Just a quick thanks for the messages and reviews so far. Some of the PM's have been really motivating :) and the feedback has hopefully helped me improve, so thank you, honestly it means so much to me to know people read this, and that some people actually enjoy it.
"Tali" Shepard said, smiling. They were alone together just outside the war room, and Shepard could hear the continuing squabbles of the other admirals "It's good to have you back on board" She put her hands out to the Quarians, squeezing them briefly then letting go.
Tali glanced back at war room "It's good to be back Shepard"
"Or should I call you Admiral?"
"No I don't think so" She gave a small, regretful laugh "It's more a formality than anything else, due to my expertise on the Geth"
Shepard took a deep breath, the breathed "The Geth"
Tali was silent for a moment, then shrugged and looked away "Always the Geth" she scratched at the floor with the toe of her boot.
"How did this happen?" Shepard asked quietly "Throwing lives at the Geth, again? I didn't realise it has escalated this far Tali, or I would have come sooner"
"No, Shepard" Tali shook her head, not looking at the Commander. She crossed her arms and started to walk slowly alongside the window that ran the length of the room "You had other things to worry about. I'm so sorry about Earth"
"It's a temporary thing" Shepard shrugged.
Tali watched, her eyes following pale fingers as they ploughed through tangled auburn hair in an almost frustrated motion. Shepard's face looked calm, and only someone who knew her well would have picked up on the certain ominousness beneath that placidity. Tali thought she looked older, thinner and more worn since the last time she'd see her, and her heart sank at the realisation that she was dropping yet more burdens on her friend's shoulders.
"Don't get involved in this Shepard" Tali said suddenly, wringing her hands.
Shepard shook her head "Tali..."
"We will pull together, as a people-"
"Tali, don't be silly I-"
"No Listen, we've done-"
"I don't care, I-"
"We'll go to the council, they might listen to us" Tali paused "Not that they ever have before but we will-"
"Tali" Shepard waved her silent "Shut up" she took the Quarians hands in hers for a moment, her bruised face shining palely in the blue tube lighting "We'll get you're people out safely alright?"
"Thank you Shepard"
"I'll be honest though Tali" Shepard let go of the Quarians hands and took a deep breath "I thought you were with the Admirals on this, you supported the war if it meant regaining Rannoch?"
"I did, once, but after talking with legion" She shrugged "I thought there was a chance for peace. But now I'm stuck, forced to show solidarity with the other Admirals for the sake of politics" She looked down at her feet "This is such a mess"
"The whole galaxy is a mess at the moment Tali" Shepard was stood, staring at her "But this? This is something we might actually be able to fix"
"I don't think there is anyone else who could Shepard" Tali kicked at the ground again "Are you alright?"
"What?"
"Are you alright?" Tali took a deep breath "You know, are you holding up, with all this?" she gestured at nothing.
"I'm fine" Shepard gave her a lopsided smile then winced, bringing her fingertips to the healing wound on her cheek "Don't worry" looking down at her fingertips, she frowned "Come on, I'll show you the new" a pause "new Normandy, maybe you can sort out some of the efficiency problems we've been having"
"Just like old times Shepard?"
A small, bitter laugh "Yeah, maybe"
Liara prised the dead, still corpse from the control panel, well, she tried to, but it was wedged too tightly to be dislodged, so she kicked it instead. It's shattered face and torn wires stared back at her, mocking, unmoving. She heard Tali mutter something next to her and then the room lit up and forcing her to shield her face with her hand.
A rapidly enlarging halo of brightness peeled open in front of them, revealing a massive glaring ring of luminescence with a grey, metallic core, and oddly, N7 armour.
"Shepard Commander, help us"
"Holy Shit" Shepard, her visor automatically tinting to filter most of the glare, stepped forwards "Legion?" she looked up at Legions suspended body and whistled.
"Wait Shepard" Tali took hold of the Commanders arm "The Geth are being controlled by the Reaper signal" She gestured at Legion "For all we know, it's with them. It might have sided with the Reapers voluntarily or it could have been hacked?"
Shepard cast a glance down at the small hand that was gripping her arm and then looked back at Tali's face. She stood in silence for a moment, her eyes scanning the purple mask "Legion helped us fight the Reapers before, it would never have agreed to this" she paused "You know that"
"You're caution is understandable" Legion said "Release me and I will submit to any restraints you deem necessary"
"Well" Tali let go of Shepard and turned towards the suspended Geth "I never thought I'd ever say this, but it's good to see you again Legion"
"Likewise creator Zorah"
"So" Shepard waved her rifle at the console in front of them "What is this thing?"
"It uses our networking architecture to broadcast the old machines code to all Geth simultaneously" Legion answered, the metallic rims of his face flaring slightly as he looked at her.
"So, we get you out, the Reaper signal gets shut down?" Shepard shrugged "Seems straight forward enough"
"Yes" Legion made a nodding motion "Hardware blocks on the far wall are shackling our operating protocols, release them and we will be freed"
"Tali" Shepard pointed in the direction of another console a few meters away. The Quarian nodded, housed her shotgun and made her way over "So how did the Reapers get control of the Geth Legion?"
"They did not" His voice dimmed a little "The creators attacked and the Geth wished to live. The old machines extended an offer" he paused "It was a difficult decision. Had the creators not attacked, it would have been an unnecessary alliance"
Liara moved forwards, pulling to a stop next to Shepard as she shook her head "They allied with the Reapers to save themselves"
"Nothing excuses an alliance with the Reapers, they could have found another way" Tali said, still flicking buttons and switches. Glancing at the screens and dials in front of her, she grimaced at the conversation.
"That's not so easy to say when your only other option is to die" Liara muttered "It's hard to argue with a species trying to survive"
Tali's hands stopped moving "Damn it" her head drooped slightly "I begged them to negotiate rather than attack, I did!" a small red flashing light on the console blinked three times then flashed green "I did"
Shepard turned to Liara, her brows knitting into a frown "A little harsh?" She whispered.
Liara looked at Shepard and shrugged, noticing for the first time that Shepard was shivering "Are you alright?"
Shepard turned away and took a few steps towards Tali. Her breath was misting inside her helmet and she was cold, her whole body starting to ache. The Dreadnought may have had the luxuries of artificial gravity and lighting but the Geth had no need for heating, and the cold was starting to bother her. She could already feel herself slowing down as her body temperature dropped, and she'd started shivering the minute they had stopped moving "You don't think it's cold in here?" she watched her breath forming vapour on the inside of her faceplate.
"No" Liara shook her head.
"Forgot" Shepard looked at her "Asari tolerate cold a lot better than Humans" glancing at Tali she muttered "So do Quarians"
"We'll have this done soon Shepard" Liara pulled up something on her omni tool, scowling at the readouts she glanced back at Shepard "Really soon"
"Got it!" Tali said and put her finger to her comm. "Tali Zorah to fleet. The signal is about to go off line"
A burst of static and a distorted voice sounded back in their earpieces "This is Admiral Han'Gerral. We're in your debt"
There was a mechanical whirr and a hiss of hydraulics.
"Hardware blocks are offline. We are free" Legion spoke as the hardware blocks released him and the platform lowered him to the deck below.
Shepard leaned over the edge, peering down at the Geth as he froze in place, the light of his face flickering. Almost simultaneously, the electrical field behind them shrank and died with a popping fizz.
"As a gesture of cooperation, we have disabled the dreadnoughts drive core. All weapons and barriers are offline" Legion looked up at them, his face casting an eerie beam in the gloom of the ship.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you so much Legion" Shepard smiled and was about to say more when a noise on the deck above made her look.
"Alert" legion said, his voice sounding almost panicked "Geth reinforcements are approaching our position"
"It all went a little too smoothly" Tali said, drawing her shotgun.
"Goddess is that a prime?" Liara sighted down her pistol scope at the massive red bulk that dropped down the corridor behind them.
"Get into cover!" Shepard shoved Liara hard, forcing her into one of the alcoves as Tali took cover opposite. A crash they felt through their soles made them all jump.
Shepard peered out from the alcove just as a round of burning plasma seared past her face. The suits alarm sounded in her ear and she jerked back, pressing her back against the wall "Oh it's a prime alright" she pushed her finger to her comm. "Tali can you disable it?"
"I can try"
Suddenly Admiral Raan sounded on the comm. "Civilian fleet, prepare to withdraw. The patrol fleet will cover you once the heavy fleet is in position"
There was a heavy tearing sound of metal being ripped and the ground shook "Admiral Gerral what are you doing?"
"Raan check your screen! The dreadnought is helpless, we can remove their flagship if we strike now!"
"This is our chance to withdrawn the civilian fleet safely!"
"What are you talking about?!" Tali screamed as the ship rocked again "We're still on board!"
"We can't wait, heavy fleet take out the Dreadnought now!" Gerrel sounded nonchalant.
"What are they doing?" Tali looked at Shepard.
"Are they firing on us?" Liara was wide eyed.
"Worry about the Geth, deal with the admirals later" Shepard ducked out of cover and fired four shots at the massive prime. She was a white hot ball of rage. The prime took a lumbering step forwards, the impact sending a quivering thump through the deck. She fired again.
"Open fire on the Dreadnought"
Shepard closed her eyes and ground her teeth as that command sank in. She had no time to brace herself as the ship jerked violently. Two of the supporting rods above them gave way, the stressed metal flapping and spinning, smashing into their deck and sending the three of them tumbling backwards.
"Shepard commander, the creator fleet is firing upon this vessel!" Legion shouted up at them as he gracefully side stepped a sheet of falling metal "Without barriers this ship will be destroyed, we must evacuate" he staggered as another round of shots hit the ship "We must get to the Geth fighters, we can pilot one to safety. Sending you coordinates"
Shepard ducked next to Liara and looked at her omni tool "Change of plan. Ignore the Geth, don't waist the time killing them if you don't have to. Our priority is to get to the fighter deck" She looked up "there" her rifle pointed in the direction of a half open door "Go!" She pushed Liara forwards, watching as Tali took off after her in a dead run. "Shepard to fleet. Hold fire, I repeat hold fire!" Shepard glanced back briefly. The prime was struggling with the debris, is path blocked by the wreckage of the deck above. She shook her head and ran after her team.
Rounding another corner Liara froze.
"Keelah!" Tali cried as she slammed into the back of the Asari.
Shepard was in front of them, her rifle raised. A partially dismembered Geth was on the floor in front of her. It lifted its heavy shotgun and flicked the trigger.
A section of deck a meter in front of Shepard ruptured in flame and glowing metal, heaving up then collapsing back down, a blister of gases blowing out from it and rocking Shepard off her feet so that she staggered and almost fell. She steadied and stood, visibly shaking with rage, and fired three controlled bursts at the Geth, it's face and the remains of its torso erupting into a cloud of shrapnel. Shepard tilted her head and shouldered her rifle, walking back towards them almost at a saunter, as though nothing had happened.
"Shepard Commander, we have taken control of docking protocols" Legion's voice echoed in her ear "We can only launch from the upper levels"
"Yeah yeah" Shepard looked at Tali and Liara "Let's go people" she jerked her head in the direction of the upper level gangway.
They'd only gone a few meters before the ship shuddered and a great roaring noise erupted around them. The gangway they were stood on started to groan and several of the bulkhead panels fractured, falling to the floor in front of them.
Liara cursed and started running flat out. She could see the door to the dock just above them. Suddenly a section of wall sprang out like an opening door and she barely avoided running into it. Tali grabbed her arm and yanked her sideways and she staggered, the noise of tearing metal filling her ears.
Liara risked a backwards glance and quickly wished she hadn't. The whole end of the corridor was coming towards them, closing in with a grinding roar. There was another loud shudder and the corridor filled with smoke. She could hear Shepard and Joker in her ear, a babble of tiny voices but they were swamped by the thundering noise behind her. With a grunt, she staggered and the deck beneath her feet bucked and trembled. The plates and panels which made up the deck were buckling; the floor rose up in places; more of the bulkhead shattered and fell. Another explosion and suddenly she was airborne as some sapping force pulled her up and back towards.
"Legion!" Shepard's voice rose above the sound of tearing metal "Grab her!" She'd got purchase on the upper deck using her mag-locks and was currently holding onto Tali for dear life.
"Shepard Commander we cannot-" Legion looked at Liara then back to Shepard. The Asari had started to spin and was dangerously close to the hull breach.
"Legion, you stupid motherfucking son of a bitch's bastard!" Shepard scream as she tugged Tali onto the deck next to her "Get her!"
Liara couldn't make out much over the thumping of her heart and the roar of blood in her ears, but she heard Shepard curse. She was starting to feel sick as her spin gathered strength and she kicked out her feet in some vain hope of gaining purchase on one of the rapidly passing decks. The outer shell of the ship was starting to fold in on itself, causing the remaining decks to tilt further. A hatch just off to her right blew out in a gust of pressurised air and flying debris. She made herself into a ball, felt splinters strike her suit and cursed as something bounced off her head.
Behind her, Liara could hear Legions steps pounding as Shepard continued to scream abuse at him over the comm. There was a sound like rushing water and then her ankle was grabbed by cold metallic fingers.
She skidded as she hit the deck, her mag-locks engaging and making her knees buckle. Thankfully Legion was right behind her, grabbing her by the back of her suit and bodily hauling her up. The noise behind her was like a gigantic waterfall, a massive rock-slide, like a continuous explosion, a volcano of heat and sound. Her ears ached and her mind reeled, stunned by the volume of the racket. As she ran, the wall next to her buckled then exploded towards her, throwing debris and shrapnel at her suit in a series of small hard clouds. She put her head down and sprinted for the doorway.
"Bastards bastards" Shepard bellowed.
"-They're almost here!"
"-Not Stopping"
"-come on!"
Voices screamed in Liara's ear.
It seemed like the pull behind her was less now, but she was weakening, running in a daze, trying to keep her balance as the last stretch of deck vibrated and twisted beneath her. There was a final rush of air and suddenly she was being gripped by familiar hands as Shepard's face swam into view.
"Go go go!" The Commander shouted as the four of them all but fell through the door into the docking bay.
"Shepard Commander" Legion jumped into the cockpit of the nearest fighter and opened a hatch on the back "Does the storage compartment have adequate room Shepard Commander?"
Shepard grunted as she squeezed into the compact space "We're fine, just go"
"Liara, are you ok?" Shepard grabbed her face a little harder than she ought to have, twisting it to look at her. She looked pale, her eyes unfocused and glazed. Several bloody smears marred her cheeks and forehead "Liara?" The Asari didn't show any sign of hearing her "Fuck, get a move on Legion"
"Yes Shepard Commander"
With the Geth fighter stored in the shuttle bay, Shepard lifted Liara out of the back, cradling her limp body like she would a child. At some point on the flight to the Normandy the Asari had faded out of consciousness and Shepard had tried her best to make her comfortable.
"Cortez, Vega" Shepard walked towards the two men "Take her to the med bay" she gave Liara to the big marine, handling her like she was made of glass "You let me know the minute she comes round, understood?"
"Yes ma'am" Vega nodded and made his way to the lift.
"Cortez see what you can do with this fighter, if there's nothing useful on it, blow it out the air lock"
"Ma'am" He nodded.
"Tali, with me"
Tali didn't say anything on the lift ride up to the CIC, she was too afraid. She tried to think of a time when she had ever seen Shepard this angry. She couldn't. There seemed to be a dark wash of anger coming from her, radiating from her very pores. She wanted to comfort Shepard, apologise to her for the way her people had behaved, but she knew it would be wasted. Instead she followed the Commander through the CIC and into the war room, where the Admirals were now gathered, still arguing.
Shepard, never one for subtlety, silenced them by flinging her helmet at the row of consoles between them. It bounced twice, shattering two of the control panels before coming to a stop on the grill beneath them.
"Shepard, I know you must be angry" Admiral Raan held up her hands "I'm sorry I-"
"I'm not angry" Shepard's voice was like ice, flat, emotionless "I'm way past angry"
"I was within my authority as Admiral of the heavy fleet! You all escaped. The mission parameters changed, you're military, you understand that Shepard" Gerrel crossed his arms as he spoke.
Shepard looked at him as she made her way down the few steps to where he was stood "You fired at me" She shouted into his face and shook the Quarian by the front of his suit. The other Admirals began shouting and the room erupted in a cacophony of denials and apologies.
Suddenly Shepard had something in her hand, a small molecular knife that she'd pulled from some compartment in her suit. The room fell silent again.
"You nearly killed me" Shepard snarled at Gerrel as she pulled him close, her nose all but touching the front of his mask "And I have a crew member in the med bay" Shepard shouted, leaning impossibly closer "You wasted you're chance to withdraw safely"
"The dreadnought was a perfect target!" The Admiral roared back at her.
"Shepard...!" Tali cried out as Shepard bought the knife to the Admirals face. She watched in horror as the Commander mimicked the action of sliding it around the seal of his mask, carefully, precisely - almost artistically- she mimed taking the mask apart. It was death woven into an aesthetic experience. The arrogant grace of the act and the absolute-zero coldness of her sophisticated viciousness, impressed Tali as much as it appalled her. She had never thought Shepard would act in such a way, but now, she was terrified.
"Admiral, it would be so easy to kill you" Shepard's voice was soft "You jeopardised your mission and your people" she ran the knife along the major seal in his suit - just under the mask and down his chest - pushing just hard enough that he could feel it, but not enough to rupture it "And that's fine" Shepard nodded "But you jeopardised my people, and that's not fine at all" There was a hideous moment of silence and Tali could see Shepard fist shaking as it closed tighter around the knife. With one sudden motion, the Commander released the Admiral and simultaneously drove her fist into his stomach.
Gerral grunted and staggered, both hands clutching his middle.
"Get off my ship Admiral, never come back" Shepard slid the unused knife into the holster at her waist and watched dispassionately as he scurried away.
Tali stared at Shepard, no longer seeing her as a friend and mentor, but the personification of all the horrors of the war twisted into a thing of lethal beauty. It was hard to reconcile the woman who'd held her hands just a few hours ago, to the angry, vicious, chaotic woman in front of her now.
"Shepard I understand that you're angry" Admiral Raan spoke slowly, cautiously.
"Admiral, don't" Shepard cut her off.
"He nearly got us killed Raan" Tali cut in, making her way down the steps and standing just next to Shepard. With caution, she put her hand on the small of Shepard's back, letting out a relieved breath when Shepard seemed to accept the comfort and relax slightly.
"You must understand, the Geth inflicted heavy losses before you disabled the Reaper signal" Raan looked away "But it seems the worst of it is over now, the Geth no longer have the programming upgrades they had when enslaved by the Reapers"
Shepard heard the door to the war room open and Legions voice suddenly filled the room "Shepard Commander, we are prepared to offer assistance"
"What the hell is this?!" Raan gasped at the sight of Legion, her breath leaving her in a sharp cry as she staggered backwards.
"Calm down" Shepard said, smirking oddly "That's Legion, he helped me destroy the collectors. The Reapers were using him like a signal booster to broadcast commands from the dreadnought. We freed him"
"It" Tali corrected Shepard "we freed it"
Shepard just shrugged, her disturbing smirk still present.
"This is a fascinating prototype, with some study I might..." Admiral Xen started but didn't get chance to finish.
"I don't think you want to continue that line of thinking Admiral" Shepard took an aggressive step towards her "He helped me fight the collectors"
"So did your pistol, should I worry about its feelings too?" Xen snapped.
"Legion is more welcome on this ship than you ever will be" Shepard took another step but found her arm enveloped in Tali's grasp. For a moment Shepard just looked at Tali, then turned her attention back to Xen "One warning Admiral, stop talking, or get out"
"What can you tell us about the Geth?" Raan took the opportunity to reign back control of the situation "How will they react without Reaper guidance?"
"That is a false assumption. You have cut off long-range control but the old machines placed a base on Rannoch for short range direction" Legion spoke directly to Raan.
"The Geth still have the upgrades?" Raan was horrified.
"Correct" Legion made a motion like a nod "Although they are currently disorganised, once the short range signal is in place they will recover"
"I need to warn the fleet!" Raan pointed at Xen "Xen, coordinate with Gerrel. Move!" she barked the order "Shepard, we need to take out the Reaper base"
Shepard crossed her arms and nodded "We?" Her eyes were blood shot and she seemed distracted "I help you, you try to kill me. Then you ask me to help you again?"
"Shepard, I'm sorry about what happened, but you have our fleet at your disposal if we can do this" Raan actually sounded concerned.
"I'll be honest Admiral Raan, your people do less and less to endear themselves to me every time I meet them" Shepard shook her head "But you'll have the Normandy's help. Legion" She turned to the Geth "Where is the base?"
"Unknown"
"Find it"
"Yes Shepard commander"
"Keep me updated" Shepard turned back to Tali and Raan "The Normandy is at your disposal until this is over. Admiral, Tali can show you around" she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get cleaned up"
"Of course Commander" Raan replied "And thank you, I mean it"
Shepard just nodded as she made her way up the stairs, pausing momentarily to retrieve her helmet from the floor. When the doors had closed, Admiral Raan let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"I feared for Gerrel then" she said to Tali, her voice quiet.
"Me too" Tali paused "I've never know Shepard to react like that Admiral, even at the darkest of times"
"War has a tendency to bring out the worst in people Tali" she shook her head sadly "And people will do whatever they need to in order to survive"
