A/N: I know legion is an it, however the ground team, and Shepard especially, refers to Legion as a he. So he, like EDI, will be referred as a he. Also i'll be adding a few more weapons. The reason for this is the weapons in ME are fun, but overly bulky. Submachines guns are more like automatic pistols and have a shorter range than actual SMGs. Also the Shotguns and pistol will see some bonuses and under barrel shotguns, grenade launchers, tazers, and much more will make an appearance

3-25-2184 0932 hours (Citadel standard time)

SSV Normandy

Corvette

Haestrom

"EDI, inform the ground team that I want to see them in the briefing room in the next 15 minutes. We have a lot to go over." Shepard had been anxious ever since Hackett had informed him on the importance of this mission. While it didn't surprise him that he was selected for this particular assignment, he was concerned about the ground team effectiveness. Having to sit on the sidelines was one thing he had never done, but under the current circumstances he didn't have much of a choice.

"Very well, captain. I have alerted the entire team and they will join you within 15 minutes. Would you like anything else?" The blue hologram by his room's door pulsed gently with the faceless avatar EDI used.

"No, thank you EDI. Just make sure Joker keeps the ship cloaked during the entire mission. Only reveal the Normandy if I order it or if it's absolutely necessary. As soon as we reach the planet, have Legion scan the surrounding space for geth patrols." Shepard stated this as he was already in the elevator, cursing its slow speed to reach the CIC of his ship.

The doors opened up the CIC, and Shepard didn't even bother speaking to Jacob, who was busy repairing and maintaining the various weapons use for ground missions. He noticed that Jacob was struggling with his arm cast and leg brace. Shepard wasn't too concern, since he had no thoughts of involving Jacob on the ground team for awhile, which he assumed Jacob though the same and decided to contribute in any way he could. Shepard made his way around the next corner into the briefing room, and was surprised to see that most of the ground team members had already arrived with the exception of Kasumi and Ramirez. As soon as he stepped into the room, all eyes were directed at him and any chatter was replaced with silence. He had to admire his team's dedication and professionalism, especially considering that a few members weren't exactly employed in the most respectable professions.

Just at that moment both Ramirez and Kasumi walked in sheepishly, they were rewarded by hollers and cheers from the rest of the team. Shepard even heard a few whistles.

"Bout time you both got laid." Jack said rather bluntly.

"Alright everyone now that everyone is here, I want to talk to all of you about this mission. Plain and simple, we rescue a quarian admiral and we have a shot at evicting the quarians from assisting the batarians and by extension the collectors." Tapping commands on the console, a hologram of Haestrom appeared. "This planet is called Haestrom and this is where, according to System's Alliance intelligence, the admiral's ship was shot down. Once we're close to the colony, EDI will scan the planet for any sign of either a wreckage site or radio transmissions from the quarians. Considering the current circumstance, the ground team this time will be a little bit different. Garrus will take Ashley and Javik ground side and Legion will be orbital inserted in advance. Him being a geth will be a major advantage for this mission."

"As you humans say, no hard feelings?" Garrus said to the armored titan sitting near him.

"Hey, I'm not really good with dealing with geth outside of shooting them. You'll be able to spot them before I can, so have fun being bogged down in geth territory, while I safely stay here." Ramirez teased.

Garrus only shook his head in response. "Let me introduce you to our new shuttle pilot, David Andrews." Shepard announced, directing everyone's attention to a man in his mid-thirties who had a beard and was wearing a red baseball cap. Having already met him prior to the mission, the attention didn't last long.

"Shepard, quarians are known to be a tad xenophobic especially towards anyone with AIs or an AI. Geth and quarian contact problematic." Mordin stated, analyzing dozen of scenarios in his head.

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice and were in deep geth territory. Besides having an extra 25 minute head start may very well prove vital." Looking around he asked, "Anymore questions?"

"This one kindly volunteers to assist in rescuing the trapped quarians." Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and their eyes were met with a fully armored hanar, equipped with six different guns.

Shepard didn't know whether to laugh or be shocked. "It's quite alright we-" before Shepard could finish, Blasto interrupted him.

"This one assures you captain, this one is more than capable of combat."

"He's right, Shepard. Once I was almost strangled by one of those bloated jellyfish. They aren't as innocent as they like everyone to believe." Zaeed said in his gruff voice.

"I can assure you, Shepard. Hanar are capable of defending themselves." Thane said, joining in on the conversation.

"Fine, but I'll want them to have a little extra firepower. Legion, the Alpha drone will be inserted with you via orbit. If you run into any trouble the extra firepower should help you. You'll be our forward scout, report any geth activity you see." He turned his focus towards his turian friend. "Garrus, you and your team will land at out designated LZ. From there you'll move out and locate the quarian survivors. Using intel gathered by Legion's reconnaissance should make it easier for you to avoid enemy patrols. Now then, get ready to deploy. Everyone else dismissed." With their orders received, the Normandy ground team filed out of the room.

SSV Normandy

Corvette

Command Deck

"Captain, we have reached Haestrom and I have detected a geth frigate in stationary orbit over the coordinates where there appears to be quarian radio transmissions. The ship is not transmitting any communication signals, but its shuttle bay is open and appears to be missing a dropship." EDI chimed in, confirming Joker's fears.

"I had a feeling it would be too much to ask for the geth not to have fired on the quarians, you know after the whole between them. So I guess sneaking in is out?" Joker coyly asked.

Shepard ignored him and instead processed the information, quickly coming up with a plan. "EDI inform Legion that as soon as that ship is destroyed he'll be inserted planet side. Shepard activated the hologram display on the table, bringing up a map of the geth frigate. He began analyzing it for any weaknesses he could find. He decided to fire his main guns and overwhelm the ships armor with his geothermal missiles. Geothermal missiles, were ordinary shaped missiles designed to melt a ship's armor, the entirety of its creation was inspired by incendiary bullets and bombs. "EDI, charge the twin particle cannons. Divert all engine power to weapons."

"As you wish, Shepard." The AI responded.

"Joker, has the geth frigate done anything since we've arrived?"

"Negative captain, it's still stationary in orbit. No comm signals sent or any more dropships have been deployed."

"Good. Can that ship communicate with anything planetside?"

"Don't think so. The star's interfering with planet side communications heavily. I doubt it can even reach something in the upper atmosphere."

"Alright, thanks Joker. As soon as I give the command, I want you to blast that frigate to hell. A volley of twin particle cannons and geothermal missiles should do the trick."

"Sounds good, captain. It'll be fun to test out the weapon systems; I still haven't had a chance to fire these babies. I'll wait for your order, and then we blow the geth frigate out of space."

Shepard paused for a few moments, debating with himself if there was anything he could still do. "Ground team, remember to switch you're weapons to disruptor ammunition if you're carrying a non-Alliance weapon, otherwise pack some extra EMP grenades. Any questions?"

"Are you sure we should be trusting the light bulb to be alone with the bucketheads?" Jack didn't have any hesitation in speaking her mind about the Normandy's own geth platform.

"Hopefully Legion won't have to contact them personally. Only scout the terrain ahead and only assist the quarians if they need it, otherwise he'll steer clear of them."

"Shepard, my team is packed up and ready to go." Garrus informed him over the comms.

With everyone in position, Shepard contacted Legion over a private channel. "Legion, it's Shepard. Are you sure you'll be comfortable killing your own kind?"

"Affirmative Shepard-Captain. Your own history has provided examples of you killing your own kind. The situation here is similar. We don't not agree with the heretics that assisted the old machines and they do not represent the majority of the geth consensus."

"Alright, Legion. As soon as Joker destroys the enemy frigate and we hover in orbit, you're free to drop."

Staring at the enemy ship in front of him from the CIC of his ship, Shepard was ready to fire. "EDI are the PACs fully charged?" he asked.

"Affirmative Shepard."

"Joker, fire." He commanded.

The forward twin particle accelerator cannons fired sending two purple beams toward the enemy ship. As soon the Normandy had fired the geth frigate attempted to maneuver, but it was too late. The twin beams rammed into the ship, disrupting its shields and severely damaging it. Soon sixty missiles poured out from the Normandy. The geth's defensive system's were able to shoot out fifty-nine missiles, but one of them impacted the starboard side. The explosion was the catalyst needed for the entire ship to be blown to smithereens.

"Captain, the geth frigate is dust! EDI is isolating radio transmissions from the planet, but the signal is weak. It might be the quarians. Joker informed. His voice came in over the shuttle's speakers at the exact same time the team felt a slight shockwave resonate through the Normandy. "We're directly over the radio signals. Maybe Garrus could get us some bigger guns."

In the shuttle, Garrus smiled at the thought of installing bigger and better guns on a ship that already have enough firepower to rival a salarian frigate. "For once, Shepard, I think Joker has finally had a good idea." He said over the radio.

"EDI, activate atmospheric barriers on the shuttle doors. Legion, we'll be dropping you in t-minus twenty seconds. Good luck." Shepard ordered.

Legion answered the captain with a green indicator light through the orbital drop pod that he was in. Next to him was the alpha drone that would be accompanying him. A ripple of shields activated around the pod, and then the doors slowly opened. He looked down and saw the entire planet before him; the entire planet was a dull gray and brown mix. Legion saw no lakes or oceans, almost as if they were heated and boiled.

Shepard pressed the command on his console and both pods accelerated towards the planet at mach speeds. Legion calmly stood in his pod, the friction and heat of entering Haestrom's did not bother him as he hacking into quarian comm channels. The heat and smoke from the drop faded and he, along with the alpha drone, were falling through a thin cloud layer. His optics were barely able to scan the ground below him. He zoomed in his optics and tried to make out anything of the terrain he was dropping in on. He was only able to make out a few trails of smoke coming from the ground before he felt an enormous tug at his back.

"Drag chute deployed." A monotone voice within the pod stated.

Within seconds he came to an abrupt halt on the surface of the planet, creating a small crater around him. The pod's doors opened and Legion stepped out and scanned the surrounding area, seeing no hostiles in sight. He could easily tell this wasn't the right place.

"Scans Complete. Threat Assessment: Negligible. Recommendation: Follow Radio Signals." The alpha drone said in its deep robotic voice.

"The star's interference may slow us down. Radio signal transmission seems to be 200 meters north. This platform's programs have also detected element zero signatures, discarded heat sinks, and other geth programs. This platform is currently hiding our signal, however there are dozens of geth mobile platforms."

"Recommendation: Target Isolated Groups."

Legion took a moment to evaluate his surroundings before moving. He and the drone were in a courtyard, ancient quarian buildings were all around them. Above the building lines Legion could see that was setting and decided to use the darkness to his advantage.

"We must move. This platform's programs will assist you in scanning the area." Legion reached over his shoulder and grabbed a geth spitfire. For long range he packed a M-98 widow and set both guns to disruptor ammo. Both members took off in the path in front of them, searching for any sign of the quarians, while avoiding the geth.

543 meters from Quarian command bunker

"Tali, get down!" Reegar screamed in her ear as he threw himself and her into the ground, not waiting for her response. A geth's rocket whizzed by overhead only a moment later, impacting the wall behind them and peppering them with small stone bucks. "Dammit, we have to take that thing out before it gets close, cover me marines."

Zio, Prazza, and Vexa all popped out of cover, spraying a prime with assault rifle rounds. This only manage to annoy it, they all hoped Reegar had a plan to deal with it.

Reegar sprinted as fast as he ever had to the mining equipment on their left, reaching it just as another rocket flew past him. He dove behind, hoping that the two geth troopers behind him wouldn't consider him a large threat. Crawling to look around the other side of his rusted cover, he was happy to see the other marines had been able to grab their attention. Anxiety filled him as he saw the geth force advance towards his team.

"Alright you geth bastard, see how you like this!" Reegar leaned over his cover and fired his rocket launcher. The blast weakened three platform's shields and the quarian marine squad took advantage. Zio and Prazza managed to kill one, while Tali hacked another. The last one was destroyed by combined fire from Vexa's missile launcher and the other platform's fire, which was promptly destroyed.

The team's spirit was enlighten as they've managed to survive another assault. However, Prazza was quick to notice something was wrong. "Where did the prime go?" He asked. The team got quiet, scanning the area for any sign of the large geth platform. Prazza quickly noticed a slight shimmer behind Reegar. "Reegar! MOVE!" He shouted.

Reegar's instincts took over and he did as he was told. Behind him an omni-tool blade sliced the air, just narrowly missing Reegar's head by a centimeter. The blade struck the concrete behind him and cleanly sliced.

Cursing to himself he switched to his assault rifle. He fired his assault rifle, but the rounds merely bounced off the platform's incredible shields. The prime, using its omni-blade, slice Reegar's weapon and punched him in the torso. The punch was so powerful that the prime's fist was able to pickup Reegar and he impacted the concrete wall behind him hard. He screamed out in pain as his ribs were broken. Still hanging in the air, Reegar's body dropped, only when the prime removed its fist from Reegar's torso. The prime brought up its omni-blade preparing for the kill, when suddenly Prazza managed to jump on the prime's back. Prazza activated his own onmi-blade and struck the prime in the neck. The momentum of the blade was so slow it allowed it to penetrate the prime's shields and pierce into its armor. The prime bucked like a bull as it struggled to get Prazza off of its back. Vexa tried aiming her rocket launcher at the prime, but hesitated as the blast would not only kill Prazza, but Reegar as well. Then she did something that was considered stupid by quarian standards, using her body as a ram she charged a the prime with full force, her shoulder hitting the prime and causing it to stagger. Struggling it managed to remain on its feet until both Tali and Zio both charged at the geth, omni-blades at the ready. The combined force of all four quarians and the multiple stabs into its critical systems was enough to cause the prime to fall back, completely dead.

"Oh, Keelah…that was insane." Zio commented, breathing in heavily.

"Get this geth off of me!" Prazza ordered. His body was being pucrushed under the weight of the prime's massive body. Both Vexa and Zio pushed the prime off of Prazza, while Tali went to go check on Reegar.

"Reegar, are you alright!?" She asked, but was only rewarded by gurgling noises as Reegar had both of his hands over his chest. Quickly Tali administered medi-gel on the wound, through the suits's compartments. "Are you alright?" She asked again.

Reegar managed to nod his head, the pain was still too much for him to talk. "Quarian command. This is quarian team 1. We've managed to repair and activate the sentries, but we have casualties. Heading to the bunker now." Prazza said over his radio.

"Roger that, team 1. Be advised team 2 is heading to your position now. ETA 18 minutes. I suggest you get your asses over here quick." The bunkers radio operative replied.

"Roger that." Prazza switched the radio and walked over to Tali. "We're leaving."

"Reegar is hurt!" She said with disdain. She hoped for his sake he wasn't going to recommend leaving Reegar behind.

"We have no choice, we have to move now. I'll carry him, but we need to head back to the bunker."

Tali relaxed a bit and nodded her head. Watching Prazza pull Reegar over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. The squad marched back towards the bunker.

The first geth that Legion found was a lone trooper, a sniper from the appearance of the trooper's weapons. Silently Legion approached the platform, while the programs within the platform began scanning the geth trooper. Based on the findings, Legion concluded that the geth was damaged and its motion tracker was destroyed. Taking advantage, Legion activated his omni-tool and lunged at the geth digging his blade into the geth's back, bringing it down quickly and quietly. The light that acted as its eye flickered and then went out, indicating he had destroyed it.

Rien Tunnel Entrance

Legion looked ahead and saw a tunnel. Legion drooped down from the cliff that he was standing on and began walking towards the entrance. Using a private channel, Legion communicated with the drone and both regrouped at the entrance. Scanning his surroundings for any trace of activity, Legion noticed his shields quickly flickering and dropping.

"Scans Complete. Atmospheric Instability Detected. Recommendation: Avoid Direct Exposure To Sunlight."

Legion nodded and began entering the tunnel when suddenly his motion tracker lit up with multiple red contacts. He immediately began jamming all comm channels in the area.

The fist geth platform Legion saw immediately opened fire, rounds bouncing against his shields and peppering the stone pillars around. Diving behind the nearest cover, the synthetics relentlessly fired at his position, creating small clouds of dust all around him with the intense phasic rounds. Using his motion tracker, Legion located four enemy platforms moving towards him at an alarming rate.

The geth stopped firing, wanting to confirm Legion's death. Their operating systems were able to detect Legion's newer and more powerful operating systems. It would seem the heretic made a measure to find and detain Legion, however for what purpose was unknown. However when the dust settled, instead of seeing Legion's damaged platform, they instead saw the alpha drone with its optics glowing red with rage.

"Scans Complete. Threat Assessment: Deadly. Recommendation: Total Annihilation." Arming its vast array of weapons, the geth troopers raised their forward flaps as if to indicate shock or fear.

The drone fired its gauss cannons on its shoulders and peppered the area with explosives using its grenade launcher. The standard platforms shields were no match for the barrage from the alpha drone, and two platforms were destroyed as the gauss rounds penetrated their armor. The other four geth staggered back as they retreated back into cover. Firing at their approaching foe, they fail to notice that Legion popped out of cover and was targeting them with a sniper rifle. A geth plafrom's shields collapsed and it felt the impact of a heavy round almost penetrating through its armor. When it scanned the area, it was too late as Legion fired another shot right into the geth's optical unit, drooping it instantly.

The last remaining three geth trooper attempted to consolidate their firepower on the drone, however it proved futile as the drone's shields refused to drop. Now at a safe distance, the drone fired its tesla cannon. The round zipped through the narrow tunnel like a bolt of lightning. The round tore through the armor of a geth platform, leaving a gaping hole where it's torso once was. Another fell prey to Legion's sniper and the last remaining platform attempted to escape, but it to was destroyed easily by the drone's missiles.

Legion approached the drone, which appeared to be scanning the area ahead of them. "Scans Complete. Multiple Synthetic And Organic Signatures Detected. Threat Assessment: Unknown. Recommendation: Prepare For Hostile Intentions From Both Targets."

"Shepard- Captain's orders were to assist the creators. We must show signs of cooperation." Legion told him.

"Recommendation: Assist Organic Signatures."

Legion and the drone ran towards the quarian's position. On the way there, Legion activated a beacon signaling the Normandy of his location.

Approaching the end of the tunnel, Legion heard gunfire from multiple weapons, some were pulse rifles the heretics used and the others he did not recognize. Assuming they were quarian rifles, Legion hurried to the end of the tunnel and looked out at the firefight before him. Assessing the best option Legion ordered the drone to advance, while he provided covering fire with his sniper rifle.

Confirming its orders, the drone began advancing towards the geth line, issuing threats. The quarians must've been surprised and fearful at the sight of an eleven foot mechanical monstrosity approaching their position, only to fire upon the geth. "Enemies Of The Alliance, Prepare For Death!" With its weapons blazing, the drone tore through three geth destroyers before his shields started to collapse.

Legion spotted a rocket trooper firing on the drone and took aim using his sniper rifle. Pulling the trigger, Legion saw the trooper fall. Now occupied on two fronts, the geth forces were easily routed and destroyed. Once they were destroyed, Legion hesitantly approached the quarian marine squad..

Unsurprisingly, when he was in range they aimed their weapons at him. "Stop. What are you and why did you fire on your own kind!" Demanded a quarian in a purple and black suit. The voice and the frame indicated a feminine figure.

"This platform's name is Legion. We are under orders to assist the creators in escaping this planet." Behind Legion, the drone began targeting the quarians, analyzing their weapons and shields strength s. This was a precaution in case the quarians decided to fire upon them.

"Ordered? By who?" she asked again.

"By Shepard-captain." He replied.

"Shepard!? Here? Keelah" She asked in awe. She looked at the geth platform with crossed arms. "I hope you realize that I won't be taking your word, even if you did help us. When I see Shepard, then I'll tell the marines to drop their wea-"

She was interrupted by the bunker doors behind her opening. They opened to reveal the presence of Admiral Koris. In a normal situation they would have saluted and addressed their commanding officer, but this situation was anything but. Koris studied the geth before him, before approaching Legion.

"Admiral, what are you doing!?"

Holding up a hand, Koris addressed his crew. "Relax. Tali. If the geth and his…friend were hostile they, they would've destroyed us by now."

"It Admrial, not a he." Tali corrected, hating referring to geth as anything more then machines.

Koris paid her no mind. He held a hand out for Legion to shake. Koris had learned that this was an ancient human custom when meeting people. "My name is Zaal' Koris. Admiral of the civilian fleet."

Legion studyed the Admrial's hand for a moment before grasping it and shaking it. Legion had already become all too familiar with the human expression while serving under Captain Shepard. "Pleasure to met you creator Koris. This platform's names is called Legion."

"T-this is…keelah do you know what this means?" Koris asked, turning around to face his men.

"That he has gone completely insane." A marine muttered under his breath to one of his friends, who chuckled. The Admiral didn't hear them, but Tali did and made a mental note to deal with them later. "No Admiral." She said.

"This confirms everything I've said about the geth. They weren't trying to eradicate us, they were simply defending themselves. Keelah this may be the first step to reclaiming our homeworld peacefully."

"Admiral Koris, you can't seriously trust this… thing!" Tali was indignant at having to see a machine, one whose kind was responsible for all their problems, suddenly be treated as a hero.

"Tali' Zorah vas Qwib Qwib, may I remind you that it was us who fired the first shots, who attempted genocide on their kind. How were they supposed to respond?"

Tali dropped her head. "I apologize admiral. It was not my place not question your intentions."

Koris seemed to soften. "It's quite alright dear." Turing to face Legion, he asked. "What can you tell us of the geth? Do they believe in peace?" Koris held his breath for a minute, awaiting Legion's answer.

"Creator Koris, the question falls under a false presumption. The geth are no longer united. The heretics believe in synthetic supremacy, while the loyalists wish to live in place with or without organics." Legion replied.

For a moment Koris was shocked at this revelation. "Well that's a start at least. Do you represent the majority of the geth consensus?"

"Yes we do creator Koris."

Their conversation abruptly ended when a marine yelled a warning. "Contacts at the tunnel!" Immediately the quarian marine squad aimed their weapons at the approaching figures. Tali immediately recognized the symbolic blue armor on one of them. "Garrus!?"

At the recognition of the turian and under the orders from the admiral, the marines relaxed their weapons. "Tali, is that you? Spirits, it's good to hear your voice." Garrus was more than happy to hear that Tali was alive and well. 'What Shepard would do to be here now.' He thought.

"I'm glad you're here Garrus. Is Shepard with you?" She asked hopefully.

Garrus shook his head. "He had to stay on the Normandy. Got injured real bad on the last mission, but he's making a full recovery."

"Pardon the interruptions, but who are you and what are you doing here exactly and does this geth belong to you?" Koris asked.

"Garrus Vakarian with…," Garrus hesitated to mention the organization that he was currently affiliated with and instead decided to lie. "We're with the Alliance, they got your distress call and sent a rescue party. Our orders are rescue and take you to Arcturus station. And yeah the geth is with us. Thanks for not shooting him by the way." The turian answered.

"You mean it." Tali corrected again. She wasn't sure if it was her or if the galaxy had gone insane. She had fight alongside Garrus against the geth just a few months prior, didn't he understood the menace the geth represented.

Garrus merely shrugged. "It, he. It makes no difference. We call EDI a she, so it made sense to-" before he could continue, he was interrupted by Tali.

"EDI? Who is that?"

"Right…you haven't been told."

"Haven't been told what?" She asked crossing her arms.

"Well the Normandy has gotten a few upgrades. One being she's gotten a new AI installed." He answered.

Tali shook her head. "I'm I the only one, who doesn't trust those machines?" She asked no one in particular.

"Well, Joker feels the same way. Maybe both of you can bond over the subject. Who knows maybe you'll find a thing or two in common." He coyly told her.

"That's not funny." She said sternly.

At that moment Garrus receive a transmission from the Normandy. "Garrus have you found the quarians yet?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah and that's not all. We have also found Tali."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. Garrus grinned at what he imagined Shepard's face must be right now. "Garrus right now you have a contingent of geth moving your way and the shuttle can't land on your position, too much inference from the geth. You'll have to make your way back to the landing zone and…Garrus make sure to keep her safe. She's in your hands now."

"You got it Shepard. I won't fail you." He faced Tali and reading her like a book, said "That was Shepard and apparently we managed to piss of a lot of geth because we've got a lot of them heading our way. Admiral, Legion and the drone will stay with you and provide support if any get past us. Legion can detect geth signals and help you take out any that try to flank us. My team and I will engage the geth head on and clear a way for you. Once it's clear I'll radio you." Garrus seemed as a natural leader, easily recognizing a threat and devising a strategy to deal with it.

"As you wish. Keep in mind we have a few wounded, so our pace may be slower than yours." Koris stated.

Garrus nodded his head. In fact he'd be more surprised if they didn't sustain any casualties. He didn't dismiss their fight capacity, but he knew their weak-immune systems made them weak and forced them to fight ideally through orbit strikes.

"I'm coming with you." Tali stated. Knowing her stubbornness, Garrus agreed to bring her along.

Old drilling outpost

"Garrus, I have scanned the ruins, but I am unable to give you an accurate number on the geth in the area. However, I have detected three dropships than a full platoon. That being said, this is a geth planet, and reinforcements or patrols maybe on their way. I suggest moving carefully to engage them in small numbers." EDI may not be loved by Tali, but even she begrudgingly admitted the AI's value.

"Thanks EDI. We'll try to do that. Can you give us a layout of the area for us?" Ashley asked.

"Only partially, but I am unable to determine the best course for you to move towards. The atmospheric anomaly is interfering with my scanners. The instability of the planet's star has deteriorated the magnetosphere of Haestrom, and this will cause direct sunlight to damage your shields. I suggest moving through shadows to minimize damage."

"Thanks for the information EDI. Over and out." Ashley took point and assessed her soundings. She had a clear view of a canyon to the left of them and a few paths EDI marked. She waved her team forward, and they began to move down a large ramp overlooking the area.

"You place too much trust on machines." Javik commented, holding his pulse rifle close to his chest.

"This one agrees with the great enkindler. Oh wise one, how may this humble servant serve you?" Blasto asked. Javik was warned about the hanar species obsession with Protheans, but even he didn't think it was this bad. It was almost as bad as the asari's.

"Leave me in peace!" Javik demanded. Almost fed up with the hanar's speech and excess politeness.

"As the great one wishes." The hanar seemed to bow in response and decided to leave Javik alone for the time being, much to Javik's satisfaction.

"The sun is really messing with my shields Garrus. EDI wasn't joking. If we only had more titan armor this wouldn't be a problem." Ashley commented.

"At least we get to fight in the shade…and besides the extra weight would slow us down" Garrus's sarcasm was clear, and Tali laughed a little while Javik simply huffed. "Look up ahead, looks like an old mining camp. Let's head over there. We'll have lost of cover and maybe it'll have a map we can use to get back to the LZ."

The five of them made their way off the camp and towards the camp. They found a few destroyed geth hunters along the way. "I have a bad feeling about this." Ashley muttered under her breath

Garrus couldn't blame her. He was having the exact same feeling as they passed the entrance of the camp. From the looks of it, it appeared as if this was once a oil mining camp. Rusted rigs and drilling equipment laid around the camp, discarded and left to rot. They came upon an old uplink that seemed somewhat refurnished. "Tali, hack into that terminal and see what we can find."

"You got it, Garrus." Tali fiddled for a few moments at the controls and was pleasantly rewarded with a shock. "Ouch!" She squealed, holding her hand to ease the pain. "Stupid bosh'tet machine." However, the team was disheartened to see an object flying towards them very fast.

"Dropship, everyone get to cover!" Garrus was yelling as all five were already diving behind some stone pillars that had been left behind by the quarians. Just as they reached the pillars, half a dozen geth plafroms slammed into the ground with clouds of dust and debris flying around as the dropship whizzed by overhead . Through the clouds, they could see the ominous lights of the geths' heads come to life and looked straight at them.

Pulse rounds flew around their cover, creating their distinct laser-like sound. The first geth was foolish enough to come charging at them, only to be greeted by a Pulse rifle from a few feet away.

"Stupid primitive machine. You clearly do not know the strength of the protheans!" Javik leapy up and threw a lift grenade at another platform that had foolishly separated itself from the others. The lift grenade burst, and the geth was lifted into the air and promptly destroyed.

"Tali when I drained their shields, you hack them alright?" Garrus asked the quarian next to him.

She gave a nod and Garrus leapt up from cover and emptied an entire thermal clip into the closest geth, shattering its shields. Tali immediately hacked into the geth's subroutines and overrode its IFF. The platform immediately began firing on its own, weakening the shields of another platform, before it was destroyed.

A geth tried to flank the team, however before it could suppress them, Ashley put a sniper round through its head causing it to drop onto the ground. She immediately took aim of another platfrom and dropped it in a similar fashion. Before she got cocky, she was brought back to reality when the rough feeling of a shotgun blast hitting her shields made her stumble back. "Damn that hurts. Garrus, I can use some help over here." She looked over to her right and saw the last two geth moving to their position with rocket launchers in hand and ready to fire.

Suddenly a massive barrage of rounds shredded through the geths' shields. They were peppered with several holes as they dropped onto the ground. Ashley looked to her left and saw Blasto holding four assault rifles. "This one has told you that this one is combat efficient." The politeness in his tone was easily notable.

"Everyone okay?" Garrus called out. He received various nods and affirmatives. The team looked around and saw that the geth had been beaten…momentarily. Before they had a chance to regain their breaths, Garrus noticed with the zoom of his visor that more platforms were moving on the far end of the opening they were in. "Oh crap…more geth, coming in from the other side! We should try to hold up in that building over there!" Garrus yelled, motioning over to a two-story building a few meters ahead of them. "They'll have to cross through the sunlight to reach us and we can pick them off. Ashley I want you up on that watchtower next to the building."

"You got it, Garrus." Letting her training take over, she ran towards the watchtower sniper rifle in hand.

The team moved in pairs. Blasto and Tali ran first, Garrus and Javik providing covering fire. They shot at the geth to help draw attention away from Blasto and Tali. Javik pelted the platforms with his assault rifle, downing their shields for Garrus to pick off with his sniper. It worked with several platforms, but they seemed to be making little progress on their enemies' numbers.

Once Tali and Blasto managed to reach the building, Tali gave a signal for Javik and Garrrus to follow. Moving up the trail, the duo were forced to take cover behind some stacked crates as the all too familiar sound of a geth spitfire preparing to fire was soon heard. Like a chainsaw on wood, the geth destroyer fired its spitfire cutting through crates, walls, and stones. "Dammit, Ashley can you get a shot at that thing?" Garrus was barking orders as he unloaded a full clip blind-firing from his cover just to keep the geth from storming their position.

The sound of Ashley's sniper rifle firing Garrus's answer. Still he knew it would take far too long to drain its shields and destroy it. "As soon as it begins reloading, we'll fire everything we have. Clips, grenades, concussion shots, everything."

Javik nodded his head. As soon as the destroyer had to reload its rifle, Javik and Garrus both leapt from cover and held the triggers on their rifles, aiming at the black geth that was getting too close for comfort. They fired two concussion shots, and a grenade, but the majority of the damage was absorbed by geth regulars. They seemed to be acting as a mechanical wall, providing protection for the larger geth platform. The duo were less than thrilled to see that its shields didn't collapse and Garrus ducked back into cover as he exhausted another clip and Javik did the same as his rifle needed to cool off.

"Ashley take that thing out now!" Garrus was scrambling to load a new thermal clip, trying at least to stall the geth before it got too close or else the spitfire would turn them all to Swiss cheese.

Ashley knew what to do. she didn't hesitate for a moment, on top of the watchtower sniper rifle at the ready, she pulled the trigger sending a bullet into the geth. It shattered its shields as it continued into the head of the platform. The geth destroyer fell like a pillar towards the ground.

At the same time a rocket was fired from a geth rocket trooper's hands, the rocket sped across the air towards her. She ducked as the rocket missed her head by only a few feet, impacting a building far behind her. She didn't even have time to savor her victory, as multiple troopers came up the opposing ramp and began peppering her with pulse rounds, carving through her shields as though they didn't have full power.

Tali and Blasto took advantage of the distraction and managed to fire concentrated bursts of fire towards the geth. While Blasto suppressed them, Tali activated her combat drone and began harassing the geth.

Garrus and Javik both ran towards the building as the geth momentarily lost interest in them. Sprinting at full speed, they managed to reach the building just as the geth refocused their fire on them. Diving back into cover, Garrus and Javik managed to keep them from advancing by firing wildly into the geth line. While the others were firing at the geth with their assault rifles, Garrus took the opportunity and used them as a distraction. Peeking around his wall, he fired off two quick shots from his rifle, serving the head of one geth and punching a hole through another's chest. Both platforms dropped to the ground, cutting their numbers.

"Ashley, can you give me another distraction like the last one? I can drop a few more!" Garrus yelled into his communicator over the noise of multiple rifles, snapping his head back as a few rounds impacted the stone near his face.

"Negative Garrus, they got me pinned down. I can barely get a visual." She replied

Garrus cursed. "I think maybe we should've taken Legion with us." He said as he threw a frag towards the geth, making them scatter.

"Then the quarians would be helpless against the machines." Javik told him.

Garrus then received a message from Shepard through his communicator. "Garr…, the ar… is ….ing to… hot. Mul… th…com… re… de…ding on...our …cat…. I've…ent…drews to…ck up the… rian…am. I've…nt…oth… shut… to… u… up. ET… …ht…utes. Out." The static interference prevented Garrus from hearing anything.

"Shepard, its Garrus. Can you repeat that? We're getting radio interference." Garrus could only hope that Shepard could understand his message.

"I…aid….th….you…" Before Garrus could even begin understanding the message, the his radio went dead.

Garrus swore at the predicament that they were in. They had a geth platoon sized force and to make matters worse the long-range comms weren't working.

"What's wrong?" Tali asked.

"The long-range communicators aren't working! And I have no idea what Shepard was trying to tell me." He replied.

"Probably wanted to remind you to stay alive." Ashley chastised as she fired her sniper rifle, managing to shatter the shields of a geth at the cost of her own.

"Then we'll have to keep fighting. What are your orders turian?" Javik asked, purposefully ignoring calling him by his name and instead choosing to call him by his species name.

"Alright here is the plan. Javik and I are going to run straight at them. We'll use the crates as cover. When we draw their fire, Ashley will pick them off with her sniper rifle. Tali, I want you and Blasto to suppress them as much as possible. Everyone got it?"

The nods and the series of confirmations signaled Garrus that they got the plan. Both Garrus and Javik both readied their weapons and made sure that their shield and barrier were fully charged. Garrus turned to Tali next, checking to see if she and the hanar were ready. "Ready when you are, Garrus. Let's remind these geth what happened last time they pissed us off." Garrus smirked at the thought, remembering all those geth they had sent straight to hell during their hunt for Balak.

"Garrus raised a hand, three fingers extended as he counted down. "On my go…three…two…one…go!" Garrus and Javik sprinted forward, drawing fire from multiple geth platforms in a perfectly executed maneuver. Neither even groaned from the impact of multiple phasic rounds. The offensive caught the geth off guard and didn't have time to recover.

With the geth foolishly focusing on the duo, Tali and Blasto both leapt from their cover and began firing at the preoccupied targets. They each fired in quick succession, Tali dropping three as Blasto eclipse her with five kills. The final two platforms managed to evade them, turning to run back the way they came.

Sadly for them, they failed to remember the sniper that stood guard for any targets of opportunity. They were both quickly decorated with one large hole into their bodies as Ashley fired off two rounds.

The team celebrated. Happy with the outcome of the battle…for now. Above them the familiar sound of a Blue jay shuttle arriving was heard, however for the team that wasn't the only thing arriving. Crashing through the walls of several buildings the familiar sound and figure was heard.

"EVERYONE FALL BACK!" Garrus yelled as both he and Javik made a run for it. Appearing out of nowhere, standing at 15 feet tall was a geth Colossus.

It immediately target Garrus and Javik as it trained its pulse cannon on them. It fired, cutting a path through the ground as it lunged towards Javik and Garrus. They both rolled to their left to avoid its destructive power. Tali and Blasto both fired on the geth, which merely ignored them. It appeared as if it analyzed the battle prior and judge that Garrus and Javik were the most dangerous and thus prioritized them as targets.

"Get down!" Garrus dove towards Javik as the Colossus fired again. The canon narrowly missed them, depleting their shields as debris was thrown everywhere.

Ashley began firing at the immense geth with her sniper rifle, hoping to drop its shields. Five shots were fired off in consecutive fashion before she had to reload. Loading in another clip, she once again took aim at the geth and through the scope, her eyes widened.

The geth trained its cannon directly on her…and fired. Time seemed to slow down as her entire life seemed to unfold directly in front of her before being engulfed in a bright light.

"ASHLEY!" Garrus screamed at the top of his lungs. He was paralyzed as he was met with silence and the scene before him. Where once Ashley stood on the watch tower, was merely ash and rubble.

The Colossus target Garrus once more, but before it could fire dozen of bullets pinged off its shields. It began searching for the source of the barrage and it found it…in the air. A Blue jay shuttle appeared overhead and it fired its Tesla cannon, shattering its shields.

"Garrus, you both may want to steer clear." The familiar voice of Andrews was heard through his communicator. Both Garrus and Javik took the opportunity to put as much distance between them and the Colossus as they possibly could. Satisfied that the ground team was now outside danger close, Andrews fired four of the shuttles air to ground missiles. The combined blast was too much for the Colossus' armor and as a result was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Once the Colossus had been dealt with, Andrews landed the shuttle in the courtyard. "Hurry up and get in. We don't have all day!" He ordered them.

The team hurried into the shuttle, and once all the members were on the shuttle took off into space to rendezvous with the Normandy.

"Andrews we need to pick up-" Garrus began, before he was cut-off.

"Already picked up the quarian survivors. The whole place seems to be overrun with geth. I guess they didn't want you to leave the planet."

"Garrus, are you there?' The voice of Shepard was heard all over the speakers of the shuttle. Garrus cringed at the thought of informing him that one of their closest friends was dead. Dead…because of him.

"Yeah, Shepard I'm here." He responded.

Shepard sighed. "That's good to hear. I thought that the geth might've reached you before Andrews."

Garrus swallowed a lump in his throat. "Shepard,..we….I." No matter how much he tried, he couldn't find the strength to tell Shepard the grave news.

"Garrus, is everything alright."

"Shepard, she's dead. Ashley she's gone." He finally said as he hung his head in shame, the rest of the ground team didn't say a word, not knowing what to say.

"Garrus, I'm sorry. I'm sure you did what you could, but don't take it too hard. It wasn't your fault." Shepard tried to comfort his long-time friend.

"Not my fault?" Garrus asked his voice rising. "Shepard, she is dead because of ME! I lead them to the camp, I made the decision to leave Legion with the quarians, I ordered her up the watchtower! SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME!" He yelled into the comms, the shuttle became deathly quiet. If someone were to drop a pin, it could've been heard throughout the shuttle at that moment.

Shepard hesitated in saying anything, before deciding to leave well enough alone. "Garrus when the shuttle docks with the Normandy, I want to talk to you in my cabin. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, captain." Garrus replied, intentionally using Shepard's rank rather than his name. Suddenly a rift had been created between Garrus and the team. Only time will tell if it could ever be fixed.

The rest of the ride continued in silence. Even Javik decided to stay quiet than to mention that soldiers die all the time and that it was their purpose. To Javik, the galaxy at large should understand loss and fear or else when the Reapers arrived they would be ill-equipped.