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Loyalty and Limerence
Part 3
Chapter 13
Rannoch
Garrus paced before the pod, his footsteps echoing through the eerie, dark space. The room was otherwise silent but for the hum of far off machines, just loud enough to buzz faintly in Garrus ears, making his plates crawl as he was reminded of the seeker swarms of the Collectors.
Nearby, James sat on a low divider, his foot taping to a tune Garrus didn't recognize. He stopped his pacing and gazed up into the pod, but Jane remained unmoving. Her eyes were shut, her expression even more blank and emotionless than when she slept, and it unnerved him. He couldn't rip his mind away from the image of David Archer suspended against his will, forcibly networked with the geth. Shivering, Garrus wrenched the thoughts away. That had been different, even if the technology was related.
"Jane, what's your status?" Garrus jumped as their comm broke the silence. He hesitated for a moment before responding.
"Everything is fine so far, Shepard. Jane is, er- Well, she's in the collective with Legion. I think." Honestly, Garrus had very little understanding of how any of it worked. All he knew was that he didn't like it.
"She's in the what?" Shepard asked sharply, his own confusion and anxiety evident. Garrus fumbled with how to explain to their Commander that his sister's consciousness was currently not within her body. Or was it? The questions and what-ifs churned in his stomach. How had Legion phrased it?
"Apparently 'direct virtual interface' was necessary to remove the geth from the server so that we can disable the fighter squadrons." Garrus explained slowly, and there was a moment of silence as Shepard digested the statement.
"Wait, so she's within the server itself? She's digitally interacting with the geth?" Shepard's voice had an edge, his displeasure with the situation evident.
"Yeah."
"That's insane!" Tali's voice broke into the conversation, despite having remained aboard the Normandy. "You're talking about a virtual world built for synthetics. Hostile geth synthetics!" Garrus wondered if she, too, was remembering Project Overlord. Then again, most quarians had a healthy wariness of the geth, even if she was more friendly with them than most thanks to Legion.
"I know, I know." Garrus sighed as he turned to gaze up toward Jane's imobile body again. "But you try talking sense into her next time. See how far you get."
"Point taken. If it saves the liveships, then hopefully it's worth it. Just watch out for her while she's in there." Shepard said with trepidation, and Garrus nodded even though no one could see him but James.
"Will do." He replied, and they cut the connection. His eyes met James' as he turned away from the pod, and they shared a nod before he returned to pacing.
The pod opened a minute later with very little warning. There was a click and a hiss as the door swung upwards, revealing a very dazed looking Jane. She seemed to notice them after a moment, recognition flashing in her eyes as they cleared. Shaking her head, she leaned forward, and Garrus offered her a hand as she steadied herself. Taking it, Jane lept from the pod, her feet landing heavily as she groaned.
"Jane, are you alright?" He asked hurriedly as James stood to join them, and she nodded as she released his hand and rolled her shoulders.
"Yeah, I think so. How long was I in there? I'm so stiff, I feel like I haven't moved in weeks." She began stretching her neck, wincing as it popped.
"A few hours, maybe two or three." She looked surprised as she blinked.
"Really? I figured it'd been at least a day."
"The sensation of time passes differently within the collective. Your time experienced within the server is different from time experienced by your companions without." They all turned to see Legion, its awareness also having been returned to its physical body.
"I see." Jane replied carefully, "So, did it work?"
"Geth fighters have been disabled." EDI replied quickly over the comm. "Any remaining squadrons attacking the liveships have withdrawn. The server is offline."
Despite her words of reassurance, the sounds of multiple pods snapping open echoed through the room, and Garrus' heart leapt into his throat as he quickly grabbed for his rifle.
"Are you sure?" Jane growled as her pistol came up to point at the nearest geth prime as it stepped from a pod, the light upon its head turning to focus on her. The geth all began stepping from their pods, and the reality of their situation settled into Garrus' gut. The sheer number of them was enough to make it a hopeless cause, they were never going to make it out alive.
His grip tightened on his rifle. He was sure as hell going to try anyway.
But as the moments dragged on, no weapons were raised toward them, no attacks were made, not even a single threatening movement. No alarm was raised, and nothing happened as the geth simply gazed at them with something akin to interest.
"What's happening?" Jane asked carefully, her pistol still drawn as she looked from geth to geth warily.
"We have transferred geth programs from the server into these platforms." Legion explained as a number of the primes assembled behind it, their stances still relaxed and at ease. Garrus whipped around as a handful of other primes stepped closer to stand just behind them, but they, too, made no move to attack. There was no sign of aggression whatsoever.
"Why?" Jane demanded, carefully eyeing the primes assembling on their flank before returning to glare at Legion. The lights illuminating the primes all flashed suddenly, flicking from red to blue in the blink of an eye, and they all moved to stand at attention. The posture looked odd coming from a geth, the show of respect out of place and alien.
"They wish to join us." Legion said simply, and Jane's weapon slowly lowered to her side.
"They what?" James' voice was slightly higher than usual as his eyes snapped from prime to prime, his rifle still raised. "That's crazy! Do you robots actually go crazy? 'Cause that's crazy!"
Legion quickly launched into an explanation, and slowly both Garrus and James lowered their rifles, though neither of them holstered them. Legion explained how the destruction of the Reaper's infection allowed it to convince the geth within the server to join it.
"You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?" Jane stated, less a question than an observation. After a slight hesitation, Legion nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We did not doubt you. We doubted your allies." There was the barest flick of its head upwards, and Garrus knew it was referring to the quarians in orbit above. It continued to attempt to explain its actions, but Jane slowly shook her head.
"I can understand not wanting to leave anyone behind." She gestured to the primes around them. "Legion, everything you showed me within the server – the Morning War, everything the geth have experienced…" With a sigh, she holstered her pistol, "I think I understand the geth better than I did before."
"You accept our actions?" Legion asked as though surprised by the lack of anger, and Jane nodded.
"The liveships are safe, and we have more geth on our side." She shrugged as though it were obvious. "We both did what we came to do."
"Jane, are you sure?" Garrus started sharply, but she quickly waved her hand in an attempt to dismiss his concern.
"Don't worry. I trust them." She turned back to Legion, who seemed to stand taller under her eye.
"Acknowledged."
"Glad to hear it." Turning, Jane strode off toward the exit. "Let's go." The primes shifted and moved to allow their passage unharassed, and Garrus hurried to catch up to her long strides. James and Legion followed after them with the primes trailing behind. "Remind me to warn Admiral Hackett he's got some primes coming." Jane chuckled dryly.
"The more the merrier." Garrus snorted, "The Reapers will put up a tough enough fight."
"We are aware." Legion chimed in from behind, and Garrus turned an amused eye on it. "Geth are capable of calculating odds of victory over the Old Machines."
"And what are the odds?" Garrus asked, wondering if he would regret the question. Legion was silent for a moment as they turned down another passage, nearing the exit. Garrus wondered if the pause was because they were calculating the odds, or if it was just a hesitation before delivering bad news.
"Better than they were before."
"Greeeat." Garrus all but groaned, his question answered. Perhaps it was best that Legion was refusing to answer with exact numbers. The situation was depressing enough as it was. Jane slapped him on the back, her smile bright but hard.
"Come on. Let's get back to the Normandy."
As they stood at the rendezvous point waiting for their pick up, the primes strode off toward a nearby facility where they planned to acquire transportation of their own. Jane watched them disappear over a ridge, a contemplative expression on her face. Garrus thought back to her mention of what she'd learned about the geth while within their collective, and he couldn't help but frown.
Jane had always had an interest in the geth and had always been quick to see them as living beings. He remembered her insistence that they not be rewritten back when they'd assisted Legion before the trip through the Omega 4 relay. She'd struck up a quick friendship with Legion and appeared almost fond of it, which seemed to extend to its people to some extent. Whatever she'd learned about them today, it had only cemented those feelings within her.
But it was no secret that her brother did not share those feelings. He held the quarians in very high esteem and had often spoken of his desire to help Tali with retaking her homeland. He'd never held the geth in very high regard even after learning that the geth that had followed Saren had been a small group of heretics. Discovering that they had requested assistance from the Reapers after being attacked by the quarians had done nothing to soften his views.
Garrus could feel a cold brick forming in his stomach. This war between the geth and the quarians was going to be resolved one way or another, and he just hoped it didn't end with each sibling standing on opposite sides. Garrus was only one man, and he couldn't side with both of them.
If push came to shove and he had to choose, what would he do? Where did his loyalties lie?
Garrus grinned as his fingers flashed across the Thanix cannon's controls. It had been a few hours since their return from the geth server, and he'd had time to rest up and get back to work, though it seemed like interruptions were going to be a constant issue. That wasn't to say the interruptions were unwelcome.
"Telemetry data indicates the calibration of Normandy's weapon accuracy can be improved by .32 percent." Legion's voice emanated from the comm, and Garrus thought he could almost hear a slight smugness to it.
"That's all? You can't squeeze .34 percent out of it?" He asked softly, his voice innocent as his grin grew wider.
"Negative. That threshold is not possible."
"You sure?" Garrus hit 'enter', and the code he'd been working on quickly finished compiling with a soft ding. "Take a look now." He knew perfectly well what it said, and he knew he wasn't imagining the astonishment in the geth's voice as it goggled at the .43 percent increase.
"How did you accomplish this?"
"A little secret we organics like to keep: always hold a little back for emergencies."
"Is our current situation an emergency?" Garrus didn't know what the geth equivalent of a raised brow was. Maybe it was moving around those little flaps around its light?
"A geth meddling with our computers, telling me how to do my job?" He scoffed as he struggled not to laugh, "Nah, I can't imagine that would qualify."
"Stop teasing it." Garrus spun to see Jane leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed and an amused look on her face. She pushed off and stepped into the room, and he smiled. "They still don't understand sarcasm very well, despite my best efforts. EDI, however, is coming along nicely."
"Thank you, Jane." They both jumped at the AI's sudden interruption, "I have sectioned off a portion of my processing power to be devoted to learning organic mannerisms, and I am pleased to report that it has only reduced the capabilities of the Normandy's weapons suite by .28 percent."
The statement was delivered with such sweet, innocent self-congratulation that it took a moment to sink it before hitting Garrus over the head like a brick.
"W-wait a moment! EDI, you can't be serious!" He stammered, indignant outrage battling with math calculations for space in his brain as his eyes widened. "I work on these calibrations every goddamn day, and you're telling me that you've been-"
"That was a joke." EDI cut in before he could continue, her voice flat in the manner of someone disguising their amusement a little too well. The room was silent for a moment before Jane burst into laughter. Garrus stood there, dumbfounded as his mandibles flicked absently, embarrassment washing over him as his anger quickly flagged.
"So, our weapons capability is still-?"
"I would never do anything to intentionally endanger the Normandy or the crew, Garrus." EDI reassured him, and he felt himself sigh with relief.
"Oh, man-" Jane wheezed as she slapped her thigh, her other arm wrapping around her middle as she continued to laugh, "That was amazing. Thank you, EDI. Did you see the look on his face?"
"The surveillance camera in the main battery is placed perfectly for a good view of his expression if you would like a picture, Jane."
"Yes, please!" Jane grinned as her laughter began to peter out. Garrus deadpanned as he rolled his eyes.
"Great. Thanks." He muttered darkly, which only made Jane's smile brighter.
"Oh, cheer up, Big Guy." She laughed as she stepped closer, and Garrus felt himself melt into her as she reached up to cup his face. "It was cute."
"Happy to have been a source of amusement for you." He stated dryly, and though his voice was laced with sarcasm, it was the honest truth. Nothing lifted his spirits quite like the sound of her laughter and the sight of her smile, even if it was at his expense. Their eyes locked and they both leaned forward to brush their foreheads together softly.
Garrus' eyes drifted shut as he breathed in the scent of her, his muscles relaxing as he hummed. She leaned forward and pressed a slow, warm kiss against his mouth plates.
"How are you doing?" She whispered softly, and he couldn't stop the tired sigh that escaped him.
"Honestly? I'm not sure." Garrus replied, his voice low, causing her to pull away just enough to look up at him with concerned eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I-" He coughed and looked away as he pulled back further. "I heard from my dad." Jane's expression lit up.
"Garrus! That's wonderful! Are they okay?"
"I don't know. He managed to get a call through to me shortly after we got back to the Normandy, but I could barely understand him, and the call was cut short. They were going to try to make it off Palaven, but I have no idea if-" Garrus cut off, his throat tight as his mandibles flared. He'd had a few hours to dwell on the call with his dad, but try as he might to distract himself, his thoughts kept returning to it eventually. He felt one of Jane's hands reach up and pull his head down to rest on her shoulder, and Garrus' arms came up to snake around her as he pulled her close.
"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how anxious you must be."
"Yeah. I've been trying to keep busy. Keep my mind off it. I honestly don't want to talk about it, there's nothing I can do until I hear from them again." Garrus stopped himself from adding the possibility that they hadn't made it. They both knew, they'd both seen the casualty rates.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"A distraction would be welcome." He admitted, and Jane's grin was feral as she reached for his arm. He felt the familiar building of anticipation in his core right up until the moment she summoned her omni-tool to activate her comm.
"Legion, meet me down in the starboard observation deck ASAP." Garrus blinked, confusion jumbling his brain as his train of thought came to a screeching halt.
"Affirmative." Came the quick reply as she started dragging Garrus along behind her through the mess hall.
"So, what's this about?" He asked warily as she flashed him a determined expression that he knew meant no good.
"Legion owes me a rematch, but the only way I'm ever going to beat its reflexes in Medal of Duty is if I have help. That's where you come in." Jane explained lightly, but he could hear the carefully concealed eagerness.
"Seriously, Jane? You smashed your head against this problem incessantly back during the Collectors mission. I don't think Legion can be beaten."
"There's only one way to find out." The door to the observation deck opened, and they froze as Tali looked up at them sharply from where she sat on one of the couches. Her eyes went wide and she quickly dismissed her omni-tool, shoving her arm behind her back as though she were trying to hide it.
"Oh! Um, hello guys. I was just-"
"What were you doing just now, Tali?" Jane asked with carefully crafted nonchalance, subtly tinged with smugness as she grinned. "Surely you weren't doing anything inappropriate now, were you?"
"No, I wouldn't! It's nothing like that!" Tali's voice was higher than usual as she denied the allegations, which only seemed to amuse Jane further.
"Then why are you so-" Jane began, but was cut off as the door opened just behind them.
"Creator Tali'Zorah was playing 'Fleet and Flotilla: Interactive Cross-Species Relationship Simulator'." Legion stated offhandedly as it joined them.
"Thank you, Legion." Tali stated glumly, her glare sullen and unamused. Garrus saw Jane bite her lip in an attempt to hide her smile.
"That sounds… fun." She stated diplomatically, and Tali sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
"We, too, have attempted to achieve a passing score in this game. The results have been…" Legion paused, its head drooping slightly as its gaze dropped to the floor, "sub-optimal."
The three of them turned to look at Legion in surprise, and Tali's head tilted to the side as she considered it for a moment. "Would you… would you like me to teach you, Legion?" She asked, the invitation tentative and unsure. Legion seemed to perk up, tilting its head to a similar degree.
"An exchange of data regarding the topic of this game would be appreciated, Creator Tali'Zorah." Tali's eyes crinkled at its response and she patted the spot on the couch beside her.
"Come here, Legion." She said with friendly warmth, and the geth carefully lowered itself down beside her. They pulled open their omni-tools, and leaned their heads together as they began discussing the game in low voices.
"Well then." Jane blinked as she crossed her arms. "I guess that ruins my plan. No reason why we can't play some Medal of Duty, though. You game?" Garrus grinned at her, more than a few of his sharp teeth on display.
"I don't know, you ready to lose?"
"Ooh ho, you're on. Get ready to eat shit, Vakarian."
As they stepped out of the shuttle and onto the hard packed dirt the next day, Garrus took in the beautiful vista before them. It was heading toward dusk, the sunlight stretching across Rannoch's surface from an oblique angle that lengthened the shadows around them.
"I can see why the quarians were so desperate to return, it's really beautiful." Jane muttered as they watched Tali stare around in awe, Shepard by her side.
"Yeah. It does have a certain charm." Garrus replied as he came to stand beside Jane, checking his heat sink.
"It's nicer than the shit stained, overcrowded city I grew up in. If you looked up, you could see the sky, but there wasn't much else in the way of 'natural spaces'. Not in the neighborhoods people deigned to allow our existence, at least." She snorted in mild disgust at the memory.
Garrus turned a sad frown in Jane's direction. She said things like that so offhandedly sometimes, as though it wasn't utterly heartbreaking. He liked to complain about what his childhood had been like growing up with his dad the way he was, but listening to stories of the Shepards life on Earth always put things in perspective.
Beyond them, Shepard leaned down to pick up a small rock before standing and placing it in Tali's hand. They stood there, talking quietly together as they both held onto the rock and each other, the softness of Shepard's smile betraying the personal nature of their conversation.
"Come on, those two have canoodled long enough. Let's get this show on the road." Jane stated as she strode off toward the Reaper base.
"Always so impatient!" Garrus chuckled as he followed afterwards. "I'm starting to think you're excited about facing down an army of geth and only-spirits-know what else waits for us in there." She flashed him a rude hand gesture over her shoulder, and he laughed.
"Let's do this!" James called out as he followed behind, Ashley and Kaidan hot on his heels. Liara turned a small smile to where Shepard and Tali stood nearby before she, too, trailed after the others. EDI and Javik followed silently after the asari.
"Shepard! Tali!" Garrus called out to them before gesturing onwards, and they looked up at him before nodding their acknowledgment. Together, the team picked their way around the rocks and boulders as they approached the base looming before them.
They stepped out onto the platform overlooking the chasm below, and Garrus couldn't stop the shiver of anticipation. The entire team leaned forward to gaze down at the Reaper device responsible for directing the geth forces opposing the quarians.
"Damn, is that it?" Jame muttered, and Liara nodded slowly.
"I believe so. Shepard, do you still have the targeting device?"
"Yeah, right here." Shepard replied as he stepped forward to the edge. He pulled out the targeting laser and checked it quickly before gazing downward one more time.
"This battle was centuries in the making." Tali murmured in awe. "To see it finally end…"
"I know. We're seeing history in the making." Kaidan nodded, causing Ashley to bark an amused laugh.
"Seeing? We're the ones making history. Again!" They shared a tired chuckle at that, before Shepard let loose a sigh.
"Let's do this." He took aim, the laser zeroing in on the dull red light in the chasm below. As it finalized its targeting, the device let loose a loud tone of acknowledgement, and a moment later, EDI perked up where she stood nearby.
"Target locked!" The Normandy's silhouette was suddenly visible, growing larger by the second as it approached.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Shepard called out, and they all reached for a hand hold as they ducked down. The Normandy released a series of missiles as it flew by, which careened directly toward the target Shepard had indicated with the laser moments before.
They all expected the explosion. What surprised them was the ear shattering screech that followed.
"What the hell was that?" Jane yelled just before the entire base shook again. It was more than just a shockwave from the Normandy's attack, and they all struggled to keep their footing. "John!"
Garrus looked up to see Jane dart forward in an attempt to grab her brother as he stumbled and pitched forward off the platform. Below, he heard Shepard hit the ground hard and groaned, but his attention was quickly distracted as something dark blotted out the sun before them. Something large and horrifically familiar.
"Reaper!" Shepard exclaimed as he struggled to his feet, and the gigantic machine looming above them screeched in rage again.
"Shit!" Jane hissed as she leapt down to the platform below to stand beside the Commander, quickly followed by the rest of the team.
"We have located transportation!" Legion's voice broke over their comm, and they turned to see the sudden arrival of a geth fighter.
"Copy that!" Shepard yelled as he pointed in Legion's direction. "Everyone get to that ship! Move!" They all took off running as the Reaper thrashed about, clearly damaged in some way by the Normandy's attack. As they approached the fighter, the Reaper's erratic movements seemed to slow, becoming more and more intentional as it got its barings.
"How are we supposed to fight that thing?" Tali cried out as they ran, debris from the explosion still raining down around them.
"I was hoping your fleet might lend a hand!" Shepard replied urgently as they skidded to a stop beside the large vehicle. A hostile geth dropped down from above, but as it unfurled itself, Jane's fist whipped out and caught it in the back of its head. It pitched forward, and Garrus followed up her attack with a few shots from his pistol, its light going out as it deactivated.
"Move, move, move!" Shepard gestured to the fighter's open hatch, and one by one they all threw themselves into it. As the last person crawled up into the very tightly packed storage area, Shepard slammed the door shut from the outside.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jane yelled through the comm as her eyes went wide with sudden fear. The ground vibrated as the Reaper took a shaky step toward them.
"I'm going to take the turret up top and keep it off us! Legion, get us the hell out of here!"
"You better hold on tight, and don't you dare forget to duck!" Jane snarled as the fighter hummed to life.
"We will attempt evasive maneuvers!" Legion called out as they shot forward. The trip was anything but smooth as they escaped the base, the hollow thuds of the Reaper's movement echoing through their chest cavities. There was nothing for them to do but cower as Legion piloted them away as quickly as possible. They could hear the vibration of the turret above them as Shepard attempted to damage the Reaper further, but they all knew that was all but pointless against something of that magnitude.
"Shepard to Fleet: It's not a Reaper base! It's a live Reaper! I need an orbital strike!" He was met with echoing silence over the comm, and Garrus felt his heart sink. Were they all alone in this? Their small team and a single geth fighter against an actual Reaper? "We're clear! Fire at will!"
The explosion that followed was nearly enough to send them into a tailspin. "What did we hit?" Admiral Gerrel asked anxiously, and the entire team waited anxiously as the geth fighter came to a stop.
"The firing chamber." Shepard announced triumphantly. "Looks like a weak point when it's priming."
"Damn it, their jamming towers have us targeting manually." Gerrel hissed angrily, and a moment later, the fighter leapt forward again. "We can't make a precision shot!"
"We may escape before it recovers." Legion pointed out quickly, and the fighter picked up speed.
"No. Pull over." Shepard said firmly, his voice that of command. Legion quickly brought them to a stop.
"Shepard-Commander?"
"If we run away, the geth stay under Reaper control, and the quarians are dead. This ends now!"
"What, are we just going to fight the damn thing on foot?" Jane demanded, but Shepard ignored her as he instructed EDI to sync the targeting laser up to the entirety of the quarian fleet.
"Do you need assistance?" Legion asked, and Garrus felt Jane attempting to press past him toward the fighter's hatch.
"Of course he-"
"Just stay down, Legion! I'll take it from here, get the rest of the team to safety!"
"What the hell, John! Over my dead fucking body!" Jane hollered as she banged an angry fist on the hatch. "Legion, let me out! There's no way I'm letting him face that thing on his own!"
"Shepard-Commander-" Legion hesitated, glancing back at them from where it sat in the cockpit, "Good luck."
"Acknowledged." Shepard stated, and Jane let out an angry scream as the fighter lurched forward once more.
"Turn this goddamn thing around, you bucket of fucking bolts!" She yelled at Legion as she began squeezing herself through the space so clearly not designed for organic passengers. Garrus grabbed her arm, and she turned to look back at him, her eyes flashing, her face a mask of barely contained rage as she fought against his grip.
"If this doesn't…" Tali began from nearby, her voice hoarse and thick with emotion, causing Jane to pause, "If we don't make it…"
"You worry too much." Shepard chuckled, his voice filled with warmth.
"I love you." Tali stated with conviction, and Garrus felt some of the tension leaching out of Jane as she stopped fighting him.
"Keelah se'lai." Shepard whispered before ordering another orbital strike, the explosions crashing through the echoing silence of the geth fighter.
(Note: The beautiful sketches I commissioned from destinysquared are complete and available on Tumblr! I'll leave a link in my bio, lease go check them out!
Thank you so much for all the support and congratulations on the milestone! I appreciate it so much and it was such a pick-me-up. I love hearing from everyone, even if its just the equivalent of face rolling the keyboard. Special shout out to brinnybee for the gift of a writing session at the cafe with some wonderful tea! Thank you so much!)