Normandy docked to the Citadel and Shepard was about to leave with Daniel to the Huerta memorial hospital when Legion wanted to join them.
"Shepard-commander, I'd like to help in a manner of watching over Daniel."
"I'm not quite sure it would be a good idea. If everybody sees a Geth walking around the Citadel, it could get us attention."
"Then I assume it's normal to see human in advanced stage of transformation into a husk." Shepard frowned as Legion said that.
"Legion? When did you learn to be sarcastic?" Shepard asked and Legion stood with hands behind his back.
"Combination of logical paradox and personal instinct allowed me to comprehend a common situation and sense some irrationality that could be only answered with response of the adequate manner."
"Sounds like the machine has got you trolled, captain!" Joker laughed from his seat. Shepard gazed back at Legion.
"Listen, Legion. I know you are concerned, but I cannot let you just roam around the Citadel while there are many races that could possibly take you as threat. Therefore, I cannot let you go with us."
"Hey Legion, don't worry, I'll be back soon." Daniel smiled and Legion nodded.
"I'll wait down in the life support." Legion said and left. Shepard and Daniel escaped the deck of Normandy and headed right towards the elevator which would lead them to the hospital. People on the Citadel were looking at Daniel like he was intruder. Well, it was rare to see human with half of body transformed in horrible creature with no hair. Although there was Shepard and Daniel tried to ignore those people, it wasn't nice feeling to know that all eyes were looking at him. Soon they were in the elevator and Shepard didn't want silence to take over the atmosphere.
"So…" Shepard started to speak, "now that there is a little time, how did you and Legion get to find each other?" he asked and Daniel tried to remember.
"Remember after we recovered those blueprints of project Soma? You told me what happened to Renok. I wasn't sure if I could continue when I met Renok so quickly and lost him the same way…"
"I noticed you are quite hypersensitive, Dan. I mean, you almost shot yourself because of how you look. If Legion wasn't there, there would be unnecessary death. What's the deal? I saw one autist before but he wasn't that melancholic as you."
"Well, Shepard, you're right. I'm hypersensitive. My life wasn't funny ever since the beginning. Since I was born, there were always trouble with me. Children didn't like me, I loved things in order. I was silent, I loved silence and peace. They didn't like it and so I was bullied in my early age of elementary school." Daniel explained and Shepard smiled.
"I can understand that. When people see that somebody is different, it always means evil to them if they don't try to comprehend."
"So yeah, I got bullied pretty much through all the elementary school so I exchanged five of those…" Daniel said and Shepard raised his eyebrows, "I know, crazy, but despite the fact I changed schools, I was constantly afraid of noise and people. People started to cause me tremendous anxiety so there I started to isolate myself. I didn't go to trips, didn't travel abroad, didn't see anyone and never found myself anybody… everything had its psychosomatic impacts on my digestive system like diarrhea or compulsion to vomit. Isolation and solitude was my only assurance and friend."
"How about high school, university and jobs? What happened later?"
"After I left the elementary school I thought I will meet people more intelligent if they were going to study high school or grammar school – of course, I was wrong. They were smoking, drinking liquor, didn't take any responsibility serious and knowledge was nothing for them. They only needed some paper showing they completed a level of education. My high school studies from 2012 to 2016 were nothing more than just depressions."
"Depressions? Didn't you say that isolation was helping you?"
"Yes. I am autist, but I was forced to become at least somehow normal for society so I started to notice something… As I realized my fear of people, the anxieties and how foreign society was for me, I saw I wasn't capable of normal work. I just got depressions, being worried about my own future and the depressions weren't getting better in time, it was only getting worse…"
"And the university?"
"Once I attended the university, there wasn't much to be worried about. I met interesting people and realized I belonged there. However, the year 2020 came and it was very tragic year, not for me though."
"What happened?"
"Studies proved in 2013 that year 2020 will be full of suicides. The main reason for suicides were depressions and I wasn't surprised. With technologies progressing and everything becoming faster, mentality couldn't handle pressure and stress. Shepard, there isn't much more I can tell. You know that since 2025 I was dormant in cryo-stasis. I just want to say, loneliness, solitude and continuous fear do things to you. You tell yourself it will be better as it is, but it just tries to pull you down into a darkness. It eats away the good within you until there is nothing left…"
"You sound to be glad for being here then."
"I cannot say everything would be perfect, but I can see that it's much more stable than it was in my times. Legion came to me when I was trying to drown my sorrow in liquor. Renok was gone, I wanted to drink myself to death and then Legion showed me that he wasn't just machine. I protested, shouted, wanted him to kill me but he didn't do it. He just held my arms and obviously wanted me to act first so I did and instantly fell onto Legion's chest in cry."
"Legion was behaving strange since he saw you for the first time. It was obvious you two were going to share something. If you want my opinion, I think you will be happy with Legion."
"Thank you, Shepard." Daniel nodded and the elevator stopped.
"Before we go… do you understand that you cannot have sex with the Geth? They don't mate."
"I… maybe, Shepard. Legion is unique and he tries to learn so much about habits of organics. He is self-aware, he has emotions… you never know, Shepard. Maybe he will find a way." Daniel said and with Shepard went in the hospital. Something was different about the hospital itself. There weren't many asari, salarians and turians. The hospital was full of krogans. Many and many krogan warriors were lying on medical berths and connected to life support machines which supplied them with water.
The door to each room were all marked with red light signalizing quarantine.
"What is… happening?" Shepard asked.
"Shepard? What are these aliens?"
"There are krogans but… why are they all here?" Shepard asked and then a door to another part of hospital opened, angry krogan walking behind a salarian main doctor and yelling at him.
"First you and turians destroy chance of krogans to have children with your genophage and now you bring this cursed disease on us! Are you trying to annihilate us?!" the krogan growled and Shepard recognized that look of his. The krogan noticed Shepard and stopped yelling, "Shepard! Shepard, you're here!"
"Grunt!" Shepard answered and Grunt with the salarian main doctor came to Shepard.
"Shepard! Man it's been a long time! Glad to see you!"
"It's good to see you're holding yourself better than these krogans here."
"Commander Shepard. Maelon. I don't think you would remember me but you saved me when Mordin Solus was about to shoot me on Tuchanka." Said the salarian doctor.
"Maelon, right. What are you doing here?"
"Well… after Mordin Solus eh… went away from us, I was called to lead the research facility."
"Hey, Shepard. Who's that incomplete husk behind you?" Grunt pointed at Daniel who was hiding behind Shepard.
"Him? Oh… don't take him wrong, Grunt. He's not used to see so many krogans yet. His name is Daniel and… well that's why we're here. Maelon, could you help us with his husk transformation?" Shepard asked and Maelon came closer to look at Daniel.
"Hmm… this doesn't look nice. Please, follow me down to the laboratories…" Maelon said and they all left down to the laboratories where Daniel was set to a scanner. Maelon made scan of him to discover what was wrong.
"Yes. It seems that his immunity resists to accept genes of husk as their own. It's good for him, but it only buys us some time." Maelon explained, "I can make an antidote, but it will take time."
"Good. That's what I wanted to know… now, Grunt, why are there so many krogans here?"
"You better ask the doctor himself. He knows more than I." Grunt said and Shepard looked at Maelon.
"All these krogans in the hospital are suffering from strange disease. We don't know what exactly it is but it's extremely aggressive."
"What does it do?"
"Symptoms start with regular fever, sore throat and muscle pain. Nothing that could not be cured with antibiotics but at some point it rapidly escalates into vomiting, diarrhea, internal and external bleeding. We cannot classify this disease but we're working on cure."
"Hemorrhagic fever…" Daniel said and the other three looked at him.
"What did you say?" Maelon asked.
"The symptoms you said… I know this disease. Back on Earth, this fever causing bleeding is called a hemorrhagic fever. Nobody knew how to cure it and many people died there. As I noticed, you keep these krogans rehydrated which is only good. The fever dehydrates and refilling with fluids only increases chances of survival."
"How long does it take before it gets contagious?"
"The incubation period is from 2 to 21 days… but I'm talking about one specific disease. I cannot be certain. All I know is that when our people on Earth practiced an autopsy on dead body, they found out that all what was left of liver was bloody mash."
"You're got us valuable information… is there anything else?"
"No, that's pretty much I know."
"Maelon, we can wait for you to make cure, for this fever and for Daniel's transformation. Then we'll head for Tuchanka and spread the cure to other krogans." Shepard said and Grunt placed hand on his shoulder.
"Not leaving without me, Shepard. Wrex wants to see you!"
"How did krogan get the fever?" Daniel asked.
"Stupid salarian scientist arrived at Tuchanka to do some research… soon he was dead, died according to what you said about the disease and then the epidemic started." Grunt explained and Daniel frowned, thinking how could this hemorrhagic fever get to salarians.