FicWad

At the edge of the system the Quarian Flotilla was staying out of range of the Geth defences, which right now had pulled back to the orbit of the Quarian home world. The Defiant was in the middle of the massive fleet, a shuttle then left one of the larger Live ships and docked with the Alliance frigate.

In the war room Jack was waiting for the Quarian Admiralty board to appear with Arcee and Tali, the latter looking rather nervous. But they didn't have to wait much longer as voices could be heard just outside the room, and they didn't sound happy. The door then opened and three Quarian Admirals (two female, one male) entered the room lead by Raan before she turned and pointed angrily at the male behind her.

"I can not believe that you opened fire on the Dreadnought while Tali and her friends were still onboard, I told you that they were here to help us. I should charge you with treason for this."

"I was well within my rights to attack that Dreadnought once it's defences were down, it was the most powerful ship in the Geth fleet. It had to be destroyed." Admiral Gerrel replied before looking at the Commander.

"What I want to know is why you called them in the first place, the heavy fleet had everything under control."

Raan at that very moment just erupted at her fellow Admiral.

"Control, Control! You endangered the entire Flotilla in this fool hardy attempt to take back Rannoch and nearly cost us our entire race, and you have the audacity to say you had it under control."

Admiral Xen just stayed quiet as the two kept on at each other. But Jack had had enough and stepped between the two.

"Admirals please, it doesn't matter that she called us. We are here now and we have a bigger problem than just the Geth. Surely you noticed that they were far more intelligent in their strategies and attack style, or else you would not have found yourselves in the trouble you were in."

Gerrel looked at Jack and crossed his arms.

"Well before that Dreadnought appeared, we had the Geth almost completely on the run. But when that 'it' joined the battle, the rest of their ships suddenly started attacking us with more advanced attack patterns."

Tali walked over and joined Jack's side.

"That's because the Dreadnought had a piece of Reaper tech on board that was broadcasting a signal over the whole battle area, this is what gave the Geth forces the added intelligence." she said as the Admirals looked at her. Xen finally found her voice.

"Well it must have been a very powerful device indeed to have been able to cover such a vast area, it is unfortunate that it was destroyed." she said giving the male Admiral a knowing look, but he just ignored it and looked back at Jack.

"But it is out of the picture now, so we can go back on the offensive." Gerrel replied enthusiastically.

"That would be unwise creator Gerrel." a synthesized voice said from across the room. They all turned to see a Geth standing in the doorway.

"Darby Commander, we offer assistance."

The Quarian Admirals looked at it, their eyes going wide.

"What the hell is this." Raan shouted out in shock as Gerrel pulled out his pistol and aimed at the Geth. Tali though quickly moved in the way with her arms out stretched.

"Don't shoot, he is with us."

Gerral and Raan looked at her in disbelief while Xen curiously looked the Synthetic up and down.

"Admiral stand down, Legion is with us." Jack said sternly, The Admiral though ignored the Prime and kept his weapon locked on Legion. Raan though stood beside him and looked at the exiled Quarian.

"Tali, isn't that the Geth that killed your father, how can you defend it."

"Yes, that bosh'tet is the reason you were exiled." Gerrel added, Tali though crossed her arms and shot a look of anger at him.

"No, the reason I was exiled was because my father was dead and you wanted a scapegoat. He died because he panicked when Legion here reactivated himself, it was because of his own arrogance."

"How dare you speak of Rael'zorah like that, he was a great man who helped us lead the Flotilla and then gave us the chance to retake our home." Gerrel countered angrily.

"He would be deeply ashamed to know that his daughter is protecting a Geth, let alone the one that killed him."

Tali though felt a tear run down her cheek, though know one could see due to her helmet blocking their view of her face.

"I don't care what he would have thought of me now, because everything I was brought up to believe has been a lie."

Xen stepped in.

"What, did this Geth show you some fabricated 'truth' about the Morning war. Are you really going to believe it over your own people?" she asked.

"It is not a fabrication, it was recorded by the Geth, so that one day we may have reunification with our creators." Legion said as Tali continued to shield him from the others. Gerrel though just sighed and turned around starting for the door.

"I have heard enough of this, it's bad enough to see the daughter or Rael'zorah become a Geth sympathiser, but to have to see it aboard a Cybertronian ship. Raan if you want to entertain this hideous show then go ahead. But I will be on my ship, are you coming Xen?"

"I will be along, but first I would like to take a look at this Geth platform. It certainly would be a fascinating specimen for my research." Xen replied as she took a step toward Legion, only for Tali to remain between the two defiantly.

"I still consider Legion to be a member of my crew, and he helped me defeat the Quintessons." Jack said. Xen though just kept looking at the Geth.

"So did your pistol, are you telling me that you take it's feelings into account too." she answered sarcastically.

"I don't think you want to carry on this line of thought Admiral, Legion is mine and Tali's friend, more importantly 'he' is our best source of information on the Geth." the Prime replied sternly to her as he took his stood between the Admiral and his friends.

"The scientific benefits…." Xen started….

"Are off the table!" Jack replied in her face.

"Well I see my time here is being wasted, so I will return to my ship." the Admiral said before turning around leaving the room. Jack sighed as Tali looked at Admiral Raan.

"Are you not going to join them Admiral?" she asked somewhat curiously.

The Quarian Admiral shook her head in response.

"No Tali, I will stay. Because….you are right, though believed by many of our people to be a great man. Your father who has been a very good friend of mine for over twenty years was still a man, and he was not without his faults. And I did make a promise to him that I would always look out for you, and I could not even keep it." Raan replied sadly as she looked down to the floor.

"Auntie Raan." Tali said in a gentle tone as she embraced the older Quarian in a warm hug. Raan returns the embrace.

"I have missed you Tali, I wish I had fought harder against the others decision to exile you." she said in a guilty tone.

"You did the best you could, I never held any blame for you." Tali replied before they broke the hug. Both Quarians then noticed that Jack, Arcee and Legion were just watching them, confusion written on their faces.

"Auntie Raan?" the femme asked.

"Yes, the Admiral has been a close family friend for many years, I have always called her 'Auntie Raan', ever since I was little." Tali replied.

"I made a promise to Rael'zorah that if anything were to happen to him that I would always watch out for his daughter. I care for her like I would if she was my own flesh and blood." Raan said proudly. Jack and Arcee simply smiled back at the two of them before the Admiral turned back to Tali.

"Tali I do share the others caution about this 'Legion', but if you trust it….."

"I do Raan, 'he' saved my life and showed me the truth about our past, please trust me?" Tali said with a slight pleading tone. The Admiral nodded in return with a smile behind her visor.

"Alright Tali, if you believe he is not a threat….then so shall I."

The young Quarian gave her Aunt a big smile in return, then Raan looked over to Legion.

"Legion, what can you tell us about the Geth, how will they react without the signal to strengthen them."

The Geth looked at the older Quarian.

"This is a false assumption Creator Raan. You have only cut off long range control, but the Heretics are still broadcasting the signal from their base on Rannoch, and that covers the entire planet. The Geth fleet is of this moment disorganised, but once in orbit around Rannoch, they will be back at full strength."

"Keelah, I need to warn the fleet." Raan replied as she activated her com link.

"Gerrel come in." she said before the disgruntled Admiral's voice could be heard.

"Raan what is it?"

"Do not attack Rannoch, the Geth are still at full strength." she said in a panicky tone.

"And where did you hear that, from the 'friendly' Geth. I will not listen to a Geth or his Cybertronian sympathisers." he finished before closing the link.

"Damn it, that stupid Bosh'tet. I am sorry Prime, I have to deal with this in person. But I will make sure that we do not attack the Geth, I am sorry to have to ask for your help again considering the reception the rest of the Admiralty board have given you. But if you can help with the Base on Rannoch." she asked somewhat hesitantly, Jack though smiled back at her.

"Admiral the Defiant is here to help, even if some of your people do not welcome it."

The Prime then looked over to Legion.

"We need to attack the Heretic's base, do you know it's location?"

"Yes, it is on the northern continent, but is heavily defended." the Geth replied as it brought up a holographic representation of it on the large round table in the center of the room. Jack looked at it and smiled.

"Okay Legion, Tali. We need to come up with a plan of attack. Can you two start working on the details."

Both nodded in return before walking over to a console and starting work. The Commander then looked back at Raan.

"We will deal with the base, but we may need the help of the Flotilla."

"Then I will see that you get it Prime, and thank you." she replied before leaving the room.

Jack then walked back to Legion as Tali continued to work, the Geth looking over to the Prime.

"Darby Commander, you opposed Creator Xen's attempt to acquire our platform."

"I think she has done enough already." Jack replied.

"Your assistance continues to be noted by our consensus." Legion said.

"You mentioned the Geth Heretics when we aboard the Dreadnought, but I thought they were no more after the battle of the Citadel." the Prime asked, the Geth just looked at him.

"As did we, it was not until the war began that we realised that we were wrong."

"How did the war begin?"

"After this platform returned to the Geth consensus, we began building a mega structure to house every Geth program and it's memories. It was meant to end our isolation from each other, therefore making sure that no more Geth ever became like the Heretics."

Jack watched as Legion turned back to the screen and carried on working.

"And then the Quarians attacked?"

"Yes, a significant amount of Geth were installed when the Creators started their attack. We did not have sufficient surplus hardware to save them all. Some of the programs could not be recovered." Legion replied.

"So where did the Heretics come in?" Jack asked.

"We were unprepared for the Creator's attack and easily overwhelmed, but then Heretics arrived and offered us help. They said that they could give us upgrades that would allow us to neutralize the Creators advantage, little did we realise that it would be of technology of the Old Machines."

Jack looked at Legion with a sympathetic expression.

"It overcame you?"

"Yes, the signal took control of our sensory equipment, our networking. It was immense, overwhelming, unknowable. It was something that we could not comprehend." the Geth replied.

"But you must have known that if the Heretics had survived that they would still be loyal to the Reapers." the Prime said making Legion look back at him.

"Yes, but imagine that for every one of your people lost on Earth, your own intelligence dimmed. The Creators attack narrowed our own perspective, self preservation took precedence."

"You feared that your race would be wiped out." Jack said.

"We do not experience fear as you do…but we have no desire to be exterminated." the Geth replied.

"Even if that means you lose your free will to the Heretics and the Reapers?"

Legion's optic opened slightly more as it looked at the Commander.

"It would appear that that was an acceptable trade." Legion replied, unbeknownst to them Tali was listening and joined them.

"Legion…..I am sorry, sorry for what my people did to you. What they pushed you to do." she said making the Geth look over to her.

"Your apologises are not required Tali'zorah….but thank you. You are the only Creator that sees us as something other than an enemy."

Both Quarian and Geth remained silent for a moment before Jack decided to get everyone back on track.

"The blame for this war lies solely with the Quarians who struck first."

Tali merely nodded in return, Jack could tell that she was disgusted by what her own people had done, and also because it came from the research that her own father had worked on, it had made it even more uncomfortable for her.

"But if we can stop the Reaper signal, then this war doesn't have to end in further bloodshed." he finished as he looked at them both.

"We will assist in any function you require Darby Commander." Legion replied, Jack then smiled at both of them.

"I will be working over there." he said as he gestured over to the station that Arcee was standing at, and then walked over to the femme who smiled at him.

"Everything okay?" she asked as he looked back to the two at the other console.

"Yeah, I think it will be." he replied while Arcee observed him. For if a Geth and a Quarian could overlook their differences and work together, then maybe the same could be said of the races themselves. He then turned back to Arcee and the two of them began working on the information on the console in front of them.

Two hours later and Legion and Tali had everyone with them in the war room as they stood around the large circular table, Jack and Arcee were joined by Admiral Raan and the rest of the team. Admirals Gerrel and Xen were absent, but were connected via com link. A large blue hologram of the planet appeared over the table.

"So Legion and I have come up with a plan to infiltrate the Heretic's base and destroy whatever is emitting the signal. The Heavy, Patrol and Support fleets will engage the Geth forces in orbit, so to keep the Geth off balance." Tali started as she showed holograms of the fleets moving towards the red Geth holoforms.

"Meanwhile a team will take a shuttle down to the planet and enter the facility."

Gerrel then spoke up over the intercom.

"Well I hate to ruin your plan Tali'zorah, but did you know that base is surrounded by anti-air weapon emplacements. A shuttle will not get within one click of the base." he said in a critical tone. Legion though spoke up.

"Creator Gerrel, the shuttle will make it through if assisted by a wing of Quarian fighters."

The room then heard the Quarian Admiral mumbling and cursing from his side of the line before he spoke up again.

"You expect me to risk my pilots and follow a Geth's plan?"

Jack felt his patience with the Quarian dwindling as he answered him.

"Admiral if you want to reclaim your world from the Heretics, this is the way to do it."

"Heretics or not, they are all Geth. What's the difference?" Gerrel replied.

Tali gritted her teeth from behind her visor and was about to answer when Garrus stopped her by shaking his head at her sympathetically. This calmed her down and she carried on with the plan, choosing to ignore Gerrel.

"The fighters will keep the emplacements busy, allowing the shuttle to enter the base and drop off the team." she said as Smokescreen jumped in.

"Why are we bothering with a ground attack, surely we can just destroy the base from orbit." the young Autobot said gaining everyone's attention.

"Autobot Smokescreen, the base is surrounded by a null field that scrambles sensor readings, meaning that the Creator fleet can not launch an attack." Legion replied.

"But thanks to Admiral Xen, we have a way of tagging whatever is producing the signal." Tali said as she gestured to Raf who held what looked like a Quarian assault rifle.

"Xen, your up." Raan said.

"Thank you, the device that is in the hands of your scientist will allow you to mark whatever target you wish and transmit the coordinates up to the Defiant. Then the frigate will attack and destroy it." Xen said over the intercom.

"So we fight our way through a few hundred centurions, tag the device and watch the Defiant blow it to smithereens. I like it." Garrus said.

"There is one problem, the device will only allow for a few shots before the null field adapts to it, so you will have to make it count." Raf replied before placing it back on the table beside him.

"Well the ground team will have to work fast, because our fleet will not be able to hold out long against the Geth forces while they are effected by that signal." Gerrel's voice said.

"You worry about the Geth ships Admiral, let me worry about what happens on the ground." Jack said as he stood in front of the others.

"I will lead the team which will include Legion, Arcee and Tali. If no one else has anything to say, I think we should get a move on. Before the Heretics strengthen their defences enough."

Everyone nodded and started to head out.

"I will head back to fleet and make sure that Gerrel is ready." Raan said before heading to the exit.

"Good luck Admiral." Jack replied, gaining a nod from the Quarian.

"Yes Prime, good luck to us all." she replied, then she left. All that was left in the room was the Commander, Arcee, Legion and Tail.

"Alright grab your gear and meet me down in the shuttle bay." he said, the others acknowledged him and they left the war room.

PRIME EFFECT 3

The battle raged over the planet Rannoch as the Quarian and Geth fleets fought. A Quarian heavy cruiser closed towards two enemy ships, it's cannons firing on both causing explosions against the Geth's shields. Two more ships turned and fired on the heavy cruiser, ripping through its defences and causing it to explode. It's debris flying out in all directions, one large piece hits another heavy cruiser making it veer away and crash into another. The Geth ships started to move in closer to the slower Quarian vessels, causing massive damage to them.

Suddenly the Quarian patrol fleet appeared and attacked the Geth fleet and forcing them back as the smaller Quarian cruisers took positions between both fleets and gave them some breathing room, before the Quarian fleet attempted to attack again. Meanwhile the Defiant flew into orbit on the other side of the battle and launched the shuttle which flew down to the surface.

On board the shuttle Jack stood with Legion to his side and Arcee sitting with Tali.

"Darby Commander while your team attacks the base, we will disable its defences and acquire an escape vehicle." Legion said gaining a curious look from the Commander.

"You can do that Legion, how?"

"This platform still has remnants of the old machine code that was installed during our captivity on the Dreadnought." the Geth replied. It looked up at the Prime and saw the concern on his face.

"You are concerned?" it asked.

"A little…. Legion, can't the Heretics take control of you again?" Jack asked.

"No, the code has only upgraded our intelligence. This platform was used to control the rest of the Geth in our fleet, somewhat like a carrier of a virus. It will only effect those that come into contact with it, not the one that carries it. Do you still trust us?" Legion asked with a hint of worry in it's voice.

"Yes I do Legion, but why didn't you tell me that you still had the upgrades?" Jack asked.

"We did not mean to cause offense, but this matter was…..personal."

Legion then looked down to the ground.

"You were ashamed?" Tali said as she watched the two, gaining the Geth's attention.

"Shame is an emotional response to societal judgement, it should not apply to us."

Jack crossed his arms and shook his head.

"How did this happen, you have shown us before that the Geth are better than this."

Legion though hung it's head.

"No, based on evidence on recent choices that we have made…..we are not."

The Prime looked at the Geth as it looked back at him.

"Yeah, well….."

Suddenly the shuttle was rocked by explosions from all around it.

"Sir we have entered range of the Base's flack cannons, I'll try to get us through it." the shuttle pilot called back to them.

"Where is the fighter wing, they should be here by now?" Arcee asked as they braced themselves as the vessel was rocked by a flak round exploding just outside. Jack tapped his com link.

"Admiral Gerrel, this is Jackson Prime. Where is the fighter wing that is supposed to be supporting us?"

"I am sorry Prime, but a squadron of Geth fighters have managed to break through our lines and have started to attack the Live-ships. I had to redeploy the wing to defend our ships."

Jack looked over to Tali and Arcee, an annoyed but understanding look on his face.

"Admiral, the Defiant can help with the defence of your ships until we are ready to destroy the signal device."

"That would be appreciated Prime, Gerrel out." the Admiral said before ending the call.

"Prime to Defiant, Hotrod I want the ship to help protect the Liveships. We will call you back when we tag the device." the Prime said.

"Will do Prime, good luck." the Autobot replied as the shuttle started to veer to the left.

"Everyone hold on." the pilot called back as the vessel started to descend low into a canyon to evade the flak fire, the canyon was just large enough for the shuttle to navigate. There was only a foot of space between the rocky walls and the ship.

Meanwhile the battle had reached the Flotilla as the Geth and Quarian fighters engaged each other. But the synthetic enemy ships were more agile and powerful compared to their creators and were wiping the floor with them.

"Flotilla this is the Alpha Leader, I have two bogies on my six. I cant shake them."

The fighter then did a barrel roll as the Geth weapon's fire narrowly missed it, then the ship pulled up and flew over the hull of one of the Liveships. Only for the Geth to stay with him and keep attacking, but suddenly as the Quarian fighter flew back away from the large cruiser, both enemies were destroyed. The pilot looked around him in confusion.

"This is Alpha Leader, thanks for assist Live-ship Vailia."

"That was not us Alpha Leader." the Live-ship responded.

"We have your back Alpha." Hotrod suddenly jumped in as the Defiant flew past the fighter and attacked more of the Geth fighters.

"Thanks Defiant, but we have more enemy bogies coming in." the pilot replied as he saw more of the Geth closing in to the right of him.

"Roger that Alpha, engaging now." the Autobot said as the Defiant destroyed the enemies in front of it and turned around an started for the new comers.

Back on Rannoch the shuttle emerged from the canyon and pulled in next to a large rock structure, landing next to it. Legion then opened up the hatch and looked back at Jack.

"Proceed to the Base's entrance, you should be well covered from the defence cannons with all this cover from the natural environment. We in the meantime will procure the escape vehicle."

"Roger that and Legion….good luck" Jack replied gaining a nod from the Geth.

"Acknowledged." it said as it exited the shuttle and ran for another part of the base. The Prime then went outside with both Arcee and Tali and gave a quick look around.

"There are no hostiles in our immediate location." he said as Tali took in the view, her eyes widened as she saw the natural beauty of her planet around her. The Quarian then bent down to the ground and took a scan with her holo-tool as the others joined her.

"I can't believe it, this is the home world….. my world. The home that we never thought we would see again."

She then looked up at the sky as it turned a light red, the sun was just beginning it's decent below the horizon.

"Look at the sky and the mountians, my people used to write literature about them."

"Once this is over, maybe you can write new ones." Jack replied, the Quarian looked back to him and smiled.

"This is Rannoch, the home of our ancestors. Our bodies carried the seeds that spread the desert grass. We have a saying among our people, 'Keelah se'lai'. It means 'by the home world I hope to see someday'."

"Well you are seeing right now Tali." the Prime replied as Tali reached out her arms in front of her and made a square like box shape with her hands.

"The living room window will be right…here."

She then looked back at Jack and saw a slight confusion on his face.

"Something you want to tell us?" Jack asked as Arcee stood beside him, just as confused.

"I just claimed the land, I know it doesn't mean much, but when this war is over….I will have a home."

"Haven't the Quarians spent three hundred years living as nomads, won't it be difficult living in one place again. I know it was hard for us to begin with." Arcee asked gaining the Quarian's attention.

"Well we are more used to carrying our homes with us, no matter where we go." Tali replied.

Jack then picked up a rock from the ground and handed to her with a smile, she returned it before looking down at the stone in her hands.

"Well I guess that's it's a start."

She then put it away in one of her utility belt pouches before the three of them started walking in the direction of the base.

PRIME EFFECT 3

After a short walk the group found themselves at the entrance to the base, a number of Geth centurions guarding it as one of them spotted the intruders and began firing at them. Jack and his team took cover before returning fire, taking out two of the enemies before Jack moved in closer to the remaining Geth. Tali created a drone from her holo-tool and sent it over the three Geth and commanded it to self destruct, the resulting explosion killing them. Meanwhile Arcee shot another in the face with he SMG as Jack kept up behind the supply crate of the last one which had taken cover at, when the femme had killed it's fellow centurion. Suddenly the Prime reached over the crate and pulled the enemy over it before activating the star saber and driving it through the Geth's torso.

"We are all clear Jack." Arcee called out as the two females joined him.

"Alright lets get in there and tag the device for the Defiant." he replied before the three of them then entered the base. The group followed the map of the structure that Tali had opened on her holo-tool, the map had been sent to her by Legion who as he had said, had hacked the defences of the base and disarmed all alarms and scanners. This made the infiltration much easier for the Prime and his team as the centurions did not know that they were there. They took out each and every Geth that crossed their path as they got closer to their target.

"Darby Commander, the device is inside a shielded missile silo that is only a hundred feet from your position." Legion said over the com link as Jack, Tali and Arcee killed two more centurions from behind as the Prime took aim at another enemy that was around the corner from him. The following shot blazed straight through the centurion's optic, splattering the wall behind it with it's blood.

"Thanks Legion, are their any more obstacles between us and the silo?" he asked.

"I have activated a number of false alarms in other parts of the base, the remaining Heretics are now investigating them. Your path is now free of enemies." Legion replied.

"Roger that." the Commander said.

"Jack, the silo is down that corridor." Tali said as she showed them the map.

"Alright, Legion has cleared the path of anymore enemies, so lets get this over with."

Both females nodded in agreement as they headed down the corridor.

Before long they saw a bright light at the end of the long corridor, the light was coming from the setting sun as the group emerged outside at the centre of the base. In front of them was the large silo, but it was covered by a blast door.

"Legion, the silo is closed. Is there anything you can do on your end?" the Prime asked into his com link.

"Stand by, we are hacking the blast doors now…..warning the remaining centurions are now on their way back. They have figured out the alarms were false and are coming for you." Legion replied.

"Thanks for the heads up." Jack responded as he and the team took cover. The returning centurions then appeared from behind a doorway and started firing on the group. Jack, Tali and Arcee tried to return fire but found themselves pinned as more Geth appeared from the other side of the base.

"Jack, I think we are stuck. There are just too many Geth here for the three of us to handle." Arcee stated alittle worryingly, Jack looked over to her and gave her a slight smile. Hoping to alleviate her concern.

"We have been in tougher situations than this." he said as the gunfire whizzed past their heads. Suddenly Legion's voice came over the com link.

"Silo doors overridden."

The three of them looked back to see the large door covering the silo begin to open.

"And stay down." the Geth finished before a loud engine could be heard from the left of the group.

"What in the Allspark is that?" Arcee asked before a large Geth tank appeared and cannon on it's top turned and fired at both sets of enemies, obliterating them. Then as Jack and the others stood up and looked over, a hatch at the front of the tank opened and the familiar figure of Legion popped it's head out.

"We have acquired the escape vehicle." it stated, gaining smiles from the three.

"Thanks Legion." Tali replied as Arcee noticed the silo door had fully opened revealling a red light shining through the dense gas at the bottom of the silo.

"Jack it's clear." the femme said gaining his attention.

"Alright." he replied as he gave her a smile and walked over to the ledge overlooking the massive round pit, he then equipped Xen's tag device and pointed it down to the shrouded device, a blue laser being emitted from it as it highlighted the red light.

"Alright, the signal device is tagging it in four, three, two, one." the Prime said before a ping sound rang out from the weapon in his hands.

"I hope the Defiant is ready? Tali said, but Arcee looked over to the horizon and saw a ship descend beneath the clouds and fly towards the base.

"Here it comes." the femme said as the Alliance frigate flew low between to rock formations and fired two torpedoes, which went straight into the silo and exploded on whatever was inside. The base shook from the explosion as the group steadied themselves, a large amount of smoke billowed from the silo as they looked at it.

"Did we get it?" Tali asked before a familiar roar echoed from within the pit. Jack and Arcee looked at each other in shock as it dawned on them what the signal device really was, but suddenly a massive black leg sprung out of the silo and landed on the ground next to them.

"REAPER!, everybody back to Legion now!" the Prime said as the massive behemoth started to climb out of the pit, the base falling apart around them due to the strength of it's Reaper guest. Tali and Arcee ran ahead as Jack covered them from behind as they reached the tank.

"Keelah, that thing is huge." Tali stated in fear, as she started climbing into the Geth tank.

"Yeah, how are we supposed to fight it? We don't exactly have a City-bot on our side this time Jack." Arcee asked before being motioned by the Prime to enter the vehicle, he followed behind her.

"I was thinking that maybe the Quarian fleet could help." Jack replied as he entered the tank and closed the hatch behind him, before taking a seat next to Arcee and Tali.

"We will attempt to out run the Reaper." Legion said back to the others as he reversed the tank out of the base and turned around, the Reaper meanwhile had cleared the silo and now towered over the base as it started to move after the group. Legion then shifted the vehicle forward and away at top speed as the black ship roared at them.

"Jackson Prime to Quarian fleet, the Heretic base is a live Reaper. I need an orbital strike now." he called out over the com link. The Reaper then charged it's main weapon before firing on the tank, which swerved left to right. Narrowly missing the shots which exploded on impact with the ground around them.

"Can not keep this up for very long Darby Commander." Legion stated as the Reaper fired again, only to hit the ground behind the tank.

"Prime to fleet, we are clear. Begin the attack." The Prime said, ignoring the Geth's comments.

But the vehicle had cleared the rock formations and left it exposed as the Reaper charged it's main weapon again, this time the shot would not miss. But before it could fire, the black behemoth was suddenly besieged by explosions all around it as the Quarian fleet fired down at it from orbit. One of the torpedoes hit the main weapon which caused the Reaper to fall to the ground and stay still as smoke and dust rose up around it from the bombardment.

"Did we hit anything?" Gerrel asked over the com, Jack opened up the hatch and took a look outside. He saw the red weapon port and the energy that was crackling around it.

"You hit the Reaper's main weapon port, must be weak spot when it is charging up." the Prime replied.

"Damn it, the null field being emitted by the base is messing with our targeting sensors. We can not get a clear shot at the Reaper's weak spot."

As Jack looked out at the Reaper, Legion turned and looked up at him from within the tank.

"We can still get clear and escape."

"No, I am getting off here." the Commander said as he climbed off the tank onto the ground next to it.

"Darby Commander, what are you doing?" the Geth asked, as Jack equipped Xen's tagging device again before looking back at the tank.

"If we run now, then the Geth will remain in the Reaper's control and the Quarian race will be annihilated. This has to end now."

He then tapped his com link.

"Teletraan, I want you to patch in the Quarians to the Defiant's targeting sensors. I want Xen's tagging device to be synced up to the whole fleet."

"Understood Prime." the AI responded.

"Do you require assistance?" Legion asked.

"No, stay down. I have this one, but I saw a rocket launcher inside the tank. Can one of you throw it out to me?" Jack asked as Arcee picked up the weapon and climbed halfway out the hatch and dropped it off the side next to the Commander.

"Jack I'll do this with you." she said as she started to climb off the tank, but he looked back at her with a stern look.

"No Arcee, you stay in the tank. Legion get the others to safety, I will draw the Reaper here myself."

"But Jack…." the femme tried to argue back, not attempting to hide her feelings from her lover.

"Tali keep her in the tank." Jack called back, the Quarian then got up beside the femme and placed a hand on her shoulder. Arcee looked down for a moment before looking back at the Prime, her eyes welling up at the thought of leaving her Jack with the Reaper. But she saw the resolve in his expression and knew she could not change his mind.

"Come on, he wants to make sure we are safe." the Quarian said sympathetically to the femme who nodded back before taking a final look at the Prime.

"I love you Jack." she said to him softly.

"I know Arcee….ditto." he replied calmly before both females got back in the tank.

"Darby Commander, good luck." Legion said before driving the vehicle away from the Commander who turned around to see the Reaper getting back to it's feet after recovering. He then took a deep breath and picked up the RPG.

"Prime to fleet, I will get the Reaper's attention and then aim Xen's device at the weak spot. Link up with the Defiant's targeting sensors and be ready to fire."

He then aimed the weapon and fired the missile which flew through the air and detonated on the monster ship's hull, making it look in his direction. It then roared as it recognised the Prime and started to make it's way over to him. Jack then dropped the RPG and reequipped the tagging device and aimed it at the Reaper.

"The fleet's weapons are locked and loaded Prime." Teletraan said over the com link as the Commander activated the beam and pointed it directly at the red weapon's port.

"Prime, the Reaper is almost in range." Gerrel said as the giant enemy fired it's laser at Jack, making him dive out of it's way as it sliced through the ground next to him. He could feel it's intense heat beside him as it missed. He rolled into a crouching position and readied the device again, and noticed that he was now inside the shadow of the colossus as it had closed the distance and was now bearing down on him. The red light of the main weapon pulsing as it charged itself. But the Prime did not let fear take over as he aimed the device directly at the light as it engulfed the entire area around him in red.

"Be ready to fire in four, three, two, one….." he said into his com link as the Reaper was only seconds from firing. Suddenly the device pinged again and torpedoes started raining down from the sky as the Defiant and the fleet fired all of their weapons at the enemy from orbit. Jack quickly took cover as the area was covered in explosions as the weapons fire hit the Reaper and the ground around it, making the behemoth stagger back . And then another volley of torpedoes and missiles descended and hit the Reaper directly on the weapon's port, causing a massive explosion to blow out of the hull around it as the Reaper fell back against a small mountain, bringing up a large cloud of dust while it stayed there, as red electric bolts surged around it's body.

"Direct hit, you got it." Jack called back to the fleet as he looked over to the Reaper from his cover, he had also activated the sky boom shield and had just deactivated it when he saw the dust settled and that the giant black ship was no longer moving. He got up and walked over to the defeated Reaper which suddenly called out to him with it's inhuman voice.

"Jackson Prime."

Jack looked at it with surprise.

"You know who I am?" he asked in response.

"Harbinger speaks of you, of your resistance. But you will fall to us, the cycle will continue as it has for eons."

"Are you sure about that, we stopped Sovereign and the Geth. We stopped Harbinger and the Quintessons, what makes you think that we won't stop you too?" Jack asked as he walked closer to the Reaper.

"You can not comprehend us Prime, others have spoken as you do and they still fell to us. This time will be no different."

"I think we will surprise you this time." the Commander replied.

"Doubtful, this is a minor victory for you Prime. We number in the billions, you can not hope to destroy us all."

Jack crossed his arms and looked at the Reaper Stoically.

"I guess we will find out soon enough."

"Yes you will, finish your war here. We will see you soon."

Then the blue light emanating from within the Reaper's inner parts dimmed until the behemoth died and was nothing more than a giant corpse lying against the mountain. As Jack stood there and looked at the dead Reaper, the Geth tank stopped just away from him and the others climbed out to meet him.

"We did it, we killed a Reaper." Arcee said as Jack turned to her and she wrapped her arms around him as they embraced.

"Yeah we did." he replied softly as the Tali and Legion joined the partners.

"You had me so worried….." she started to say but Jack cut her off.

"It's ok, I am alright."

The two stayed quiet for a moment as they stayed in the embrace, Legion then activated his holo-tool.

"Darby Commander." the Geth then said, making Jack and Arcee break their hug and look at it.

"What is it Legion?" the Prime asked.

"We have just confirmed that the Geth are no longer under the control of the old machines…..we are free."

Just as Legion said that, Admiral Gerrel's voice then came through on Jack's com link.

"You did it Prime, the Geth fleet has stopped firing. They are completely vulnerable."

Legion deactivates it's holo-tool and walks up to the Prime, having overhearing the Admiral.

"Darby Commander, the Geth only acted in defence after the Creators attacked first. Do we deserve death?"

Jack looked at Legion curiously.

"Legion, what do you suggest?"

"The upgrades that the Old Machines had given us with the signal, now that it is dead it can no longer control us. We could upload the upgrades to the entire Geth consensus without sacrificing our independence."

Tali looked at Legion, her eyes widened at it's idea.

"You want to give the Reaper upgrades to all Geth, that would make them as smart as when the Reaper was controlling them and the Heretics."

Legion nodded in return.

"Yes, but we would have free will. All Geth programs in each unit would become a true intelligence, we would be alive. And we could help you."

"But Legion my fleet could still attack you, and with those upgrades the Geth could wipe my people out."

She then looked at Jack.

"I know that I do agree with the Geth now over how my people have treated them, but Jack you can not sacrifice my people for the Geth."

Jack stayed quiet for a second as he mulled over the choice in front of them. Legion though spoke again as it looked at the Quarian.

"Do you remember the question that caused creators to attack us and begin the Morning war Tali'zorah….does this unit have a soul?"

Jack looked at Tali and then at Legion.

"Upload the code to the Geth Legion. Tali call Admiral Raan and get her to call off the fleet if she can."

Tali activated her com link as Legion started to upload the Reaper code with his holo-tool.

"Uploading, ten percent."

"Admiral Raan, this is Tali'zorah. You have to get the fleet to stop their attack."

Raan's voice then came through the com link.

"I will try Tali pleas….." she was suddenly cut off by Gerrel.

"No, continue the attack. This is our chance to end the Geth once and for all."

Tali shook her head in response as Legion kept working.

"twenty percent." it replied.

The Quarian looked at Jack, he could see her white eyes looking back at him through her visor.

"Jack, I can't stop them. Please don't let Legion do this." she pleaded, her voice full of emotion.

"We regret the deaths of the Creators, but we see no alternative. Forty percent" Legion replied sympathetically.

Tali kept looking at Jack who gave her a stern look.

"No, no one else dies today. Legion keep going." he said before tapping his com link.

"Jack." Tali replied.

"All ships, this is Jackson Prime. The Reaper is dead, stand down now!" he said stoically into his com link.

Tali having seen Jack's resolve suddenly spoke into her own com link.

"This is Tali'zorah vas Defiant, Jackson Prime speaks the truth. Stand down."

Then Admiral Raan's voice followed on the transmission.

"I agree with Tali and the Prime, all ships stand down."

"Negative, we can finally win this war. Keep firing!" Gerrel countered.

"Sixty percent." Legion spoke aloud as he continued to upload the code.

"The Geth are about to return to full strength. If you continue to attack, then they will wipe you out. Your entire history has been about you trying to kill the Geth. You forced them to rebel against you, and you forced them to ally with the Heretics and Reapers." Jack said into his com link.

"Eighty percent" Legion stated while the Prime continued.

"The Geth do not want to fight you, if you can believe that for just one moment, then this war is over. You have a choice, please…..Keelah se'lai."

Then for a long moment the com link's frequency was silent before Gerrel spoke again.

"All ships, hold fire." he answered in defeat, Jack felt a smile grow on his face in response. Suddenly Legion stopped the upload.

"Error, copying Reaper code is insufficient. Direct personality dissemination required."

It then looked over at Jack.

"Darby Commander, I must go to them. I am…. I am sorry, but it is the only way." the Geth said with what sounded like sadness in it's voice. Tali then stepped forward towards the synthetic.

"Legion, the answer to your question was…..yes." she said sadly, gaining the Geth's attention as it looked at her with it's bright white optic.

"I know Tali, thank you." Legion replied before looking back out towards the sunset that was nearly complete as half of the sun was still visible over the horizon.

"Keelah se'lia" it continued before it's Optic dimmed to nothing and Legion fell to it's knees before slumping to the ground in front of them. As Jack, Arcee and Tali looked down to their friend's body, two shuttles flew down and landed next to them. One was Quarian and the other was Geth, Admiral Raan exited her shuttle and walked over to the group.

"Prime." she said as they looked to her.

"Admiral Raan, how is everything up there?" Jack asked.

"I heard what you said over the com link, if Gerrel hadn't stopped.." she replied.

"He did." the Prime said in return.

"We have lost a lot of ships, I don't know if we can…..where are we supposed to go?" she said. Suddenly a Geth centurion joined the group and looked down at the Admiral.

"You are welcome to return to Rannoch Admiral Raan…..with us." it said calmly to her.

"Legion?" Jack asked as he and Tali looked up to it.

"I am sorry Commander but no, Legion sacrificed himself to give the rest of us intelligence. He will be honoured." the Geth replied.

"Good." Jack said with a smile.

"And we will honour Legion's promise. The Geth fleet with help you retake Earth and our engineers will assist in building the Lithone weapon called the 'Crucible'." the Geth continued as Raan looked back at the Prime.

"As will ours of course."

"Admiral, have you considered possible settlement sites?" the centurion asked as it looked back at the Quarian.

"Well…the southern continent had excellent farmland if I recall." she said in surprise.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack asked, gaining the attention of the Geth and Raan.

"Yes, I believe so Prime. Thank you." she answered before looking back to the centurion. Jack then looked at Arcee who gave him a loving smile before noticing that Tali wasn't with them. They both looked around to see that she had walked over to the edge of a cliff and sat down, she was watching the sunset as it finished. Arcee nudged the Prime, gaining a smile from Jack before he walked over and sat beside the Quarian.

"Thinking of buying another house?" he asked jokingly with a warm smile, Tali looked at him and smiled.

"I was thinking of something with a view like this."

"Well you better claim it fast, it's a buyers market." he replied, the Quarian chuckled in response but then stayed quiet.

"You alright? I know that it will be difficult for your people to work with the Geth." the Commander said.

"I'm not staying here, if you are wondering. I am coming with you." she replied while looking back at him.

"I wasn't going to ask." he said in return gently.

"I think that you have more than earned the help of the fleet, and my people also owe the Cybertronians for their part in this too." Tali replied.

"I would understand if you wanted to stay and help your people rebuild." the Prime said.

"But Jack, we both know that the Reapers are here to destroy all life in the galaxy. And that sooner or later they will arrive here at Rannoch. So I am coming with you to stop them, because I have just gotten my home back, I'll be damned if I am going to let them destroy it." the Quarian replied before getting back to her feet, Jack doing the same.

"It is beautiful isn't it?" she said as the sun finally disappeared behind the mountains on the horizon.

"Yes it certainly is." the Prime replied as Arcee stood beside him and took his hand in her own, gently squeezing it affectionately. Jack smiled back to her in return as Tali began to take off her visor.

"It will be years before we can live without our suits completely, but…"

Both Jack and Arcee looked at her in surprise as she took the visor off and looked out at the landscape before them.

"...Right now, I have this." Tali said as a single tear of joy ran down her cheek as she smiled. The Quarian and her friends then continued to take in the natural beauty that Rannoch had to offer as night descended upon the planet.