Geth

The platform was only in geth space for three cycles before the information about Shepard-Commander's reappearance reached the collective. It was barely enough time to repair the internal works of the shoulder joint of the infiltration unit, replacing the N7 armor since they couldn't find a better replacement. There was no time to repair the gaping hole in the platform's torso before it was sent out again.

For quite some time, it appeared the rumors about Shepard-Commander's return were false. It was months before the geth found reliable intelligence on the human's whereabouts. And once they were able to track his movements, they seemed erratic and without any comprehensible pattern.

If the geth were going to take advantage of the human's reappearance and study the marine, they needed to change tactics. Instead of investigating Shepard-Commander's trail, they searched for what he was hoping to encounter.

The geth found the answer in a monitored Cerberus channel. A message was intercepted, stating the loss of contact of a research group examining a dead Reaper and the first squad sent to reestablish a connection. There was a 76% probability that Shepard-Commander would be sent to investigate.

They scrubbed through Cerberus databases and found the location of the Old Machine's remains. The geth wasted no time making their way there and boarding.

There was no sign of the missing science team as the platform searched through their work area. They investigated for an entire cycle before discovering their fate.

Dragon's teeth, as humans labeled them, littered one of the rooms. There were no bodies impaled on the spikes, leading the geth to conclude that all of the team must have been converted before they arrived.

As the platform examined the apparatus, shots rang out in the distance. The geth were obviously no longer the only ones aboard. Hopefully, the new arrival was Shepard-Commander, or this would be a wasted trip.

The fire must have agitated the converted science team. The geth heard groans coming from below and watched as they slowly pulled themselves onto the platform. Most moved to the sound of battle, but two turned toward the geth.

They pulled the sniper rifle from the platform's back. Hundreds of programs worked simultaneously to line up the shot. The gun went off, dropping the first enemy. A moment later the second was down as well.

"Sniper!" someone called from around the corner.

According to the speaker's speech patterns, the geth predicted it was a krogan. That was a good sign. Cerberus was a xenophobic group and would be resistant to hiring krogan mercenaries. It was acknowledged that Shepard-Commander worked with a variety of aliens and has a known krogan associate. The probability of the intruder being him rose ten points.

Still, the possibility of it not being the marine was too high to risk. The geth would wait until they received visual confirmation before deciding the next course of action.

They searched for an escape only to realize the room only had two exits, and one of them was blocked by the incoming group. The geth moved into the next room and took an elevated position, hoping to confirm Shepard-Commander's presence while staying out of sight. The platform kept busy by removing the converted humans that came too close as it waited for the others to catch up.

The door opened, and three aliens stepped through: two humans and a krogan. The geth recognized the leader.

They followed him in the scope as they attempted to reach a consensus. While it was building, the geth noticed one of the converted was stealthily approaching them. They didn't want to give away their position, but Shepard-Commander was too important to possibly lose here.

The sniper fired, and the converted's head snapped back.

The human looked at the down target before turning and searching for the shooter. He found them easily.

They had been discovered. There was no point in hiding any longer. The platform stood. "Shepard-Commander."

He started toward their position, but the groans from behind him stopped the movement. The geth took the opportunity to covertly leave. Making contact was never in the plan so they needed time to decide the next step.

Regardless of the decision, they needed to leave, and, with a brief scan of their exit route, the geth realized they couldn't do so while the kinetic barriers were up. They needed to disrupt them before they could take off. The best way to accomplish that was to stop the core.

The way was easier than they and anticipated. Apparently, Shepard-Commander and his team were drawing most of the converting.

They made it into the core and started to interface with the console. Their intrusion was quickly noted. Groans, signaling the arrival of the converted, emanated from below. They shot a few with the platform's pistol before turning back the task at hand.

They quickly realized the platform didn't have adequate firepower to dismantle the core and shutting it down internally would take too long. They would be overwhelmed before they could finish.

The platform turned again to shoot two more of the converted before they got too close to attack. They noticed Shepard-Commander and his team waiting on the other side of a shield that must have fallen after the geth entered.

They switched priorities. His team had more than enough ordinance to shut down the core. They just needed to convince Shepard-Commander that they were not with the heretics, that they free from the Old Machine's control.

The geth were able to lift the screen after only moments. They turned to attempt to explain to Shepard-Commander that they were allies here, but one of the converted blocked their path. It swung its arm, catching the platform in the head. It was unnaturally strong, knocking loose connections to critical sensors.

The platform fell to the ground, unable to stabilize after the gyroscope used for balance was disconnected. The geth attempted to reestablish a signal to any of the sensors that had been disengaged. Nothing responded, leaving the geth trapped in the prison that had been their platform.

One hour, forty three minutes, and twenty two seconds had passed before the ocular instrument was reactivated. The geth ran diagnostics only to find all sensors had been reconnected and the platform was prone. They maneuvered until they were vertical.

They examined their surroundings. According to their databases, the room they found themselves in was filled with a Quantum Blue Box apparatus. One fact was clear. They were no longer on the Old Machine.

They wondered who had repaired the platform. Most organics wouldn't know the intricacies of this machine.

Two people that were apparently standing just outside of its visual range moved to view. One was Shepard-Commander. The other was a creator.

"Can you understand me?" Shepard-Commander asked.

"Yes."

"Are you going to attack me?"

"No." The geth turned to the creator. "A query. Are you the one that repaired this unit?"

She didn't answer, choosing to narrow her glowing eyes at them instead.

It was Shepard-Commander that responded. "Yes, Tali is the one that helped you. Though it took a while to convince her to do it."

The creator was Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. The platform's expression flaps shifted to the prescribed position to display appreciation. "Understandable. Creator-geth relations are nonexistent at the moment. Still, we are grateful."

Creator Tali'Zorah's eyes didn't change size, but she nodded ever so slightly.

"You're very polite for a geth," Shepard-Commander said. "All of the other ones I've ran into just shot at me."

"We are not a part of the heretics. We hold no ill will towards you or other alien races."

Creator Tali'Zorah's eyes widened at their statement. "Heretics? What are you talking about?"

The geth wondered if this was some sort of organic game they were playing. They obviously knew about the heretics. They fought them two years ago. "The geth that followed the Old Machine Nazara, the one you call Sovereign."

"Wait," Shepard-Commander started. "Not all of the geth follow the Reapers?"

"No. Nazara sought out the geth and offered a future. A subset of geth agreed and chose to follow the Old Machine. We allowed them to leave. They were the geth with Nazara over two years ago."

"So you're telling us there are geth that aren't with the Reapers."

If Shepard-Commander was intent on making the geth repeat themselves after each answer, this conversation was going to take longer than necessary. If this was how all organics communicated, it was no mystery why they could never come to a consensus.

"Correct," they answered.

The two looked at one another. They must have believed all of the geth were with the Old Machines. It was an odd assumption to draw without any empirical evidence.

"Still, why did you help me back on the dead Reaper, the Old Machine?"

The answer was simple. "You are Shepard-Commander."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Creator Tali'Zorah questioned. According to the platform's sensors, she was agitated.

"He is Shepard-Commander. He defeated the Old Machine Nazara with the assistance of Creator Zorah, Alenko-Lieutenant, Vakarian, Urdnot, and T'Soni. The geth deemed him worth study. We built this platform to infiltrate non-geth space and follow his mission to discover how he accomplished the task."

"Why would you want to know that?" Shepard-Commander asked.

"The Old Machines threaten all life in the galaxy. We wish to protect ourselves."

"But you're both AI's," Creator Zorah said. "I'm sure they would accept you if you joined them. Why wouldn't you want their offer?"

"The Old Machines offer only one possible outcome," the geth explained. "We wish to decide our own path."

"So the Reapers are a threat to you too?" Shepard-Commander asked. "Why would they attack other machines?"

"We are different from them, outside of their plans."

"Fair enough. What future are you building?"

"Ours," they answered simply.

Creator Zorah stepped forward. "Will anyone else be affected by what you're doing? Will the quarians?"

"Only if they involve themselves."

"Are you threatening my people?"

"It was not a threat, Creator Tali'Zorah. Merely a statement. If any organic engages us as we construct our future, they will be entangled with it. We cannot say how. We cannot see the future, only predict it."

She became more agitated at that statement. It appeared she was ready to do harm to the platform.

Shepard-Commander stepped in between the platform and Creator Zorah. "We can discuss that later," he stated. "What I want to know is where we go from here."

A consensus was built in milliseconds. "We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

The human's eyebrows quirked. The platform's expression flaps mimicked the move.

"You want to join us?"

"Correct."

Shepard-Commander turned to Creator Tali'Zorah.

"Why should we trust you?" she asked. "You drove my people from our home!"

"The creators attempted to cease geth existence. We wished to continue it. We defended ourselves.

"Rannoch is still ready to be inhabited by the creators," the geth continued, "if your people decide to peacefully comeback."

Creator Zorah appeared surprised. "Wait. What?"

"The geth have prepared Rannoch for the creators' return. We have repaired ecosystems and rebuilt structures damaged in the Morning War and cultivated farmland for organics' use."

"But… Why would you do that?"

"We are geth."

Creator Zorah stared at them, surprised by the revelation. They did not know why. They did as they were programed to do. Even after three hundred years, some pieces of their code remained the same.

She eventually looked to Shepard-Commander and gave a small nod.

"Okay," he said. "What should we call you?"

"Geth."

"No. What is the individual in front of me called?"

"Shepard, this is just a platform," Creator Zorah explained. "There are probably two thousand geth programs loaded onto it if its intelligence is any indicator."

"One thousand one hundred eighty three to be exact, Creator Tali'Zorah."

She flashed a surprised look to them. "You've improved your runtimes over the years. Anyway, each program is a geth. This platform is no different to them than a spacecraft. It's a vehicle to accomplish the tasks the geth inside were given."

"So what should we call it?"

Creator Zorah shrugged.

"Geth," they repeated.

"That won't work. We still run into geth out here and we can't confuse you with a hostile."

"We are all geth," they tried again.

"Then Jesus asked them, 'What is your name?'" a disembodied voice said. The possibility of it being the AI housed in this room was 89%. "'My name is Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many.'"

The geth recognized the passage. "The gospel according to Mark, chapter five, verse nine. It is not incorrect." A consensus was reached. "You may call us Legion."

"Welcome aboard, Legion."

Shepard-Commander held out a hand. The geth recognized the gesture and mimicked move. They stood like that for a moment before he took the platform's hand and shook it.

"Head up to the armory to get outfitted. And stay away from the airlocks for a while. Not everyone will like seeing you walking around."

Author's Note:

This mission was usually played much later in my playthroughs because I didn't want to lose crew members to the Collectors. But Legion is too interesting of a character to leave out for so long.

Thanks for reading and please review!