Chapter Five - Sentinel

Her body ached all over, instinctively she reached for her omni-tool to boost her immune system. Nothing happened, there was no omni tool on her arm, no enviro-suit either, just a compressed patient's bodysuit. She panicked. This isn't Rannoch, how long can I even survive out of my suit if this isn't Rannoch? But the air was so pleasant to breathe. Where am I?

"Doctor!" She heard Garrus' voice, somewhat muffled, "Doctor, Chakwas, I think she's waking up."

She sat up on her bed and pressed her hand to her forehead, trying to alleviate the pain of an oncoming headache.

"You had us worried there, Tali. How are you feeling?" Doctor Karin Chakwas approached the bed wearing a light white and red armour with a breathing mask on. "We have adjusted the atmosphere here to your needs, your enviro-suit is quite worked up."

"Nothing a good engineer couldn't fix," said Garrus, standing behind Tali facing Doctor Chakwas.

"What do you remember?"

"How long was I out?"

"A couple of hours, we're now on our way back to Rannoch."

The pain in Tali's head somewhat subsided.

"She reached for the sphere and was immediately pushed back. There was a surge of light, some sort of energy that damaged her suit." Kasumi was in the room as well, but Tali hadn't noticed her until she spoke up.

"No… I spoke to the Geth. About… Legion and the Destruction. They wanted to merge with my enviro-suit."

"Yes, where is the suit?" Tali said with urgency.

"You had the chance to talk to them?" Garrus asked, disregarding her question.

"Gabby and Padok are analysing it in the lab," Chakwas answered.

"Bring it to me, can they work from here?"

"You need to rest, Tali," said Kasumi with compassion.

"No, it's my enviro-suit, I can fix it quicker. We have to get them out!"

As an EIR Mech hurriedly prepared the Medbay, Padok and Gabby were suited up and put the breathing masks on. A working station next to Tali's bed was cleared. Padok brought an assortment of fine tools, he was able to grab in the lab. Gabby came in holding Tali's enviro-suit and placed it carefully down to the working station. The delicate hum of tools intermingled with the subdued beeping of the medical equipment as they meticulously worked to restore its functionality. It took a collective effort, but gradually, the indicators on the suit's interface began to flicker back to life. Tali put the suit on and carefully initiated the internal programming through her omni-tool. The suit was still connected with a series of optical cables to the working station. Padok carefully observed the power readings on the view screen. The subtle glow of holographic displays reflected in Tali's visor as she navigated the suit's systems. She was able to establish a connection with the Geth entity.

"Power levels are dropping fast," Padok observed.

"Can we transfer the Geth to a separate unit?" Gabby urged.

Tali looked around the room, her gaze locked on the EIR Mech. She gestured to Gabby and Padok towards it. The question lingered in her mind: Does THIS unit have a soul?

"It could work, we could merge the programming, keep it separate from the EIR firmware." Padok nodded thoughtfully, processing the implications.

"May we?" asked Tali. The mech remained silent. Padok handed an optical cable to Gabby with a confident nod.

"Not sentient. No need to ask permission."

They initiated the data transfer, connecting the enviro-suit to the EIR Mech. Lines of code flowed through the optical cable, Tali sensed the power restoring to enviro-suit. Lights on the EIR Mech flickered, and its original hum evolved into a rhythmic pulsation. Suddenly, the EIR Mech's optics illuminated with a similar glow she saw in the chamber hours ago.

"Keelah se'lay."

In the centre of the Medbay, the crew encircled the reanimated Geth inside the body of an EIR Mech. The faint hum of machinery and the subdued blinking of monitors created a backdrop to their conversation. Standing with a poised curiosity, Liara broke the silence, her voice carrying the weight of the situation. "What should we name you?"

"Geth" the response echoed through the metallic chamber, concise and to the point.

Tali chimed in with a suggestion, "Ke'sed?" she wasn't too sure about it.

"Something that rolls off everybody's tongue more easily, maybe," Gabby interjected.

Garrus, leaning against a nearby console, tried to inject a touch of humour into the conversation. "The only other Quarian word I know is bosh'tet, but that would be completely inappropriate."

Kaidan thoughtfully proposed an alternative. "What about Sentinel? A guard of all that remains of the Geth?"

The newly awakened entity considered the suggestion, the optics of the EIR Mech in which they now resided flickering with contemplation. "An appropriate metaphor," they declared, adopting the name "Sentinel."

"What can you tell us about your survival? Liara asked curiously. How were you able to escape the Destruction?"

"Once the first systems around Earth were hit, a subspace warning was triggered, all units started shutting down and transferred their data to the Consciousness. Most did not make it in time. The damaged Mass Relay bought us additional time, but not enough to save all the units. We were able to receive information about the energy surge through subspace to adjust our shielding technology. Not a moment too soon. Everything around us went dark, all shut down. We had to sacrifice the units' power to maintain the shield and the structural integrity of the Chamber until your arrival."

"How come no one else picked up your signal?" Kaidan voiced the question that lingered in the air.

Sentinel, its optics focused on Garrus "They did, many tried, all of them failed, all but one" they looked at Tali.

"Exactly, the code had to be specific enough for us to pick up and to respond appropriately," Padok offered a plausible explanation. The acknowledgment of trust brought a subtle positive shift to the situation.

"You were the only ones we could trust. You carry Shepard's Legacy."

Sentinel's words resonated with the crew, reinforcing an unspoken bond among all present. It was as if they now carried a fragment of Legion's legacy within them as well.

"How can I be of use to this vessel, your … crew?" Sentinel asked abruptly and focused their optics on Liara.

She was at first taken aback by the question, but recognizing Sentinel's potential, quickly proposed a role for them: "Your fast processing could be very useful on the bridge, and I'm also sure Joker wouldn't mind new company," she suggested.

"Agreed. I understand this vessel needs precise calculations to navigate subspace."

"Welcome aboard," said Liara. The crew slowly dispersed. Gabby and Padok lingered a while in the Medbay, ensuring that every tool found its way back to their respective working station, perhaps finding some sense of order in all the chaos that had taken place. Sentinel remained with Tali.

"Thank you, Tali'Zorah"

"I'm not sure what to say," she said, still dazed from their previous experience. Doctor Chakwas insisted on running a full diagnostic of her vital functions to ensure she could be back on her feet, but all Tali could think about now was the conversation she had with Kal and Sentinel. The headache was gone.