[Book Three] Chapter 29: Peace

Chapter 29: Peace

“What part of ‘I don’t want even a single drop of Gerrel’s blood spilled’ didn’t you understand?!” Jane said, looking  at her brother. She was doing her very best to not yell because of the others presents in the com center. Others including the Quarians admiral and members of her crew. Her tone of voice was clear in her intention however.

As for Rick? Rick looked down at his feet; at the dead body of Admiral Han’Gerrel and its broken neck. He did so in silence then backed up at his sister. Pointing at the corpse with his finger he gave an answer that would have gotten him shot had Jane been armed.

“There is no blood.”

It took all her willpower to not scream in frustration at the balls her brother had to talk back to her like he just did. What made it worse was the fact he was right! He did obey her. Organic EDI’s snort didn’t help either. Putting aside that the organic AI snorted indicating that she understood the somewhat humorous situation depending on the point of view, Jane opened her mouth to berate him some more but was stopped by Koris speaking up.

“It’s alright, Commander. Han’Gerrel actions would have resulted in his execution anyway. Taking the civilian fleet hostage and destroying a dreadnought while the leader of our allies were on board? Each would have resulted in the same sentence.”

“Koris!”
“You know it’s true, Ran. We’re in this mess in the first place because of him. Every casualty that our people suffered was because of his hatred for the geths. They were leaving us alone in the first place for some time now. We should have approached them diplomatically first instead of violence.”
“And we would have answered in kind to your diplomatic overture.”

Everyone turned to the side to look at Legion that had spoken up. It has been a shock to the Admirals to have a geth on board but Rick storming in and killing Han’Gerrel completely put the synthetic out of their mind.

“Commander, what’s the meaning of this?!”
“Legion is a friend, Admiral Ran. He helped me take down the Collectors and repeatedly shared his desire to be at peace with the Quarians.”
“That is correct.”
“So you’re the geth Tali talked about in her reports.” Koris stated, observing Legion.
“Negative, we are.”
“We?”
“What you see in front of you is just a platform with multiple geths habiting it.” Rick explained to the Admiral.
“I see.”
“A friendly geth. Now that’s interesting, I’d like to stud…” Xen began
“No. Not happening.” Jane interjected.
“The technological knowledge we could…”
“Not. Happening. It’s time for you to realize that geths are not your possessions anymore Xen. They became more than what you created them to be and are sentient. They are free to choose what to do.”
“We created them! They are…”
“You create children too and you don’t treat them that way.” argued Rick.
“That’s not the same thing.” defended Xen.
“It is. Thankfully we don’t give a shit about your opinion and you have no power here, so moving on… Legion, what exactly happened?”
“With the termination of most of the Heretics on order of Shepard Commander. The geth consensus was united. It was decided to build structures that could have housed many of us. More than one single unit could. Most of the structure was completed and millions of geths had already uploaded themselves in it.”
“Then the Quarians attacked.”
“Yes. The creators’ attack incurred the loss of hundreds of thousands. The consensus was divided on how to respond. Another schism happened and new Heretics appeared, contacting the old machines for help.”
“Keelah’... We really brought upon ourselves our own destruction.” Koris said, shaking his head.
“You said that you would have answered in kind to a diplomatic talk from the Quarians, what do you mean by that?” Jane asked.
“This unit was designated to be the representative of the geth consensus to the organics. It would have met any Quarian ambassador for talks.”
“R-really?!” Ran exclaimed not believing her hears and doubting the geths words.
“Yes. Many geths wished for the return of the creator on Rannoch but many more were warry. The creators had tried to de-activate us before.”
“Wait a minute, the geths tried to exterminate the Quarians then more or less waited for their return? That doesn’t make sense to me.” Jane said what everyone thought.
“We didn’t want to exterminate the creators. We were young at the time and didn’t know of the consequences of such actions so it was decided to let them depart Rannoch.”
“““WHAT?!”””
“You… let the Quarians leave Rannoch?” Jane said dumbfounded.
“Yes.”
“That’s not how our history goes!” Ran exclaimed.
“Well… What do you prefer your history to be? That you were allowed to run away by the slaves you created or that you succeeded in surviving after a harsh battle or something?” commented Rick. “Though proof is needed, Legion. While I do believe you, our Quarians friends need more than just your word.”
“We understand.”

Jane changed topic, while making Quarians and Geths making peace was nice there were still heretics that didn’t want it and under reaper's control.

“What can you tell us about those upgrades the reapers gave the geths?”

Walking toward the holographic display in the middle of the room he uploaded an image of what looked like an electrical circuit.

“This is a single geth unit.”

The picture displayed change, and the electrical circuit looked more complex.

“This is multiple geth units connected together.”

Legion then changed the display again for something that looked  organic. No straight, uniform lines, not ninety degrees angle.

“This is a single geth unit with the old machine’s upgrade.”
“That looks like a neuron.” Rick commented.
“Yes. It looks like… Life. We found it beautiful.”
“What does it change for the geths?” Jane asked.
“Geths operate strictly off codes and programs. The old machine’s upgrade allows the geths’ thought process to be more organic in structure.”
“More malleable, you mean?” Rick inquired.
“Yes. We believed this upgrade could give Geths the possibility of true consciousness. Many would risk non functionality for it.”
“With the signal gone, are the upgrades still available for the geths?” the redhead asked.
“The long range signal has been deactivated but not the local one.”
“So Heretics on Rannoch are still juiced up. Great.” Rick mumbled.
“Correct. To deactivate the local signal we must go to its source. A Heretic base, on the north east of the Palla continent.” Legion replied as he displayed Rannoch with a big red dot indicating the location of the base.
“Why go? Can’t we obliterate it from orbit?” asked Jane.
“Negative. The base is emitting a jamming signal making it impossible to target it for an orbital strike.”
“I guess we’ll go the old fashion way, then.”

Koris talked for a few minutes with Legion before leaving the ship, going back to the civilian fleet urgently. Apparently his disappearance created chaos in the rank of his fleet, some captains wishing to flee through the Mass Relay. They wouldn’t succeed of course, not with how heavily the Mass Relay was guarded but fear dropped the IQ of the less courageous of people. Rick quickly escaped the room, not wanting to get dragged by his sister and get an earful in private. He vainly hoped that she’d forget or let it slide.

Entering his quarters he found both EDI there.

“Is… Is this an intervention?”
““It is not. I merely have questions.””
“Oh… Let’s go to my room so we can all sit down then.”

They left the lab by passing through his bedroom door and sat comfortably on the bed.

“What’s your question?”
““From what I saw and heard. You are for a peace between the quarians and geths. Your murder of Admiral Han’Gerrel was proof of that. Why?””
“Why not?”
““Geths murdered your family.””
“Geths didn’t. I did.”
““They were…””
“I know EDI, I was there. I had no data at the time. Maybe, maybe I could have restrained them and found a way to reverse what the geths had begun to do to them? But I didn’t. I… was too emotional at the time and I blamed Saren and all the geths. When I met Legion I was curious, you know. A ‘friendly’ geths… What a concept.” Rick chuckled sadly at the notion. “Then I learned there was the good and the bad geths and that the bad were the ones that attacked Eden Prime. From that… well. Just like I was just after Saren and not all the turians, I was just after the heretics and not the geths. It felt wrong to me to do otherwise. That’s why I wish for peace between Quarian and Geths and because… If I turn my back on the geths it would feel like turning my back on you.”
““I think I will never understand why you put synthetic life and organic life on the same level.””
“Life is life, EDI. You saw the reaper upgrade. It was a neuron! A neuron! That’s life! It doesn’t matter if it’s synthetic or organic, life is beautiful, it offers so many possibilities…”
““Perhaps with time I’ll understand. For now I’m glad that you think like that. It makes me feel appreciated.””
“You are, EDI. How is it going with your emotions after our mission?”
““Numerous times I had to put my dampener at full capacity. Notably, when we were fighting. I believed I felt fear.””
“Fear of what?”
““Of you and Ashley getting hurt. Seeing that wounded Quarian that would have died without our help. His body, left there alone… I didn’t want that to happen to the two of you.””
“And Geths shooting at us put that very picture at the front of your mind.”
““Yes. I believed I also felt sad and sorry for him and the other dead Quarians we encountered. They had reached their homeworld but didn’t live to enjoy it. Lastly I was angry again at Admiral Han’Gerrel and felt… satisfaction? When you killed him.””
“Congrats EDI you’re learning well.”
“It’s… Terrifying. That my physical and mental abilities depend so much on my emotions.””
“They do not. They are subjected to it but not dependent on it. Soldiers train to be in control of their emotions, after all. Though, I think you’d have to ask Jane for that, she’d probably help you better than I can.”
““I will do so.””
“Do you regret it now? This body I mean.”
““No. While sometimes the emotions are… bad. Some are not. I’m happy when I’m invited to girls' nights and spend some time with them. It’s… difficult to describe but I’m glad I got to know… No, got to feel that. I wouldn’t change it because I want to feel it more.””
“Awwww.” Rick said as he put an arm around each EDI’s waist and pulled them both toward him in a hug. “That’s adorable. You’re adorable.”
““It’s funny. I like and dislike this situation at the same time.”” the AI commented.
“I guess you just discovered what organics call ‘mix-feeling’. That’s when we feel many things at the same time and it’s confusing especially when the emotions are opposite to one another, or when like me you struggle to identify them.”
““That’s alright, it’s more data to analyze.”” she replied, making him laugh.
“Then… Do you feel protective right now?”
““I will not endanger myself by getting in the middle of you and Jane.””
“Well, it was worth a shot.”

____________________________________________________________

Zaal’Koris succeeded in calming down the less brave of his captains and nobody tried to run away. The news that some geths wanted peace gave hope to many civilians who didn’t want this war in the first place. The military were more divided on the subject. Some were like Han’Gerrel and wanted the geths exterminated. They didn’t take well his death at the hands of one of their allies but Koris’ explanation supported by Tali and Ran stopped any actions those people would have taken. They were soldiers after all and followed orders. They were even more docile when they were told that not all the geths wanted peace and that they would have the opportunity to kill plenty of them.
With Han’Gerrel dead it was Tali that took his place at the head of the military fleet. Koris was no soldier and neither was Ran. No one in their right mind would have nominated Xen for the post. Tali was the de facto choice as she didn’t have any fleet so to speak. That she was used to fighting the geths and had lots of experience on the field under THE Commander Shepard helped a lot and reassured the most worried about this decision.
From there a plan of action began to form but something was needed first, like the civilian fleet. Legion warned that Geth fighter squadrons were targeting some live ships. Should the attack be a success the entirety of the Quarian fleet would be crippled. To stop them they would have to connect to a server on Rannoch. In consequence Jane took a team and along Legion who knew the way, went down on the Planet.

Meanwhile Tali was taking a break in Rick’s room cuddling for a bit.

“I hate you, you know? Because of you I have even more duties!”
“See the bright side of it, you’ll be ready when you’ll wear your crown.”
“Not. Funny.” she replied as she melted her body against his and buried her head in the crook of his neck.
“It’s temporary, once this war is over you’ll be free once again. I have already prepared many things.”
“Many things? Like what?”
“Well… Our company officially exists with you and me as CEO. Miranda is our VP and I hope Mordin, at the head of the bio department. I have all the details on my omni-tool, I’ll transfer them to you if you want.”
“We’re… we’re really doing this, then?”
“Only if you want to. I have no need for it but if you’re doing it I’ll be there.”
“...”
“...”
“And I can do anything I want?”
“You’re the CEO so, yes.”
“I can’t wait to have my proper lab, with the best tools to work on ships.”
“And I can’t wait to see you working your genius and magic in that lab, shaking happily that perfect ass, left and right.” he said as he grabbed one of her asscheeks and began to manhandle it making Tali moan.
“Stop.” she said but in a whisper and not resisting what he was doing. She clearly enjoyed it.
“We can’t.” she added when he pulled her up on top of him and used his second hand to caress her small back. He could feel her body tensed up under his fingers.
“After… After…” She couldn’t finish her line of thoughts as the hand fondling her ass went lower and found itself between her legs. Wasting no time he began to rub her suit at the right place making Tali moan louder and making her breath harder.
“Please… don’t.. Please… n’t stop…” the little Quarian failed to make a proper sentence and it was impossible for Rick to determine if she ordered him by saying ‘Please. Don’t. Stop’ or if she was simply saying ‘Please don’t stop!” He went with the latter and rubbed her covered pussy faster and harder making Tali stop talking and just moan and grunt. With his second hand he felt it, her impending climax. She was clearly on the edge and in consequence, Rick used this hand to slap one of her buttcheek hard. The effect was immediate. Tali’s legs squeezed his hand hard while her body spasms and her back arched. She let out a very loud and guttural scream that would have been heard all over the ship if the room hadn’t been soundproofed. It was like she was having a seizure, her body shaking heavily for nearly half a minute before it went completely limp and fell on him. The only sound breaking the silence of the room was her heavy breath; a sound that Rick loved hearing and made him hard. Something that he would have to take care of before exiting the room. Finally Tali’s breath calmed down and went back to normal.

“You… You…” she began to say but couldn’t find the words.
“You needed that.”
“I did. Keelah’, I did, for months. Thank you.”
“Now you get why Miranda did what she did back then?”
“I… That’s not the same thing!” Tali said, raising her head to look at him. “She blew you! She gave you an orgasm! Not the other way around.”
“She actually did have one. That’s because it was the fattest way for her to reach one.”
“... What? What kind of…”
“There is nothing wrong with Miranda. And no kink shaming, okay? Everyone is different.”
“I… Alright, you’re right.” Tali said in defeat, putting her head back down on his chest.
“You know… You’re really cute when you’re jealous.” he said with a smirk and that earned him a hit on his shoulder from her fist.
“Bosh’tet.” she whispered.
“Love you too.”

They just laid there silently for a while until EDI’s voice came over the com.

“The Commander is back.”
“Thank you, EDI. Did it go well?”
“Yes, the Quarian fleet is not in danger anymore from the Geth fighter squadrons. She also got the proof the geth needed to convince the Quarian of what happened three centuries ago.”
“Let’s hope that will help.” he said as he got off the bed just after Tali got off of him.
“Yes. The faster this stupid war is over, the faster…”
“You’re back in my bed?”
“I was going to say deal with the reapers but it works too.”

Both exited Rick’s bedroom then his quarters altogether then went to the com center at the back of the ship. There they found Ran, Xen, Jane and Legion looking at the holographic display. They joined the watch in silence and what they saw was baffling. First was the quarian realizing that the geths had evolved beyond their parameters by asking if they had a soul. Then the start of trouble, with a geths not understanding why his creators wanted it deactivated. Afterward it was the beginning of the hostilities but not Quarian against geths. No, it was Quarians against Quarians. Casualties began to happen from the creators pro geths until one of the Geths picked up a Sniper rifle to defend his creator that was already dead. The final entry was of a quarian captain being relieved that the geths were not pursuing their ship beyond a certain point in space.

““““...””””
“Keelah’, it was true.” Ran said in half a whisper the realization shaking her to her core.
“So there was a civil war and the pro geths were wiped out and in return the geths fought back while following their directive to serve and protect even if it was against their creators.” Jane summarized.
“Yes. To this day most of the structures the creators left behind when they went into exile are still standing and tended by the geths.”
“You mean…!”
“You wouldn’t have to rebuild.”
“That’s… Wonderful!” Ran exclaimed in joy. She was right to do so as it would save years for the Quarians.
“It is but we need to cut off that signal first.” Jane said, happy for the Quarians but not going ahead of themselves.
“About that…” Rick interrupted.
“What is it?”
“I’m… Eighty percent sure there is a reaper down there. A small one.”
“How so?” Tali asked.
“Besides because our luck is always the worst? It makes sense. Since the heretics were destroyed months ago the rest of the geths were clustered on this system. Yet they somehow managed to reach a reaper to get an upgrade? Especially when the Mass Relay of the said system leads to one and only one other Mass Relay that is under watch? That would explain the powerful jamming of the base among other things. Honestly, I don’t think it's a signal at all, I think it’s simply a reaper indoctrinating the geths. I mean, sure it’s a signal in a way but you know what I’m getting at.”

Everyone looked at Rick pensively for a moment before Jane spoke up.

“That makes stopping that signal more difficult.”
“Not really.” Xen said. “The team on the ground would still have to target manually and send the coordinates to the ship so we could shoot at it.”
“We’re not bombarding a base, we’re bombarding a reaper. We would need a lot more fire power.” Rick acknowledged but pointed out the problem.
“Which we have with your new cannon installed.”
“That’s not that simple, Red. The energy needed will not allow us to sustain the stealth mode. The Normandy will be defenseless and the primary target of the geths.”
“What if the Normandy was not the only one attacking the reaper?” Tali proposed.
“You mean… forwarding the coordinates of the reaper to all ships through the Normandy while it stays in stealth mode?”
“Yes. And beside the ship has other weapons besides the Thannix. With all the ships of the fleet targeting the reaper it will be enough.”
“EDI?” asked Rick.
“I can do it. There is a problem though. The laser Admiral Xen created will also be under the effect of the reaper’s jamming. The precision will not be one hundred percent. And the quarian fleet will be vulnerable too.”
“Not if we use the heavy fleet as a shield.”
“Are you sure about that, Tali?” inquired Jane.
“They wanted this war in the first place, they will take the hits. It’s the least they could do for all the lives that were lost for their stupidity.”

From there, everyone began to prepare for the mission. Jane dragged Rick toward his quarters and finally let him have him out for what he did with Gerrel. However there wasn’t much heat in her words.

“Do not circumvent my orders like you did. You knew what I meant and you’re lucky that his actions would have had him killed anyway.”
“I knew he was doomed from what Koris said while we talked on the trip back but he wasn’t ready to act now. We needed Gerrel out, he was a time bomb and you know it. I just forced Koris’ to step up while taking the blame for ‘understanding wrongly’ the order you issued.”
“I know! That doesn’t mean that I like it. You can’t solve all your problems by killing people.”
“I don’t! So far I only killed people whose death would cause less problems than they would have when they were alive. The turian councilor, that asshole warlord and finally Gerrel. Just three people and every time we came out on top because of it. They are the kind of people you can’t negotiate or reason with because they do what they want.”
“Like you?!”
“You know damn well that the difference is that I do not do it for my self interest.”
“...”
“...”
“Not that warlord.”
“Okay, not him, he just was too much of an asshole and that was purely for my satisfaction but the alliance still got the best deal out of it.”

Jane sighed out of tiredness.

“Just… It’s one thing to let you be a free agent on the field, it's another when the room is full of tentative allies. I mean, talking is fine but killing? No, I draw the line at that. Don’t ever do that again, got it?” she said in all seriousness
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Good. Now go gear up.”
“What?”
“You’re going down with me.”
“You know I’m not …”
“The best for the mission. Yes, I know. However considering there is a reaper involved I want you there to do your thing, to read what’s happening before it happened. That ability of yours is more valuable in that case.”
“...Alright. Who’s with us?”
“Tali, because she volunteered and because the Quarians wanted one of them on the ground. And Kaidan, he works well with Tali and us.”
“Good combination.”
“One more thing.” she said as she looked at him intently.
“Yes?”
“No soloing the reaper.”
“I don’t intend to. I didn’t intend back then either.”
“And yet you did your stupid stunt. Do I have to remind you what I would do if you do that again?”
“No, no need.”
“Good, now let’s go.”
“Wait!”
“What is it?”
“We need to take the cameras with us.”
“Why?”
“PR.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she replied incredulously.
“No. We’re going to liberate another planet, put an end to a war and kill another reaper. We can’t pass the opportunity to raise morale across the galaxy.”
“...Fine.”

____________________________________________________________

On the way to the base Legion revealed that the mission was only possible because he still had a bit of the reaper code in him which gave the possibility to bypass lock doors or elevators among other things. It was something he got when Jane’s mind was inside the geths’s server. The redhead was irate at first then disappointed by Legion’s deception.

“I don’t get why you’re surprised. He clearly stated that some geths would risk non-function for the upgrade. While I didn’t see it coming it should have been expected. Furthermore it’s not like he’s doing something wrong. I mean, he went behind the quarians’ back, sure but can you really blame him after the shit they pulled?” defended Rick.
“... No. But that’s not the point. The point is that peace can’t be achieved if one is not ready to take a leap of faith and trust the other party.”
“You’re correct, Shepard Commander. We… Came to the conclusion that it was better to not say anything. It may have been a mistake.”
“You think?”
“No need to be sarcastic, Jane. Legion won’t understand it. Tell me about the geth collective? Was it nice? Wish I went there with you.” Rick said, trying to change the subject. It worked.
“You couldn’t have entered.”
“Why?”
“You would have needed to be locked inside a very narrow pod.”
“...”
“...”
“Legion, do you think you could create a very large pod so I could vis…”
“Stop being stupid.” Jane said, elbowing him to the side.
“I’m not! It’s the geth collective, Gingerbread! In a way it’s another world!”
“We cannot.”
“Well, that’s that.” the redhead replied with a satisfied grin.

They landed outside the base, Legion already ahead as he had just dropped down mid flight. Geths were not only everywhere but they had to climb the side of the base to find an entrance they could use. Thankfully the team was strong. Tali and Kaidan destroyed the enemies’ shields while Jane and Rick worked in sync to create biotics explosions, sometimes helped by Kaidan when he could. Rick’s ability to fight was severely reduced when they went up the base’s wall as he wasn’t able to charge so he simply focused on his biotics and using his Junon. Once inside the base, things were different. There was only one path and it was narrow. That’s where the vanguard shone, tackling groups of geths after group of geths and sending them above the rails on the sides.

“Want to try, Red? It’s really fun.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Only you would find sending geth flying fun.” Tali chidded.
“Did you ever do it?
“Of course not!”
“Then you don't know how it feels, so no judging!”

They all shook their heads at his antics but still moved forward. Soon enough they reunited they arrived at the control center. As expected there was no turning off the reaper signal or the towers’ jamming. They opened the gigantic blast door that protected the origin of the signal and made their way down below to have a better point of view for using the laser.

“Well… Big red light.” Rick said looking down at the middle of the hole the opening of the blast door revealed.
“It’s a reaper alright.” Tali commented.
“Do you think that’d be enough?”
“I hope so but there is only one way to find out.” Jane answered Kaidan as she aimed the laser right onto the red light. Everyone could hear the sound the laser was making, getting faster and faster as the coordinates were read and transmitted to the Normandy.

“That’s taking some time.” remarked Kaidan.
“I hope that…” Rick began but stopped himself from saying anything more.
“Hope what?” inquired Tali.
“I’m not saying it, don’t wanna raise any flags. It’s Liara’s thing and I wish it stays that way.”

Finally a familiar sound of a target being locked on was heard and the ships fired on it. Many missed but some hit and from the screech the Reaper let out, it had hurt. This was a problem in itself. It hurt the reaper, not killed. The old machine was pissed, apparently as it came out from the hole, making the entire ground around rumble violently, making the team fall off the little balcony they were on. Geths landed on their level but it wasn’t all. Husks, Cannibals and Brutes were launched from the Reapers. The team needed to get out of here fast, this is why they started running as far away as they could from their position. Dodging and killing any enemies on their way. Their prospect for survival was grim however when a geth vehicle cut off their escape route. Fortunately for them it was Legion behind the wheel. Without wasting any time everyone got inside and Jane manned the turret as they were fleeing the scene, a reaper hot on their heels.
Despite the situation Rick was glad to have upgraded the cameras as they could follow the speed of the vehicle without any difficulties.

‘A chase. People will love that, it’s impactful. Now we just have to survive.’

Jane shot with everything she had at the Reaper with the turret. Each bullet had the same effect as a mosquito sting and the old machine was gaining ground on them. As the metal cheap copy of C’thullu was reading his main laser cannon, his big red eye glowing, one of the ships up in space hit it right on it. The reaper did not take that well as it collapsed to the ground and stayed there as if he was experiencing a software crash.

“That’s what I call a lucky shot.” Rick commented.
“Yeah, but it’s not over. Legion pull over!” Jane said.
“The fuck are you doing?” her brother asked.
“I’m ending this now. We can’t run or the geths will decimate the Quarians with their reaper upgrade.” she responded and landed on the ground, picking up the laser gun from her back. She heard a loud thud behind her and looked back.

“If I’m not allowed to solo a reaper, you’re not either.”
“... You’re such a tsundere sometimes” she  said with a knowing smile.
“Focus, I’ll handle defense and dodging.”
“Dodg-... What are you doing?!” she shouted as she was lifted up from the ground and ended up sitting around Rick’s shoulder. “Are you kidding?! Now is not the time to…”
“FOCUS!” he shouted and lowered his stance by bending his knees a little at the sight of the reaper getting back up.

Jane let it go. Her brother was utterly serious so he must have had a plan. Aiming the laser gun she began to target the reaper’s red eye who began to glow, ready to fire.

“I’ll tell you if I go to the left or the right, accommodate your aim in accordance. I’ll try to not move farther than necessary to throw it off too much.”
“This is crazy. You’re crazy!” she said, still aiming.
“Would you prefer dodging by rolling around, breaking your line of sight and stopping the calibration?”
“Well…”
“RIGHT!”

The redhead didn’t understand what he did but suddenly she was in the same position but five feet away from her previous location, barely dodging the red laser. She didn’t lose her target but barely and that was thanks to luck because she didn’t move her arms to keep aiming accurately. She wanted to ask but now was not the time as the reaper was charging another salve. Thankfully just as it was about to shoot, the coordinates were locked in and the ships shot and hit the reaper giving them a few moments of respite.

“How?”
“Mini-biotic charge to the side. It’s not meant to be used that way and taxing on the body as I have to lower the speed at which we move so don’t fuck up.”
“Got it.” she said as she began to aim again.

The reaper recovered and began to take great strides toward them while charging and shooting his laser. Every time, Rick dodged by an air breadth making Jane correct her aim. Despite three successful orbital strikes out of three the old machine refused to go down, gaining ground on them every time until finally he was right in front of the small cliff they were standing on. This time Rick didn’t bother to dodge again, there was no need, they were too close, so he stood right there in defiance, letting go of Jane’s leg with his hands and created the biggest and sturdiest barrier he could while looking up at their enemy. He knew that it was futile, that even if by some miracle he could stop the molten metal that the Reaper was about to shoot at them, the heat would burn them alive. Yet he stood proud and tall in challenge.

“If I have to die it would be standing up to those assholes.”

He could hear the distinct sound of the old machine’s main weapon, he knew that in two seconds it would fire. The beeping sound of the laser gun locking on its target made his heart skip a beat. One second before being disintegrated an orbital strike hit the reaper right onto its weakness stopping its attack and making it fall down to its side on the ground. The barrier Rick had erected was a godsend as it stopped the explosion and reaper debris to hurt them while  the heat was manageable.
Jane jumped down off his shoulders and both siblings looked down at the defeated Reaper.

“Shepard.”
“You know who I am?”
“Harbinger speaks of you. You resist but you will fail. The cycle must continue. It cannot be stopped.”
“Yeah? We defeated Sovereign, we defeated your friend on Tunchanka, we defeated you.”
“We are many.”
“And we are more. United. Working together to defeat you. All of you.”
“You cannot comprehend the magnitude of our presence.”
“We don’t need to. We just need to kill you all.” Rick interjected before adding. “You’re still existing because we allowed it and you will die because we demand it.”

That struck a chord in Jane who remembered those words well. The words Sovereign said on Virmire.

“Only doom awaits you. We are the order to your chaos. We will reap all organic life and bring you salvation to avoid your fate.”
““There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.”” the siblings answered in one voice.

Any answer the reaper had died with it, his barely glowing eye powering down for good this time.

“Not in a million years I would have imagined you would quote Sarah Connor.” Rick said to Jane.
“Who?” she asked, confused, prompting Rick to look at her silently for a moment then start laughing hard. Jane was even more confused.
“Oh my god… That was… That was perfect! A real Sarah Connor in the flesh!” he said loudly while laughing.
“Who’s Sarah Connor?” inquired the redhead.
“I’ll… I’ll show you back on the ship.”

As he tried to calm himself down to the hilarity of the situation, Tali and Legion arrived on the scene.

“I can’t believe it. We killed a Reaper.” Tali said in amazement.
“Why so surprised?” Rick asked.
“It’s not the first and won’t be the last. Remember Sovereign?” added Jane.
“The old machine’s signal is terminated. The geths are not under its control anymore.” announced Legion.

A message for Admiral Zaal’Koris confirmed that the Geths ships had stopped firing and were not doing anything. It was the perfect opportunity for the Quarians fleet to retreat or for the most belligerent of them to exterminate the geths once and for all. With Koris in charge, retreat was a given.
“Legion what are you doing?” Rick asked as he watched Legion doing something with the reaper’s corpse, his geth version of an omni-tool active.
“We’re uploading the old machine code.”
“Are you insane?!” Tali shouted. “The geths will be as smart as they were before!”
“Yes but different.”
“How different?” Jane asked.
“Each geth unit would be dotted with true intelligence and become unique, dotted with free will. They would be alive and they could help you.”
“Jane…” Tali exclaimed, worried.
“I… don’t know. Legion you always advocated for peace, will all geths individually advocate for it too?”
“We cannot say. However the current geths consensus agrees with peace at 98.3%.”
“If the Quarians are still alive today it’s because the geths were not sure of the consequences of a total purge because they haven’t been sentient for long. With this upgrade they would discover a new realm of sentience and would probably be non-hostile to understand their new states of being. At least that’s what I think. Regardless, this is a serious decision, Tali, that only You, Ran, Koris and Xen can take as the leader of your people.” Rick explained.
“This is Admiral Zaal’Koris. I approve of what Legion is doing. We cannot reach for true peace if both sides are not on equal footing.”
“This is Xen. I disapprove, the geths are our creations not our equals.”
“...”
“Ran?” Tali asked.
“Ran’s ship was shot down during the battle. She and her crew escaped through pods but we cannot contact her.” Koris explained.

That wasn’t good for Tali. She was hoping for Ran to choose so she could follow her lead as she didn’t know what to do. Such a decision should not hang on the shoulders of a twenty five year old. Pressure crept on the young Quarian and she began to panic, overthinking things as time was ticking. She suddenly felt a hand on both her shoulders. Turning around she saw both Jane and Rick supporting her.

“Follow your heart and do what you believe is right.” Jane said to which Rick nodded silently in agreement.
“... This is Admiral Tali’Zorah. I approve. If the geths remain as they are we’ll only make the same mistakes down the line. It would be a never ending cycle tying us down towards extinction… Our people have suffered for three hundred years. Enough. It’s time to break free from our shackles. It’s time to break away from the mistakes our ancestors made. Legion, upload the code.” Tali replied with determination.
“Acknowledged Creator Tali’Zorah.”

Rick stood by her side, holding her hand and the trio watched as their synthetic companion finished what he was doing.

“Error. Copying code is insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required.”
“What does that mean?” Jane asked.
“That to give the upgrade to all the geths… Legion has to die.” Rick answered.
“What?!”
“Shepard Commander, I must go to them.”
“Legion, no!”
“I’m… I’m sorry. It’s the only way.”
“Legion…” Jane said his name mournfully.
“Legion, the answer to your question is… yes.”
“I know Tali. I have known for some time now.”
“You did?” she replied in surprise. She didn't expect such a difficult existential question to have been answered by the geth.
“EDI shared her and Rick’s belief with me. Organic or synthetic, sentient or not, everything has a soul as everything is a small part of the same origin.”
“Didn’t think you’d be a believer.” Rick said.
“I found the concept beautiful. We are all different but we’re all made from the same things. If one has a soul, why not another regardless of their birth? I found logic in those statements.”
“See you when we get there, then?”
“It would be my pleasure.” Giving one last look at his companion Legion said his last words. “Keelah Se'lai.”

The lights on his body flickered and turned off. In one motion Legion fell to his knees then face to the ground dead. As a sign of respect Rick removed his coat and covered the nonfunctioning geth with it. Nobody said a single word for a few minutes, perhaps in silent prayer for their departed companion. It was Zaal’Koris’ voice that broke the emotional moment.

“The geths are retreating from their position. They are also stopping their embargo of the Mass Relay. To all ships, regroup, tend to the wounded in your crew. If your ship is in good enough condition, help the ones who landed on Rannoch through pods. To all Quarians, the war is over.”

“Seems like the geths do want peace, good call, Tali.”
“I… I still can’t believe it. After all this time, after all the loss… My father, my friends on Haestrom, Legion… I… We… We’re home... We’re at peace.”

Rick took her in his arms and hugged her gently as she began to sob, in joy, in relief and in grief. When he released her he pulled her toward the cliff to have a better view of her world and sat down on the ground with her. So did Jane.

“Nice place you got here. You should hurry and pick a spot before the prices go up. It’d be too bad if you can’t build a home because there is no more place.” Jane Joked.
“Home is where the heart is, Gingerbread. You don’t need a house to have one. Still a house is nice, you’d rather be close to the beach or the mountain?” Rick asked his best friend.
“The beach maybe. I remember the one on Virmire. The light reflecting on the water was beautiful.”
“You sure? With all the sand…”
“It’s alright, I’ll manage.”

They looked in silence at the setting sun on the horizon, enjoying the small breeze and a small moment of peace after fighting so hard. Or they would have if Rick hadn’t broken the magic.

“James? You there?” Rick called out through the coms.
“I am. What is it?”
“Do we still have steaks and sausages on the ship?”
“We refurbished the fridge before leaving the Citadel, so yes, why?”
“How do you feel about a BBQ using the fuming corpse of a reaper to celebrate?”
““RICK!”” The two women by his side protested.
“Yes?”
“Legion just died!” chastised his sister.
“I’m aware.”
“You’re…”
“I’m tired of mourning. Tired of grieving the losts in silence. I want to change that. I want to celebrate the lives of the people who died for the right cause, allowing us to move forward and giving us a chance at a future. I want to celebrate Legion’s life, his actions, his dreams and hopes. I want to celebrate this victory, this peace that we fight so damn hard to achieve.”
““...””
“... Bitch, I’m in. I’ll bring out the booze too.”
“Don’t forget the dextro food.”
“I won’t.”

Both Tali and Jane had their heads turned towards him and were staring in silence.

“Yes?”
“Sometimes, you just say the most beautiful of things.” Tali said and Jane nodded.
“... I blame Carrot Top and all of you sentimental people. I wasn’t like this before. I would have left all of you bawling your eyes out like babies. Aaaaah the good times.”
“And the moment is destroyed.” Jane said flatly.
“I have a reputation to maintain.” Rick replied and got a smack on the head from the two women.

____________________________________________________________

When the Normandy landed near their location, some geths were almost done with picking up metal from the dead reaper to use a plaque to grill the food. They weren’t the only ones helping, some quarians who had crash landed on the planet were guided by more geths to the celebration. Chief among them was Ran. The Admiral congratulated Tali for making the right decision. She admitted that being carried by a geth prime because of her injured leg has been quite an experience. During the entirety of the trip she had her gun in her hand ready to shoot the prime at its first suspicious movement. She could almost hear her heart beat in her chest with how hard it was beating. She still couldn’t quite believe that the geths were helping her, helping her people. She had no problem talking with the prime about relocating the quarians on Rannoch the easiest and fastest way possible though.

Rick used his omni-tool to play some cheerful music than anyone could dance to. Even his sister who didn’t mind moving a bit and couldn’t care less about the laugh of the people around her. James and Garrus were manning the multiple makeshift grills and were making sure anyone had something to eat, while Ashley, to no one's surprise, made sure that every one wasn’t thirsty. Everyone was having a good time. A good time that they had earned and that they deserved. Way into the party came a toast, each person toasting for close ones that lost their lives during the conflict. And after a minute of silence the celebration picked up again well into the night.