Chapter 67
Vil was trying very hard to distract herself with work, however her efficiency and organizational skills meant that there was little left to do.
"Excuse me, Geth. Do you have any knowledge of Human literature?" Vil asked.
"Yes, Doctor. Are you looking for anything in particular?" The Geth unit that was protecting her said.
"I was hoping you could recommended one of their works. I've read quite enough Asari and Quarian literature, I'm not fond of Krogan poetry and as far as I know the Geth have not engaged in fiction writing as of yet." Vil explained.
"You are correct, but we are studying the literature of all of the sentient species, that will be changing in the future. As for recommendations do you have a preferred genre?" the Geth asked.
"Maybe something they consider a classic. A romance or drama piece perhaps?" Vil said.
"We cannot come to a consensus... The most agreed upon recommendation was 'Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen." The geth said after a few seconds of silence.
"Consensus... Amongst the programs installed in this platform?" Vil asked.
"Negative, the entire Geth consensus was polled, more than sixty-eight billion recommended Pride and Prejudice." the Geth unit asked.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry I was just asking for a quick recommendation, I didn't mean to bother the whole consensus!" Vil said, mortified.
"Doctor, learning to interact and coexist with organics is a valuable and important pursuit. We appreciate that you value our opinion." The Geth said.
"Oh, in that case ok. Thank you." Vil said.
"You are welcome doctor." The geth said, then punched commands into its omnitool, instantaneously Vil's lit up and she saw that she had one incoming message with an attachment, the digital version of Pride and Prejudice. She smiled and thanked the Geth again. She was interrupted before she had a chance to start it however by a knock on her door. She looked over at the Geth platform with a terrified expression.
"I will answer the door, please remain behind your desk." The Geth said, and she nodded. The platform detached its weapon from its back and approached the door, then opened it.
"Doctor, it is Shepard Commander." the Geth said.
"Oh thank the Goddess. Please let her in." Vil said, and it complied.
"Vil, how are you? Has anyone bothered you?" Shepard asked
"I'm fine commander, just jumpy." Vil responded.
"Did you read the letters?" Shepard asked, taking a seat across from Vil's desk.
"Yes, and they seemed sincere enough." Vil said, still looking hesitant.
"I asked her for a meld, I don't know how to interpret everything, I did catch her in a lie, but it was about who your other parent was." Shepard said.
"I'm not surprised. Mother told me it was a Turian soldier, but I'm an Ardat Yakshi, chances are my 'father' was another Asari." Vil said.
"More importantly, if she did sell you to slavers than she's a damn good actress. I saw the whole interaction, or at least her recollection of it. She sold her bonding dress for the money to get you off world." Shepard said. At this Vil's eyes shot open.
"Goddess, that was a family heirloom, it was priceless. Oh mother..." Vil said, her eyes watering.
"Personally, Vil I think she was telling the truth but none of us will judge you for telling her to fuck off. As a citizen of the alliance you have our full protection and as my friend you have my full support." Shepard said.
"I... I couldn't live with myself if I didn't give her a chance.. Shepard will you stay with me while I meet her?" Vil asked.
"Of course, she's on the other side of the Outpost I can go get her now and come back." Shepard said. Vil nodded and hugged her.
"Thank you so much Jane." Vil said
"Not at all. I'll be right back." Shepard said. Ten minutes later she walked through the door again, this time the Geth anticipated her arrival and had been waiting at the door, and Vil had promised herself she was going to be calm, and collected, and take the time she needed before trusting her mother blindly, but all of that dissolved when Tull walked through the room and froze.
"My baby!" She sobbed, and that was all it took.
"Mother!" Vil shouted and launched herself into her mother's arms. Shepard smiled, wiping the tears from her own eyes as she sat down across the room to give them some privacy while still keeping her promise to be there for Vil. The Geth followed her.
"Shepard Commander, we have a question." the Geth said.
"Of course, always, what's up?" Shepard replied.
"This should be a happy occasion. Reunion between mother and daughter after a period of adversity, yet the three of you are crying. Why?" The Geth asked.
"The short answer is; Organics are weird." Shepard offered.
"That does not help us understand." The Geth said. Shepard was shocked, she could detect the faint trace of irritation in its voice.
"You've been hanging around us too much lately, my friend. So crying occurs frequently when we are emotionally overwhelmed. Usually when we are sad, but also when we are deeply in love or too happy to put into words. Think of it like a coping mechanism the body has to try and comfort the mind." Shepard said.
"Intriguing. Thank you Shepard Commander." the Geth said
"No problem. So, do you know how to play poker?" Shepard asked, grinning.
In a conference call between the Admirals, the Battlemasters , the Geth Consensus and Prime Minister Shepard, the idea of a coordinated strike from behind enemy lines had just been proposed.
"That's a sound strategy, but still a bit of a gamble given what we just went through." Admiral Zorah said.
"We may not have a choice. We're committed to this war, if we were to back down now the Council would smell blood in the water and attack." Shepard said.
"We may be able to increase the likelihood of success significantly." The Geth representative asked.
"How so?" Admiral Hackett asked.
"The Inferno fighters are equipped with multifaceted stealth systems. There's the visual cloak, but also the sound, thermal and radio dampening. All of this is accomplished with a module that measures 15cm by 27cm by 8 cm, and powered with a class G antimatter mini-reactor." The Geth said.
"That is correct." Admiral Xen said, intrigued.
"These are small enough to be carried by infantry, however the process by which light, heat, sound and radio waves produces too much gamma radiation for even Krogan to survive without the protection of a ship's hull. The Geth however would be unharmed carrying these into battle. The reactor would also provide auxiliary power for the platform should primary power be cut." The Geth said.
"That's all well and good, but at some point we would need to spring the trap, and once the attack starts the Batarians will have the opportunity to execute more slaves." Chambers observed.
"Correct, however We are not suggesting augmenting Geth platforms for the purpose of stealth attack. We propose that we begin placing cloaked Geth platforms all over the slave areas in the next outpost. Over weeks enough Geth could be positioned and remain hidden until the signal comes through by which time the platforms will have had a chance to sabotage systems and safeguard the citizens." The Geth said.
"That could work... With enough Geth in place the loyalists could be cut off from the slaves, and thus unable to attack them." Raan said.
"We need to explore this option. Will the cloaks cause harm to any Geth programs installed on the platforms? Data storage can be tricky around that much radiation." Xen asked.
"The platforms would need to be radiation shielded, but this is something we already do to space borne platforms destined for orbital drop. The modifications would require very little time or resources." The Geth responded.
"I have a concern." Korris said.
"Yes, Admiral?" Hackett prompted.
"The Geth are a consensus, they live connected to the rest of their race via ftl capable comm links. The cloaks interfere with those, and would cut the Geth platforms off from the collective for the duration of the mission." Korris said.
"We understand the consequences and are willing to endure them to ensure the safety of the Slaves." The Geth said.
"And if the platforms are discovered and destroyed? You'd have no way to get back to the consensus." Korris said. The Geth paused at this, its lights dimming slightly.
"We have witnessed Humans, Quarians and Krogan die to protect the innocent. We do not wish to die, but we are willing to sacrifice for the ideals of the Alliance." The Geth said.
"You may not have to... What about Quantum Entanglement?" Gerrel asked.
"Quantum Entanglement has its limitations. The bandwidth is very narrow, it can barely support audio and video communication." Xen said.
"We're not talking about a full-time Geth transport link but a comm link to keep the Geth in touch with the collective and perhaps an escape route if they can escape an attacker long enough to get to safety?" Gerrel said.
"No... But Quantum Tunnels would work." Xen said.
"Of course! We use them to transport antimatter all the time, data would be simple in comparison. The tunnels could be opened and closed at any time, and provided they were opened within the cloak field they would be undetectable!" Chambers said, excitedly.
"Geth can your platforms support a reactor large enough to support both the quantum tunnel device and the advanced cloak?" Wrex asked.
"A Prime or Colossus could easily, perhaps even a hunter but standard infantry units would be over encumbered. However, there is an alternative. Each Geth squad goes in with a prime, the prime hides and stays stationary and the infantry units remain in close proximity until the order is given. The Prime will be able to serve as a data conduit for the other units and once the cloak is brought down any others that might be stranded without their prime." The Geth said.
"We have a plan people. Xen and Chambers, get with the Geth and punch the numbers and make sure it's viable, Geth, please requisition the required units we're going to focus our forces on a single outpost this time, thankfully it's another garden world so we can support the slaves after we rescue them. I know it goes without saying, but this plan does not leave this room, understood? The element of surprise is our only chance at saving the slaves." Hannah said. Everyone in the room agreed.
On Rannoch, Oriana was sitting on the floor of the martial arts training center that had been established on Rannoch stretching her hamstrings out and cursing her aching muscles.
"Ori, you've gotta cut yourself a bit of slack here, You haven't been able to walk for long, even with the gene therapy it's still going to take time." Jack said, offering a hand to help Oriana up which she took.
"I know, I just don't want to waste time, I need to get stronger soon." Oriana said.
"Why are you in such a rush anyway?" Jack asked propping a leg up on the wall and leaning in to stretch her own legs. Oriana was immediately envious at the lithe young woman's agility.
"The War. This shit with the Batarians won't last long, but after that we face the risk of war with the council, perhaps the entire Salarian union, and then there's the reapers. They may not come during our lifetimes, or they might be here already, but I don't want to be laying down in bed too crippled to move when the time comes, I'm going to fight goddammit. Besides, I'm the only one working themselves to death to prepare." Oriana said pointing at Jack's bag which was full to bursting with data pads and notebooks. Jack blushed.
"Ori I have a lot of catching up to do. Cerberus wasn't exactly keen on seeing to my primary education." Jack said.
"Nor were they keen on my ambitions of mastering Geth break dancing." Oriana said, eliciting a giggle out of Jack.
"Besides, you're a month away from catching up to the average 17 year-old, and if you keep up at this rate you'll be joining me in college next year." Oriana said, extending her leg experimentally and nodding when she was satisfied the cramp had gone.
"Yeah, thanks to Lawson's genetic experiments." Jack said bitterly.
"Fuck off, Lawson isn't sitting here quizzing you. You have an enhanced brain but you're putting in the effort to train it so don't even try that self-loathing shit with me." Oriana said, genuinely annoyed with her sister
"Sorry. It's hard." Jack said.
"Believe me, I know. Now let's stop letting that asshole put us in a bad mood and go undo all the good we just did here in the gym with a pizza." Oriana said. Jack laughed and grabbed her bag, following Oriana out of the gym and towards their transport. They were surprised to see Miranda waiting there with a duffel bag in her Alliance uniform.
"Miri!" Oriana shouted and ran towards her, lifting her off the ground in a tight hug that left her gasping.
"Jesus Ori, I can't breathe!" Miranda said, grinning.
"Sorry! How are you? How was training?" Oriana asked.
"Harder than I expected but good. I've spent too long sitting on my ass, I'd forgotten how invigorating physical exercise could be." Miranda said, she looked over at Jack who seemed apprehensive.
"Get over here, sister!" Miranda said opening her arms and Jack rushed into them as well. She was still getting used to having a family. After they parted Miranda appraised the two of them.
"Wow, you guys haven't been neglecting your martial arts training." Miranda said. Jack smiled but said nothing.
"Yeah, check this out." Oriana said, lifting the bottom of her shirt up to just under her breasts, Miranda was surprised to see the beginning of a six-pack appearing.
"Nice work! Pretty soon she'll be catching up with you Jack! How are your studies going?" Miranda asked.
"I'm mostly caught up." Jack said
"Wait... Caught up? You mean you're already near the midpoint of the high school curriculum?" Miranda said, surprise evident in her expression. Jack nodded.
"That's amazing! I'm so proud of both of you! Oh my god we need to celebrate! I don't ship out for three days, let's go to the Bailey's and we cal all catch up properly then I'll order from Garg's." Miranda said, this definitely piqued the younger girl's interests and they both eagerly followed her into a transport.
The Geth went well out of their ways to accommodate the Organics that they had welcomed back into their lives, and though it was extremely difficult to tell given their lack of emotional signals, they seemed pleased to do so. The Geth were originally designed as servants so it confused them to no end when they encountered simple polite gestures from organic beings, things such as holding a door open for a platform, or asking how their day was going. Rothschild had been helpful in explaining to the Geth that it was simply the meat bag's way of telling the Geth that they were valued beyond their practical contributions, and were considered peers and family. This almost made up for his for his corruption of the Geth.
After recovering emotionally from the nightmare of the slaughtered slaves, Rothschild's animosity towards the council had redoubled, but he had promised the organics not to take direct action without clearing it with everyone first, so instead he had begun a campaign of harassment. It had started simple at first, either he or the Geth would interfere with food extruders and make tea taste bad or food would come out the wrong color, but it rapidly escalated from that. The Geth had taken to the task with gusto and were frequently passing the time by emailing fabricated advertisements for sexual potency products to the Councilors... Several billion times per minute. Non-vital shuttle flights were delayed, security mechs would routinely "go on strike" even to the point where they would be found marching back and forth in front of C-Sec offices with signs demanding dental care. Rothschild and the Geth were turning the Citadel establishment's lives into a living hell and all without causing physical harm or endangering anyone's safety.
The Council appealed directly to Prime Minister Shepard, and the meeting had been broadcast all throughout the galaxy, much to The Councilor's chagrin.
"Prime minister, you must cease this harassment of the Citadel immediately." Tevos said.
"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked.
"For a week now we have been receiving billions of inappropriate advertisements, our transports are lagged, our security mechs have been hacked and our food extruders have been randomly failing, we know it's the Geth and that Rothschild abomination. Make them stop." Tevos demanded. Shepard scratched her chin.
"Rothschild, are you available?" Shepard asked seemingly nobody. Rothschild in his favored Leprechaun avatar appeared in a shower of golden coins beside her.
"Rothschild have you and the Geth been bothering people on the citadel?" Shepard asked
"Maaaaaaayyyyyyyyybe..." Rothschild said in a sing-song voice.
"Oh no. Don't. Stop. Bad Rothschild." Shepard said in a monotonous voice.
"Don't stop eh? Sure thing Prime Minister! ROTHSCHILD AWAY!" Rothschild yelled, taking flight and disappearing through the ceiling.
"Sorry guys, I tried my best. Shepard out." Shepard said, severing the comm link. She looked down at her data pad and typed in "Thank you Rothschild, I really did need something to laugh at." In a blank memo box on the side of her display.
"Of course Hannah, I think we both needed that." Replaced it immediately after. Shepard smiled and got back to work.