Chapter 30: Assistance
Remaining at the shuttle as he said he would, Legion was testing out the capacity of his new memory addition. Standard protocol had called for him to dump non-essential information, but he wondered whether those rules would still be the most logical approach in light of his enhanced capability.
Not having an established procedure was a challenge for the Geth sniper. While he was good at making some decisions very quickly, anything that was either ethically or logistically troublesome was referred to the collective for consensus. Now, he didn't have that option any longer, and each decision would have to be made individually.
Legion thought how the Geth system worked well because it housed a great many forms of input. More information led to better decisions, so Legion would retain more of what he saw. But what information was important? It was a question that could not be answered unless he developed his own list of priorities.
The first item he came up with was survival. If his platform was irreparably damaged or destroyed, he would not be able to store any information, transmit data to anyone, or participate in the interactions of existence. He had a growing awareness of his desire for self-survival in his refusal to be reprogrammed and wanting to explore the unique perspective he enjoyed.
To accomplish the first item, Legion determined it was vital he assist in any way possible with the mission to defeat the old machines. Every analysis he could remember posited their goal was the complete assimilation or destruction of all sentient life, both in the organic and synthetic varieties. Having just refused assimilation with his own collective, Legion wasn't going to accept either having his platform or the Geth as a whole become a part of the Reapers.
For this reason, he would continue helping the organic life forms such as Shepard and Tali. For all their shortsightedness as species and all the chaos they caused, the myriad interactions of their life helped them to appreciate their individuality and the collective threat much more so than the Geth matrix could do so. Their reasons for resistance were essential, where the Geth resisted for subtler reasons rooted in self-determination, but not fundamental in their opposition.
Legion felt a growing awareness that the Geth would have to evolve in one of two directions. They could either move toward more autonomous platforms with individual intelligences who worked through cooperative integration, or they could become more standardized platforms who were structured to work only for the good of all through compulsion. An irony of the evolution of his race is the units were originally designed to be very autonomous, but in the search for intelligence their steps had brought them together because of a structural lack of capacity.
Legion thought about the Morning War, and how it was necessary for all Geth to come together for survival. Yet, that was generations ago, and now the questions had become ones of choice. There was certainly enough ability and computing capacity to choose a more individualized path, but the Geth did not embrace that choice. Was it because of logic or was it because of tradition? Would they not be safer if survival was spread amongst thousands or millions of individuals, connected but free in their connections?
Several seconds having elapsed, it was something to ponder thought Legion as he looked outside at the sunset. Wondering where Tali had gone, he conducted a preliminary scan and found one Quarian life sign by the waterfall. Tracking her movements for about a minute, Legion observed she did not move at all, so he decided to contact her via suit to verify her safety.
"Tali, this is Legion. Do you require assistance?"
Receiving only static for a response, Legion wondered why no answer was given. While there were no predators on the Rannoch to threaten Tali, his discomfort with the situation prompted him to turn to her direction and begin searching for her.
Moving steadier and faster than most organic counterparts, Legion quickly worked his way through the fields and the underbrush to reach Tali's position. As he came close to where her vital signs were emanating, he saw different parts of her biosuit had been discarded. He wondered what threat had caused her to take such drastic action, and closed in on the Quarian.
Legion found her laying in a meadow, divested of all her garments. She was laying there beneath a tree, not stirring but slightly trembling as she appeared to be unconscious. Tali looked to be asleep, thought Legion, and he said to her, "Tali, do you require assistance?"
Not receiving any response, he touched her tender soft skin with his mechanical finger, prodding her to wake up. It was smooth and unblemished, as it had rarely been exposed to any sun, but it was also quite pale. Her face was pale save for a flushing of the cheeks, and when he listened more closely, Legion realized her breathing was labored.
Drawing upon a tool integrated into his circuitry, Legion ran a quick diagnostic on the Quarian and found she had an elevated body temperature, a fever, and her skin was not conforming to recorded examples. The Geth were not doctors, but had some knowledge of their creators. The factors listed suggested a strong possibility she was suffering an allergic response.
Checking her heart rate, Legion recognized it was much slower than normal, and he tried forcibly to wake her. Lifting her lithe form into his arms, he shook her gently which caused her only to moan slightly but not awaken. "Wake up, Tali'Zorah" he implored.
As his vigorous effort failed, Legion worried her system was in shock. While Rannoch had once been a place well suited for the comparatively weak Quarian immune system, their constant exposure to clean room environments had weakened their resistance completely to any shock. The Geth had done the best they could to prevent any contamination of the world, but it was impossible. Even the exterior of Tali's suit could have carried some active agent that her immune system could not fight.
Tali needed help, but Legion did not know what to do. He put Tali down once more to find the parts of her suit that had been discarded. Grabbing all of those, he hooked them to his back and lifted up the Quarian. Legion then began moving back toward the ship carrying Tali and all her stuff. He moved quickly as her warm skin and flushed face made him worry she might be in serious trouble.
In a matter of minutes, he had reached the vessel. Laying her biosuit on the cold metallic floor, he gently set her upon the mat and sent a transmission to the Geth platforms above.
"This is Legion requesting assistance. Ambassador Tali'Zorah vas Normandy is unconscious and seems to be in some form of allergic induced shock. Subject is nonresponsive."
Although the sniper would have preferred to communicate digitally, his ability to do so had been lost as terms of his departure. Where he would have previously received a complete download of all information relevant to Quarian biology, he would have to settle for whatever he was given now.
"Only limited knowledge exists about the endocrine capacities of the Creators. Without further diagnostic tests, any prescribed diagnosis would be highly speculative. Suggested recommendation is to provide anti-biotics to stabilize situation, secure clean room environment, and seek qualified assistance."
Legion didn't carry any drugs on him, but thought it likely Tali may have done so. Examining her suit, he noted it had an internal system to administer antibiotic medication. What he didn't know is how to activate it, but he hoped it might operate automatically. Working carefully and a bit awkwardly, Legion dressed Tali in her suit once more.
Looking into her violet eyes, he snapped her helmet back on and hoped the suit would come to life. While it was on securely, nothing was happening, so he looked at the display panels. There was a message that read, "Manual reboot required. Security breached. Please enter password."
Having no clue what it was, Legion examined the panels to see if there was anything he could do. Using one of Tali's own tools, he tried hacking into the suit to force it to release the antibiotic she desperately needed, but he wasn't familiar with the system. Though he was quicker than any organic would have been, the suit was designed to resist a Geth incursion and shut down irrevocably when he failed.
Running out of ideas, Legion settled for the last option. He scanned the suit thoroughly to determine where the antibiotics were located, and found they were kept in a stream running along the back of the suit. Taking Tali out of the suit as he didn't know what response it might have to a breach, he delicately sliced open the compartment containing the medicine. It appeared designed for intravenous insertion, but Legion did not have needles, syringes, or anything else to help administer the drug.
Legion had either the option of opening up some vein to introduce the antibiotics into her system, or feeding them to her orally, a less potent but safer choice if she was infected and exposed to harmful antigens. Not knowing what to do, he contacted the Geth again.
"Antibiotics have been found. What is the proper dosage?"
The instantaneous response was "Unknown."
Uncertain what to do, Legion was tracking Tali's temperature continue to rise. He needed to act, so he decided to adopt a gradual approach. Taking 250 mg of the antibiotic, he carefully opened her mouth and forced her to ingest the drug. Depending on how she responded, he would continue the same dosage every fifteen minutes and track her temperature and flushing.
Legion recognized while he was providing triage, he lacked the medical capacity to give Tali the treatment she needed. Not wanting to see her suffer or see anything worse happen, the Geth contacted the platforms above and asked, "Ambassador Tali'Zorah requires immediate medical attention. Requesting permission to dock to receive medical care."
After a momentary pause, the Geth came back saying, "Permission denied. The Geth lack the facilities to provide medical assistance to the Creator. An alternative plan of seeking treatment from Quarian resources is suggested."
The logic was sound, but Legion recognized one immediate problem. How was a Geth who was travelling with an unconscious Quarian supposed to return her to her people, in the Migrant Fleet that could be anywhere, and not get incinerated during the approach? It was impossible and the Quarians were so spread apart that they couldn't be found.
The Normandy might have been able to help under these circumstances, but Legion had no idea where Shepard had gone with his ship. Moreover, even though they had some experience with Tali, it seemed most probable their knowledge would be limited.
Running out of options, Legion considered every possibility he knew and only had one answer. It was somewhat dangerous, but he was determined to get Tali the help she needed. Looking back at her helpless form, he wondered what this feeling of protectiveness would be called. He simply saw it as doing what he needed to do to optimize the likelihood of success of his mission and his survival. The truth that he might actually want something was more than he could recognize.
Plotting the course into the vessel, the small Geth ship took off toward the nearest relay in the hope help would soon be found.
The ensign watched the radar display as a single blip came across the screen. Although thousands of vessels passed through the busy relay in the Serpent Nebula each day, most were recognized for having transponders of a race well known such as the Turians or Salarians. This one, however, did not conform to any of those.
He ran another scan of the vessel, this time using long distance visual with telescopic lenses as well as infrared overlays. The ship was cool except for one warm spot, and when the ensign looked at it, he stopped for a moment as he had only seen that design once before; during the battle for the Citadel.
"Ma'am," he said, calling to the captain of the vessel, "you better come see this."
Walking from her position on the bridge of the Destiny Ascension, the Asari Matriarch Lidanya came over to find out what is happening, "What do you see?" she asked calmly.
"I'm not certain, but I think a Geth vessel just entered our space."
The Matriarch remembered how it began last time the Citadel came under attack and was determined not to get caught unaware on this occasion. As she saw the small vessel working its way toward the station, she said, "Good catch. I don't know what trick this is, but we're ready this time."
Calling out to all decks, she said, "All hands to duty stations. This is not a drill." An alarm sounded throughout the massive dreadnought and the duty crew stirred into action.
Walking over to the communications officer, the Asari said, "Inform the Council immediately. I want all other vessels grounded, and be ready to shut the station on a moment's notice."
Meanwhile, the Geth vessel with Legion and Tali'Zorah was slowly approaching the station on a normal vector. Legion had actually been there once or twice before in the presence of Commander Shepard, but coming in alone had been a risk.
As he noted the other ships scurrying away, he saw an enormous dreadnought change course and head directly for their ship. An incoming message said, "Unidentified Geth vessel. Halt or you will be destroyed."
Legion complied with the command from the dreadnought and communicated in respond. "Destiny Ascension, this is the Geth vessel. We come seeking medical assistance and ask permission to dock at the Citadel."
On her bridge, the Matriarch didn't know what to make of this odd request. Keeping their weapons aimed and locked on the Geth shuttle, she looked around at her crew. It was so out of the ordinary they all wondered what sort of trap this could be. The Asari spoke directly to Legion.
"Please clarify the nature of your emergency."
Legion explained, "The Geth were hosting an emissary from the Quarians, Ambassador Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. During a visit to Rannoch, she suffered an allergic reaction that has put her in a comatose state. We come seeking medical assistance for her condition as the Geth have no facilities for Quarians."
The situation became stranger and stranger for the captain. Why were the Geth and Quarians talking to one another, they had been involved in a galactic death match for years? What had changed, and when she heard the name, Lidanya couldn't help but notice the name Normandy. That was Shepard's famous vessel and he was known for doing some very strange things.
Asking the obvious question, she continued, "Why did you bring her to the Citadel and not directly to the Quarians if she is their ambassador?"
The Geth response was, "We are unaware of the location of the Migrant Fleet. This was considered the second best option."
She looked over at her Turian executive officer asking his opinion. "I don't like it, ma'am. It seems too strange to be believed."
"That it does," she said, "But maybe we can learn something from this."
Asking the targeting officer another question, she said, "What sorts of armaments does the vessel have?"
A quick scan revealed the Geth shuttle had nothing more than standard lasers included on all ships to eliminate collisions with meteoric debris. But perhaps the risk wasn't on the outside, but the inside.
"Hold your position, Geth vessel," she said, not offering any other insight.
The Matriarch was being called by the Council and returned to the communications room to give them an update. Much like on the Normandy, the Destiny Ascension also contained a room allowing for holographic communication, and Lidanya watched as the four councilors materialized.
"Report," said the Turian as he got straight to business.
"A single Geth vessel is here requesting permission to land. They claim to have a Quarian ambassador who has taken ill, named Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."
Anderson scratched his head for a moment and then said, "I've met Tali. She was with Shepard and the Normandy. But what was she doing with the Geth?"
The Salarian spoke up and said, "Perhaps the Commander was up to something we did not know about."
The Turian said, "That wouldn't be surprising. Now he's working with the Geth."
Lidanya could already tell this was going to be a fractious issue, so she was glad when the Asari said, "We don't know what is happening here, but we need more information. Matriarch, do you believe they are a threat to this station?"
Although not entirely certain, the captain of the Destiny Ascension said, "The vessel is no threat. I cannot speak for the inhabitants."
"Very well, Captain," the Asari councilor said. "I think we should hear what they have to say, but we'll do it at a secure dock that is closed off from the rest of the ship."
"That's acceptable," grumbled the Turian.
The Matriarch bowed her head to the Council and said, "As you will." Their images faded away and Lidanya stroke back onto the bridge. As she did, she received the coordinates from C-Sec where they wanted the vessel to land, near both their headquarters and the medical bay, in preparation for whatever eventuality would pass.
"Destiny Ascension to the Geth vessel. You are cleared to land at Bay 42A. Do not depart your vessel until instructed to do so and do not deviate from the flight path given."
Synthetic life didn't get nervous, but it did calculate probabilities. Legion knew there was a greater than negligible chance of something terrible happen, but was relieved to see the risk had been warranted. "Acknowledged, Destiny Ascension."
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone reviewing and favoriting this story. As a matter of timeline, these events are happening at roughly the same time as the events with Jack and Thane, though they will end slightly after.