something I would like to try with you."
He laughed again, that sounded far too much like the start of a bad Geth/Quarian porno he had seen once. Not that he had been looking for one, that is. He cleared his throat to stop his laughter, "What is it?"
"I have been receiving word from Rannoch, many Geth have been uploading into Quarian suits to strengthen their immune system-"
"By mimicking infections so the host can adapt, right?"
"Yes, you have heard of it then?"
"Of course, it seems it's all people back home can talk about."
"I would like to try it."
"With me?"
"Yes. You will be fighting again soon, this could lower your risk of infections if your suit ruptures. Would you be willing?"
"Uhh.." He wasn't sure if it was safe, sure the results were promising so far but what if there were complications they hadn't discovered yet? He wasn't sure he trusted the Geth enough for this. Still, the whole galaxy was at war and soon he would be a part of it. Perhaps he should do it, it would be insulting to die of an infection in the middle of a battle, after all.
"Okay, Let's try it."