A/N: Thank you for your reviews and story subscriptions! It gives me the motivation I need to keep this going.

Can I get some votes on Shepard's preferred gender? It'll help me decide which direction to run some of the fic.

Tali

I was expecting a fight, James and I had our guns out from the beginning. It came as no surprise to me when I discovered we were being stalked, naturally the smells of the dead attracting creatures from out in the bushes. I was used to the confines of the migrant fleet ships; where everything was visible, tall grass made me uncomfortable. I required good visibility, not just because I wore a mask, but because that's the only way I knew, as long as I could see the ground I was a good fighter, now I was relying on a sense I couldn't use too readily: my hearing. It was too organic even Rannoch was quite barren, more a desert planet, with some trees and shrubs littering the ground, the landscape was visible for miles, making it easier to plan an attack.

EDI was the first to fire, the creature's great yelp letting us all know she'd hit her target. The rest of the creatures sprung from the grass, a heavy body covered in fur flew toward me, I didn't think, just reacted, pulling the trigger on my pistol. My aim was fair, the creature dropped to the ground in front of me. I'd hit a front paw, the bullet spraying blood, and shockingly an electrical pulse, as if it was geth. It had another three legs, but couldn't get to its feet, too sore and uncoordinated. Its face: pointed snout, sharp teeth, blue eyes, was no longer hostile, whimpering and writhing. I shot it again, this time my aim was true, the creature slumped its head, no longer breathing.

The others put up a good fight, the dead bodies of the black furry creatures littering the floor now. James face looked a mess, covered in blood from Garrus's head shot; I'd noticed the same pulse on contact then too, like the creatures were synthetic. I thought maybe I should mention my assessment, but could I have been imagining things? It was hot in my envirosuit, I was hungry and thirsty. My hesitation cost me, James spoke up first, the seeds of doubt took over and I kept my mouth shut. Why I did that I couldn't say, just my way I guess, if I didn't feel the moment was right, if I doubted myself, I didn't speak, a regrettable tendency, but at this stage I didn't think it would hold anything important. We still killed the creatures the same way as we would have any other.

As a group, we headed back toward the forest now, we left the dead behind, unable any longer to justify the task of burying them, leaving them amongst the alliance fleet ships, we all felt bad about it but we were in no fit state to continue on and then travel. I trudged slowly through the grass now, my feet, down to my six toes ached as I walked. While my feet were an issue, other things so far were not. Why hadn't I succumbed to a serious infection by now- a cold, the plague? I had taken plenty of medication but I did not think that it would be this assistive; I should have broken out with something by now. I glanced to the bad patch job I'd supplied to the break in my armour, it definitely wasn't good enough to keep the external atmosphere from leaking in, the lack of illness was disturbing, an odd opinion I'd imagine from most other species.

When we reached the forest again the shade was comforting, still being in encasing armour kept the heat in, but I could see more clearly with the sun no longer reflecting off my mask. The shimmer of blue that rippled off the leaves was disconcerting, it suggested these plants might be more than just plants, but we didn't instantly investigated, giving some distance between us and the clearing. We dropped down amongst some shrubs to catch our breath, staring intently at the plants in the light, these shone more brilliantly, like crystal.

I reached out my hand for the nearest one, startled however with an exclamation to my side. "I knew it!" James was the first to say, pulling the leaf from one plants stem causing an electrical crackle to zap the air and dissipate. My eyes widened, shocked by this revelation as the rest of the stems circuits turned a dark green and drooped on one side. "When I saw those things back there the same thing happened, it was shiny blue and these patterns were etched in its skin."

James didn't honestly seem the type to pay that much attention or have the ability to make a hypothesis a reality. I suppose when anyone set their mind to it, they could accomplish what they were after.

"What does this mean?" Liara's face looked disgusted, when something wasn't familiar to her she did have the tendency to react in an ill manner, granted I wasn't exactly behaving in a befitting fashion either, if they could all see my face!

EDI, ever the scholar went to answer Liara's question. "These plants contain circuitry, they are emitting electrical impulses and each plant is connected to the next via their root systems. I would imagine this connection goes far deeper than the roots however, further into the ground where it is impossible to establish further networks, they are transferring data between each other."

EDI's explanation left us all momentarily boggled; if that was really the case then this inferred that the plant life had evolved beyond simple organic necessity, this planet had all its organic components turned into a basic sentient machine. I shivered, thinking of the geth and while they had been helping my people on Rannoch to rebuild their homes, and assisting in the Great War, I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of machinery binding with biology, taking over the planet's surface with circuits and robotics. "Is it dangerous?" Was my first thought, swallowing despite my dry mouth.

"Only time will be able to tell, though these plants do not seem to be harmful. I sense those animals attacked due to hunger and not neural stimulation from the plant life. I hope that makes you feel somewhat better Tali, at this stage there are too many variables for me to calculate."

I didn't feel better but I smiled through my mask. "I don't like the thought but I'm fine."

Garrus had been quiet this whole time, when he spoke I looked over, not sure what to expect from him. "So suppose the organics here have changed, does that extend to us?" He removed his glove, eyes narrowing as he stared down at his fingers. He appeared completely at ease with the idea, more curious then disturbed.

EDI sounded surprised. "The light here is too bright to detect it easily, but I suspect that you are all now also partially synthetic. I did not wish to alarm you all earlier but Mr. Moreau has already exhibited signs of the synthesis, he is currently assisting me in the ships server to restore power to-" she stopped her speech momentarily, eyes closed and reopened. "-the Normandy." She continued as if she hadn't stopped, turning away from us with her fingers to her lips.

I wasn't hung up with EDI's momentary lack of power, more concerned by the idea that we, unfortunate victims of unnecessary synthesis, could suddenly be part machine. "That's impossible, I would never- I couldn't-" I stopped my babbling, almost tempted to rip at my envirosuit to expose whatever parasitic machinery that might have melded to me. I'd spent most of my life fighting the geth, to give the quarians- me- back our home world- synthetics had been my greatest enemy and now there was a chance I might partially be one? "Keelah!" I yelled out my frustration, stalking off from the group into the bushes, sore feet be damned.

Joker

When I said I'd try to focus on the problem, I was kind of lying. Of course I needed to focus on the problem, or we'll have a rough few days getting around the Normandy, but I was preoccupied by other things, namely- EDI. I knew it wasn't what she'd ever really look like, if she had real looks, it was hard to say if I'd actually ever seen her in a 'true' form, I had to wonder now whether I could possibly see her any other way then the robot form she took. I knew I was only enjoying her now because she was projecting one of my favourite 'actresses', but it still wasn't her, it was just what I wanted to see.

"I'm going to allow you access to the ships server, hopefully you won't be flung across the room next time- it's what I need to do to block wayward viruses from hacking, gives me time to put up my barriers." Smiling apologetically she took my hand and led me back over to the holographic ship, entwining our fingers in one hand she placed her other hand to the ships image. The voice in the void changed its tune.

"Access granted to unknown user. All systems down, severe damage to key areas, requires manual restart and re-programming. Ship currently unstable, caution recommended."

"Does it hurt?" I asked her, looking concerned now.

"I don't feel pain, but this added lack of function does have its downfalls. I would prefer the ship to be operational, simply so I don't have to run so many background programs to transfer information. Of course I am curious now, figuratively speaking. If you have possessed some of the functions of a machine, could I then possess some of the functions of a human?"

I felt my stomach drop, I hadn't thought of that- why didn't I think of that? What if she got hurt, what if she could bleed now? Could there be a possibility of organs and nerves beneath her metal frame. Was the risk of organics becoming synthetics, lead to the added disadvantage of synthetic things becoming organic?

No, I'd seen the destruction of the Normandy; it was still just a ship, no blood, no muscle, no bone. Ah, but the ship doesn't have EDI's ability to process emotion; it doesn't contain the ability to behave organic. I pushed that ugly thought from my mind, sour taste on my tongue. I didn't like to think like that, it was impairing my judgement.

It was then I remembered we were still holding hands. I took the other up and entwined our fingers together again, squeezing tightly. "I don't like you like this, can you change it… I want to see my EDI, the one I know best." The more protected one.

"Whatever you want Jeff," She was eager to please as she changed in front of me, flesh became metal and I felt better then, reassured. Things were back to normal, she was as I liked her, I didn't need flashy images to make me want her. "Is this preferable? I let my hair down so to speak." It was no longer in its thick helmet state, cascading in curls around her shoulders.

"Much preferred." I assured her, already feeling calmer.

She stared down at our hands, she probably just thought of what we were doing as a way to transfer information- which was what it was. I took it to mean more, I was only human, fuelled by emotion- okay not only human anymore but you get my meaning.

"Shall we fix the ship?"

"In a minute…"

"Jeff?"

I hadn't registered that my hands had moved to wrap around her waist or that my face was in close proximity to hers. If I was going to worry about her, I at least wanted one memory, one that wasn't tainted by fear or dread. Just her and I together.

I kissed her. Of course, it wasn't one of those ones you see in the movies, the ones were he sweeps her off her feet, but I loved it anyway. When I pulled back she was still as a statue, frozen in my arms. "EDI?" I was fighting back a laugh, the look on her face comical.

She blinked a few times, put her fingers to her lips and gave me a look, I couldn't register any emotion, I think I'd caught her off guard. "I've seen people do that before, I knew eventually we might but… I'll have to consider this a while. I don't seem to have an appropriate response."

"That's okay, take your time, let's fix your up shall we?"

"I suppose that would be ideal." She looked away again, if she had eyebrows they would be furrowed.

Uh-oh, I think I broke her, more then she already was. "So what first?"

Garrus

There was one subject Tali was still touchy toward: synthetics, I watched her practically pulling at her head scarf, stuttering as she fought to get out words and then stalk off into the bushes, away from us. I stood instantly to my feet, wanting to help calm her, I didn't think giving her time to think over the situation would be a good idea, leaving her alone in uncharted bush could get her lost or worse still, killed.

"Tali!" I called out, as I got close she pulled out her gun, my mandibles shifted, mouth open in shock- I thought she was going to shoot me as she spun around, aiming toward me, but she shot twice down at the floor into the shrubs at my feet. The electrical discharge this time was impossible to miss, the two plants she'd hit letting out a loud snap as they lit up briefly and then became dark. It was as if the colour was leached from them, the damaged plants she had shot died instantly in front of us, and several plants around those also became deceased, their circuitry dimming.

I was curious as I kicked out my three toes at the leaves, which fell from their stems and crumbled. "I'm sorry, that was unnecessary, I just couldn't handle it. The very idea gives me goosebumps." She hugged herself, around the middle, clumsily putting her gun back into its holster with the other hand. "Everything I've fought against is now inside of me…"

I walked over slowly, in case she got the idea to grab out the gun again, and wrapped my arms around her, difficult with the shape in which the collar of my armour extended. I was always awkward in situations like this but she needed a friend and I was probably the closest person to her right now. "You're still the same quarian Tali, no matter what else you may be made of. I know that you haven't changed, I'll always think of you as the quiet kid on her pilgrimage, putting the universe before her own needs."

She sniffled in her suit, I wasn't expecting that, I didn't really know to respond to those sorts of emotions, but I gave her a tight squeeze, trying not to make things awkward. "Thanks Garrus," I heard her hiccough, as she spoke. "I don't think I'm quite ready to head back yet."

"That's okay, take your time, just try not to shoot at me again. I'm pretty good under pressure but that scared the spirits out of me."

Liara

Watching Tali walk off with Garrus on her heel made me feel awful. I felt old; I was only one hundred and six. While to a human and especially a salarian this was beyond old age, as an asari I was merely a child, I shouldn't have felt like a matriarch past her prime. This whole experience had been shattering, exhaustion had set in long ago with the extended use of my biotics and now with each discovery we made, each member of our small team seemed to be suffering for it. I wanted to follow them but that didn't feel right. Since I became the shadow broker I had felt less connected to my friends, like I spent more time behind my many computer screens then spending time with the people I cared about.

I regretted it now, I had nothing to show for my status as the shadow broker, with the ship in ruins it was unlikely I would be able to get to my old information and if I could recover it there would be nothing to do with it. It was depressing to think that my friends could have died and my focus was on a computer instead. I was glad I got this second chance, not many do; I would focus more on those around me and help where I can.

The gun shots made me jump; the sound of a hundred wings flapping as birds took flight, screeching as they fled made my blood run cold. Were they in trouble, had something else come to pick us off?

EDI settled my fears. "I detected the bullets did not hit any particular target, it sounded like they embedded in soil, there is a disturbance amongst the plants. From Tali's stress levels I believe she was 'venting' her frustrations."

James scoffed. "Shooting turians always helps me vent my frustrations…"

"When did you shoot a turian?"

"I friendly fired on Garrus from time to time. He liked me to test his shields."

I rolled my eyes; poor EDI had a lot to process around this numbskull. "I believe in James' original sentence he was being sarcastic."

"Ah, I'm still working on sarcasm; I lack the necessary tone of voice, perhaps I could use some lessons."

James seemed to find this amusing. "Trust me honey, you don't need to add sarcasm to your repertoire. You're the one woman I can rely on to tell it like it is."

Eventually Tali and Garrus resurfaced from the trees, I was comforted to see them both alive and well. Tali was quiet, apologising for her outburst, none of us felt it was necessary, I could understand her distaste for the idea. I don't think it had quite sunk in yet for me, I was trying not to think about it, preoccupying my mind with the 'what ifs'. Hardly any better.

I don't think Garrus had really been surprised; James seemed to think it was 'cool' and EDI being synthetic was probably just excited for something she had in common with the rest of us. I ran a hand through the crest on my head; I think we were all ready to head back to the Normandy now, looking for shelter, food and rest.

Joker

I was really trying to focus this time, honest, I'd gotten the craziness out my system, now I wanted to help EDI restore power to the ship. As of right now I was going to be a good pilot and do some real work instead of faffing around with pretty co-pilots.

"So what first?"

"We must determine what has caused this power failure, if the ships damage has been too great it will require manual repair, this could have serious consequences, it would take time and resources we likely don't have. It is already damaged enough, this ship will never fly again Jeff, but it may still prove as temporary shelter for us all.

I gritted my teeth, all the effort I put into keeping from major destruction and even EDI- the ship herself- was telling me it was useless. "The ships fine, she'll run, we just need a bit of scrap metal and she'll be good as new."

"Is that what you are telling me or something you are trying to tell yourself?" She honestly looked uncertain and I found myself hating how she could do that. The question was a harsh one, but she asked it so innocently, as if she truly just wanted to know.

"Is there other ways the power could have gone out?" I changed the subject, not wanting to lie to EDI, nor admit it to myself.

"The generator may have simply failed; you would need to go to engineering to fix it. You may find this difficult however; Tali or I would make good substitutes."

"Is there an easy way?"

"Well hopefully the generator short circuited, this can easily be restarted from the console in front of you. I cannot determine if it will restore full power to the ship or merely basic necessities such as lighting, doors and the elevator. I can reassure you that water services are still fully functional, running off a separate route."

"Well as long as I can use the little boy's room that's a relief."

She ignored my joke and moved on; it mustn't have been a good one. "You will need to run the diagnostic Jeff; I am using up too much of my own power sources to maintain contact with you. We are returning shortly, I estimate an hour's travel by foot, if you run the diagnostics program you should have help there if you run into issues. When I have returned I can take over if you have not finished then."

"You're going to leave me in here?" I was concerned at the idea. "What if I get stuck in here?"

"Just extract yourself from the program." She smiled and disappeared.

Her exit left me momentarily dumbfounded, but my brain soon caught up to my mouth. "EDI! How do I extract myself?" No answer. Oh boy, fixing the ship might be the easy part.

I placed my hand upon the holographic and the flood of information was exhilarating. I wasn't thinking, I just instantly knew, the drive core was unable to operate without power; major power was at an all-time zero, minor power run by the generator also lacking. There was a third generator, separate from all other ship services that pumped water from the tank to the sinks and toilets; this was running at an amazing one hundred percent. Well at least something was going right.

"Uhhh… run diagnostic."

The voice in the void responded. "Unable to understand 'uhhh'," It imitated me poorly. "Running diagnostic now."

I almost slapped my forehead; I'd need to learn 'computer speak one-oh-one' from EDI when I made it out of this. "Major power sources shut down, damage is as follows." It went through an entire list of where the damage on the ship lay, pointing each out to me with small icons on the holograph. By the time it had finished I was feeling less optimistic about the ships fate. That was a lot of repair work to both to cabling and the ships outer shell. "Minor generators two and three no longer functioning, running diagnostic now." I waited momentarily as it ran its program. "Minor damage detected, remote restart possible. Would you like to start remote restart?"

"Yes." I thought adding 'please' would be unnecessary.

"Running remote restart." I could practically feel the power turning back on, it felt like such a high, EDI must love running this thing from the inside. "Remote restart complete, minor power restored." Again the image in front of me flashed which systems were now functional due to the fix, the lights, elevators, doors and even certain extras such as the bar fridge and window shutters were running. At least we could come out of this with some hard alcohol.

"Extract from Normandy Server." I hazarded a guess. That had been too easy- I bet something else would go wrong in the near future just to compensate.

"Extracting from server." I felt momentary pain, as if being ripped apart and when I re-awoke I was in the server room. The first breath I took was deep into my lungs, burning my throat as my chest heaved and I began coughing uncontrollably.

Samantha

"Joker? Come in Joker?" I jumped at the chance, yanking the head set off Joker's head, he was creeping me out an hour ago, now he was just 'there', still glowing, standing stock still, the occasional mumble but otherwise completely lost to me.

"Garrus, it's Traynor?"

"ETA half an hour, is everything alright?"

"Not really…" I didn't what to say, they didn't know about this yet, they might not take to the news too kindly. "The powers not back on yet I mean, so we're currently still in the dark. But everything else is fine; we've just been working to get it back up and running."

"Alright, keep trying and we'll help as soon as we can."

I was disappointed when he disconnected, I didn't think I could take much more of Joker but I didn't want to leave him here. "Back to the waiting game hey Jeff?" He muttered something I didn't understand, nothing changing as he went back to staring into dead space. I wasn't sitting much longer however when suddenly the lights flashed on, and I was momentarily blinded.

Jeff stopped glowing and fell forward onto his hands and knees, coughing up his lungs. I was a nervous wreck not expecting such a sudden departure from his inert state. "Thank god, I thought I was going to have to leave you here."

"How long have I been out?" He asked me hoarsely.

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