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Chapter Text

The Geth was on top of her. Tali could feel the weight of its metal body. She was face down on a heap of concrete and rubble, the synthetic creature pressing on her back to keep her pinned. Instinct made her try to kick the Geth away, but a soft metallic voice made her freeze.

“Tali’Zorah, lie still.”

The voice was so quiet that it seemed to be coming from within her own skull, but she recognized the speaker. “Geth, what are you doing?” she hissed, aware of the sound of rifle fire not far away.

“We are altering our signature transmissions,” the Geth known as Legion replied in her ear. “We are disguising our true nature and assuming the role of an injured heretic, one too far gone to be easily repaired. We are also raising our core temperature to match that of a Creator, to further avoid discovery by the heretics.”

“You…” Tali tried to comprehend this. “You’re hiding me?”

“Correct,” Legion replied. “Lie still, please. The heretics approach.”

Taken aback, Tali obeyed, doing her best to slow her breathing as she heard the unmistakable tramp of Geth footsteps coming closer. She closed her eyes, waiting for the creatures to leave and hoping they would not look too carefully at her or the Geth that lay across her. At last, the patrol moved on. Only when there was complete silence did Legion move, rolling to the side and freeing her from his weight. Tali did her best to stand, but her head swam and she stumbled slightly. Inflexible arms caught her, then quickly let her go when she squirmed. “I’m fine,” she barked. “We should go, we should…”

A wave of nausea hit her again. Something was wrong. Her body was telling her as much, sending distress signals as clear as any beacon. Gritting her teeth, Tali looked down at herself.

A gash along her abdomen had rent the fabric of her suit apart as though it were made of the thinnest paper. Blood was staining the embroidered purple shawl that encircled her hips. The tear was the length of her hand, and Tali could hear the warnings her teachers had impressed into her since she was a little girl. “The larger the tear, the greater the risk”.

The edges of her vision blurred. She did not realize she was swaying until a hand on her arm steadied her. “Can you walk, Tali’Zorah?”

“I—no,” Tali muttered. “That is,” she corrected, “I will make my way to the ship. You should go.”

The Geth stared at her, inscrutable. She could sense his mind calculating, and it made her skin crawl to know that one of the creatures who had destroyed her people was now her supposed ally. “Go, quickly, before the Geth return,” she insisted. “I’ll try to follow. It’s—” she looked down and gulped. “It’s not that bad,” she lied.

The Geth did not answer. Raising a hand, he summoned some kind of small electrical field Tali didn’t recognize. She shrank away as he reached toward her. “What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to hide her fear. Did the Geth want something from her body? A blood sample, some way to go after what remained of her people, perhaps? “Don’t touch me.”

To her surprise, the Geth stopped. “Apologies. We did not explain. We have created an anaerobic field to eliminate microparticles. It is not infallible, but it will rid the area of most harmful pathogens.” He drew closer. “We do not intend to leave you behind, Tali’Zorah. Let us take care of your injury and attempt to bring you to safety.”

Tali stared at him. “Doesn’t the mission matter to you? Commander Shepard has insisted you can help us, yet you would throw away your life by staying here with me?”

“The mission is of great importance,” Legion agreed. “We see that. But you are a key part of that mission. You are needed. Let us help.”

This time he did not wait for an answer. Extending his arms, he grasped her around the waist and pressed his glowing hand against the wound. Tali stiffened. The feeling was unnatural, like the buzz of an uncoupled battery coursing through her skin. “This is deeper than it appeared,” the Geth admitted. “We have little time.”

Before she could speak a word of protest, the Geth had pulled Tali up into his arms, holding her to his battle-scarred chest like a hero in a cheap vid. “Hold on, Tali’Zorah,” Legion murmured. “We will not let you fall.”

With his hand still pressed to her wound to keep it covered, Legion began striding down the corridors of the facility and towards where the Normandy was waiting. Twice they encountered enemy Geth, but the creatures barely seemed to notice their passing. The false ID signatures seemed to still be working. The third time they were not as lucky. One of the opposing Geth saw through the disguise and raised his weapon. Legion ducked behind a broken computer terminal, clumsily drawing a pistol with his free hand even as he held Tali closer. The sounds overwhelmed her, growing louder and softer without any predictable pattern. She knew she was close to losing consciousness and prayed they would make it off this awful rock of a planet, if only so that she could die aboard the Normandy. It was her ship now, her home. She wanted her death to be among family.

Her vision darkened, brightening again as Legion stood. They were moving fast. Then his hands drew away from her and others took their place, grasping her by the arms and pulling her into the ship. The last thing she saw was the Geth warrior, his shining eye trained on her and her alone.

…

Chapter Text

Tali stood nervously at the door that separated the sickbay from the back room where Legion now lived. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. A week had passed since the injury, and she was still exhausted, but thanks to a Geth she’d managed to survive what would have been a fatal pathogen exposure in any other situation. She still couldn’t process everything that had happened during the mission. But one thing was clear. He had saved her. She needed to thank him.

She took a deep breath and rapped on the connecting door, then motioned with her hand to open it. The clean white metal slid aside to reveal Legion standing by the bed, looking like nothing more than an inactive machine. Fighting her instinct to recoil, she stepped inside. The Geth looked up at her, and all thoughts seemed to escape from her head like trash out an airlock. “I… hello,” she managed lamely.

“Tali’Zorah,” Legion acknowledged. “You have recovered 83%”.

“How do you know that? No, nevermind,” she added, when it looked like he was going to answer. “It doesn’t matter. What I mean to say is, I’m better. Yes. Not dead.” She sighed. This was not going as she’d planned. “You brought me back. You risked everything to save me. I feel I must… I must…” she swallowed. “Thank you,” she managed at last. “I owe you my life.”

“Incorrect,” Legion said, and Tali jumped, staring at him. “We did not risk everything. If this body died, its consciousness would be downloaded back into the whole. Every part of us is replaceable. You are not this way. Each organic is unique. No power known can bring an organic consciousness back once it is gone. Therefore, it is not the Geth, but the Creators, who were at risk of losing everything.”

Tali struggled to find the right words. “Legion… you know I’m just an engineer, right? I’m no great admiral or councilor.”

“We fail to see the relevance,” Legion remarked.

“I’m not—” Tali gritted her teeth, frustrated. “I’m not special. I’m just me. The same as anyone.”

“A consensus has not been reached on that point,” said the Geth bluntly.

“It doesn’t need a consensus, it’s fact,” Tali insisted. “Even if I were some hero of the galaxy, I’m a Quarian. We’re your sworn enemies. Why save me?”

Legion remained silent for a long moment. “No data available,” he said at last, his voice quiet.

The room fell silent, and Tali blinked, feeling oddly emotional. “I didn’t mean to interrogate you,” she mumbled. “Just to say thank you. I’ll go now.”

“Take care, Tali’Zorah,” Legion urged, as she turned away. “You are more needed than you know.”

Throat tight, Tali nodded and left, striding quickly through the med bay despite the pain it caused her. She needed to be alone. Talking to the Geth had left her confused and uncertain, two feelings she despised. Best to go back to her station and review mechanical upgrades, if only to remove the sound of his voice from inside her head.

Tali’Zorah, lie still.