Disclaimer: BioWare owns Mass Effect. Chapter contains some graphic depictions.

Chapter 10: Night Winds

Kaidan awoke with a warm feeling in his chest and a smile on his lips. The timing might be bad and maybe he should have felt guilty about being so content during the war, but after his conversation last night with Aurelia he was glad they had the chance to take their happiness while they could.

While they could? He frowned. Don't think like that, Alenko. The war's not over yet.

No, the war wasn't over and they hadn't lost. The Crucible was still being built and they were getting more support from across the galaxy each day. Of course there were thousands of lives lost every day, even millions, but against a foe like the Reapers the small victories amounted to big ones.

Kaidan got up and was about to check his omni-tool for messages when a smooth voice rung around the Observation Deck.

"Good morning, Major," EDI said. "The commander asked that I inform you we are on our way to the Mesana System."

Waking up to EDI would take some getting used to. "Thanks, EDI."

He took a quick shower in the crew bathrooms, pulling on his fatigues before making his way to the mess. There was already a bunch of other people gathered there for breakfast, including Aurelia, Garrus, Liara, and Vega seated around a table. Kaidan caught Aurelia's eye and waved a good morning.

She threw him a small smile and nodded towards an empty seat across from her next to Liara; he needed no further instruction. Kaidan collected a tray of breakfast – some sort of oatmeal – and thanked the mess sergeant before heading to the table.

"Kaidan!" Garrus, seated next to Shepard, stood up and shook Kaidan's free hand. "Glad to have you aboard."

Kaidan wedged himself next to Liara, opposite Vega. "And I'm glad to be here, Garrus."

Liara gave him a friendly pat on the back before turning back to her food. "I'm happy to see you've made a full recovery, Kaidan."

"Believe me, so am I, Liara," Kaidan joked. "I see the food has also gotten better."

"That's just because you're not eating dextro food. Let me tell you, that has definitely not improved. Being in the minority amino acid group on board is not treating me well." Garrus' sense of humour certainly hadn't changed since they last spoke.

"So if Vakarian is the only dextro aboard… what is Javik? Are protheans even dextro or levo, or something else entirely?" James asked earnestly. It was then that Kaidan noticed the other recent addition to the crew missing.

"Well," Liara answered, "protheans have a unique DNA structure that is neither levo nor dextro amino acid based. Javik has free reign in the mess because he refuses to disclose what he eats, and I haven't quite figured out his diet. Every time I reach somewhat of a conclusion, he changes his eating habits."

"Wait, Liara," Aurelia put down her oatmeal, brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Have you been watching Javik and keeping a journal on his eating habits? What other habits have you been noting down?"

Liara's cheeks flushed a dark blue. Kaidan recognised the blushing from back on the SSV Normandy, and he chuckled internally at the déjà vu; Liara seemed to get a little too emotionally involved with the people she was 'studying,' as she would call it.

"It is… purely scientific."

Shepard and Garrus glanced at each other with a sheepish look in their eye. "You sure about that?"

"Come on, guys," Kaidan waved them off and took a sip of his coffee. "Liara may be a powerful biotic and an influential information broker, but she is first and foremost a prothean expert. Our prothean expert. Besides, from my brief interaction with Javik I'd say that he wants to remain shrouded in mystery…"

Liara let out a light laugh and a quiet thank you, while Garrus muttered something about being 'no fun.'

Shepard flashed him an annoyed but entertained look before standing up. "Alright, back to work for me. Catch you all later."

When the rest of the group finished breakfast, they scattered back to their own stations for their respective duties. After two hours of pouring over intel, EDI let Kaidan know that Shepard and Liara were waiting for him in Liara's office. He dropped his work and headed across Deck 3 to the room from where Liara was running the Shadow Broker's empire.

Aurelia stood opposite a wall covered in bright console screens, one hand pinching the bridge of her nose. She only spoke when the door fully closed behind Kaidan. "We're heading to Lesuss to investigate a distress signal from a monastery, on behalf of Asari High Command. Several asari commando squads were sent and have gone missing while responding, and I guess we're the back up."

"Great. Asari commandos missing in action is always a good sign." He smirked to himself, remembering something he said three years ago. "Certain death for some, just fine for us."

Shepard let out a single chuckle before her expression turned serious again. "That's not the best part. The situation is worse than I thought. It's a damn Ardat-Yakshi monastery."

Kaidan swallowed. He didn't like the sound of that. "What's an Ardat-Yakshi?"

"Ardat-Yakshi is a genetic condition among pureblood asari," Liara explained. "When an Ardat-Yakshi attempts to mate, their nervous system dominates that of their partner, causing the partner to haemorrhage and die. The Ardat-Yakshi becomes stronger as a result. Ardat-Yakshi must live in seclusion or be executed – the monastery we are going to is the place of isolation for asari with the condition."

"They sound like… like vampires." Kaidan shuddered.

Liara pondered for a moment. "I suppose that is an accurate analogy. With every victim they do gain a thirst for more."

"Yeah, that sounds like Morinth," Aurelia huffed. "I faced one. They're not a friendly bunch and sure as hell not that easy to take down."

"You faced one of these Ardat-Yakshi?" Kaidan suddenly felt concerned and had to stop himself from reaching a protective arm around Shepard, even though he was aware the encounter had already happened and she could take care of herself. "When?"

"I know you read all the mission reports from my time with Cerberus, but this was a favour for a friend so I kept it off the books. Don't look so worried, LT."

"But not all Ardat-Yakshi are like Morinth, Shepard." Liara spoke defensively. "Morinth chose violence. These Ardat-Yakshi chose isolation, chose to live with their condition peacefully. We're not even sure about the situation at the monastery, or why the distress signal was sent."

Aurelia crossed her arms. "You're exactly right, Liara. That's why I asked Kaidan to join us, to go over a plan for what might be waiting for us."

Kaidan tried to wrap his head around the situation. "Right. So we're going to an asari monastery housing what are essentially vampires, and we don't know what exactly the situation is – only that asari commando units didn't succeed in finding out."

"Precisely," Liara nodded. "But if there was a chance the Ardat-Yakshi could break loose, I know that the commandos would have been ordered to purge the monastery. They would have brought heavy explosives with them."

"Let's not assume we need to use them just yet. It could have been the Ardat-Yakshi themselves who sent out the distress signal, maybe because the Reapers showed up." Aurelia started pacing, her arms still crossed. "We need to be prepared for anything. I was thinking a small squad, just the three of us, for stealth. Whatever is going on we want to keep our presence on the down low. And I want you two with me because if we do have to go against any Ardat-Yakshi…"

Kaidan finished for her. "Biotics versus biotics. Got it." He flashed a reassuring smile at her. "We can't do much better with the information we have. We'll have to go with it."

"Kaidan is right, Shepard." Liara's tone was also supportive.

Aurelia stopped pacing and turned to the two of them. Her face seemed unconvinced, but she nodded at Kaidan and Liara. "EDI, what's our ETA?"

The reply was instantaneous. "Approximately 2 hours."

"Thanks, EDI. Until then, you two continue with your duties. EDI, notify all of us when we're an hour out."

The shuttle descended slowly towards Lesuss, taking a more indirect route to decrease chances of detection. While the Kodiak wasn't exactly the stealthiest vehicle (especially compared to the Normandy), Lieutenant Cortez knew his stuff – Kaidan could tell they were in good hands. Kaidan sat in the co-pilot's seat next to him, though Cortez definitely didn't need any help piloting or navigating. Instead, Kaidan watched the terrain outside.

Once the monastery came into view, a chill slithered its way down Kaidan's spine. What looked like it should be a place of peace, a place of tranquil isolation, looked and definitely felt like something was off. There were no signs of life surrounding the building; it looked cold and abandoned, lonely almost, and dark.

"Commander," he looked up at Aurelia, standing behind him. Her eyes were transfixed on the view.

"I see it. There's no power."

"And I don't think we're alone, Commander." Cortez pointed out to the front of the building, where he was about to land. "There's another shuttle parked there. Heat signature reads as still warm, so it was used recently."

Liara leaned forward in her seat, her face appearing in the cockpit's doorway. "That's strange – High Command didn't mention another squad."

"Then it's an anomaly," Aurelia sighed. "Don't assume hostility, let's just focus on finding out what happened. Maybe we'll find survivors."

"I'll keep an eye out for suspicious activity out here, Commander," Cortez said.

She placed her hand on the pilot's shoulder for a second. "Thanks, Cortez. Take us in quietly."

Kaidan watched Aurelia while the Kodiak slowly landed. She looked tired, the dark circles under her eyes illuminated by the soft blue glow of her Kuwashii visor, and her complexion had a pallor to it that suggested she hadn't slept well last night – if she'd slept at all. Her hair was in a short stubby ponytail, pulled back to reveal a slight gauntness in her cheeks from stress. But otherwise her appearance had hardly changed since the day he first met her; Shepard's deep brown eyes still shone bright with confidence (now without the dangerously low scar jutting through her eyebrow, which Cerberus had 'fixed'), and she still sported her N7 armour proudly with its loud red stripe down the right arm.

The woman in question cleared her throat, and it was then that Kaidan realised he'd been caught staring. He looked up to catch a small smirk from her.

"Let's move out. Cortez, keep us updated."

The small squad exited the Kodiak and headed to the dark entrance of the monastery. Kaidan took a few seconds to study the other shuttle parked at the landing area, but there were no markings or indication that helped him guess who it might be; they'd just have to wait and find out.

Kaidan turned to catch up with Shepard and Liara, who were standing on the edge of the entryway. Though it was pitch-black in front of them he could just make out an empty elevator shaft.

Liara turned to Shepard, a grim look in her eyes. "It's disabled. Either to prevent entry… or escape…"

Aurelia took a few steps back. "Doesn't matter, we'll find out." She ran the few steps and jumped into the darkness, landing on a platform on the other side of the shaft. Without pausing, she continued down the ladder into the dark – only the soft white glow from her flashlight revealing to Kaidan and Liara where she was.

The duo followed suit, jumping across the shaft and following Shepard down the ladders. There was a strange heaviness to the air here and Kaidan's biotics tingled with a strange ghostly sense, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Ever the professional, he continued following Aurelia and Liara down into the belly of the monastery, pausing only to check for potential targets behind them.

He jumped down onto the last platform, and immediately a chilling scream reverberated through the walls, unsettling him to the very core. It sounded far away, as if it were still a few levels or a few rooms away from them.

Kaidan glanced at Aurelia, whose eyes were narrowly staring into the dark monastery in front of them. He opened his mouth to ask if she'd heard that too when another shrill scream, a slightly different tone as if it were responding to the last, echoed quietly around them.

"There's a lot more than one…"

She nodded. "Keep your eyes peeled… I don't know what the hell it is but I definitely don't want that scream anywhere near me."

Aurelia hurled herself off the last platform and across to the entrance of the monastery, Liara and Kaidan following not far behind.

They searched the antechamber, which was completely empty – the only signs of life were the scattered datapad clutters and some food left out at various tables. The further into the monastery they went, the more uncomfortably Kaidan's biotics responded.

It was enough to distract him to trip over something on the floor.

"I heard something!" Aurelia immediately turned around in his direction.

He blushed, glad she couldn't see his embarrassment through the darkness. "I, uh, tripped."

Shepard's tone was admonishing. "Kaidan…"

"Sorry, I'll stay sharp."

Aurelia turned back around, while Kaidan looked behind him to check what he had just tripped over.

He drew a sharp intake of breath. "Shepard…"

Liara, closer to him, saw before Aurelia made her way back. "By the Goddess… I don't think we'll be getting help from the commandos."

Aurelia crouched over the body of the asari, first checking for life and then scanning the asari's omni-tool. "They did bring a bomb. Strong enough to destroy the monastery's interior and anything in it. The bomb is in the Great Hall, below us."

"So it seems the commandos were going to initiate the purge after all," Liara said.

"Yes… if there are no survivors, we'll finish what they started. I'm updating my NavPoint with to the Great Hall." She sighed. "This was the captain. There's also a voice note to her widow on her omni-tool. EDI, save this and find her widow – I'll bring her the message personally when we're on the Citadel."

Kaidan smiled – Shepard was a big softie when she wanted to be.

She stood up again just as yet another distant scream resonated around the room. Turning their flashlights to where it came from, they saw a trail of bodies – both asari and cannibals – leading towards a locked door.

"Looks like we're heading towards the banshee screams after all." Shepard turned to Kaidan. "Can you get that door open, LT?"

"Affirmative."

While he worked on bypassing the door, he heard Liara ask Aurelia something quietly.

"Shepard, what is a banshee?"

"More Earth mythology. A banshee was a shrieking spirit that brought news of death, but banshee is used to describe ear-splitting screams." As if on cue, there was another scream. "Like that one."

"Ah," Liara was satisfied with the answer. "Another suitable analogy."

The door finally opened, and this time Kaidan led the trio into the next room. They walked through another room before finally arriving at a grand balcony with large windows letting in some much-needed light. The floor below, sprawled out in front of the balcony, held a few garden arrangements and little much else.

Their attention turned to a cannibal dropping on the floor. "Very good. I almost didn't hear your approach."

Aurelia's eyes brightened at the voice and her head whipped around immediately to face its source. "Samara!"

Kaidan turned to see a majestic looking asari with big, pale blue eyes that seemed to have boundless knowledge. She carried herself with poise and gravity; Kaidan was slightly awed.

So this was the justicar.

"It has been some time, Shepard. You are a most welcome sight."

Liara, on the other hand, was not impressed. Her eyes seemed to darken with mistrust. "I assume you're her on your own, justicar. Perhaps for something special."

Samara remained unfazed. "You are correct. Two of my daughters live here, and I have come for them."

So that's why Liara doesn't trust her? Because her daughters are Ardat-Yakshi?

"Are they as dangerous as Morinth?" Aurelia couldn't hide the dread in her voice.

"Falere and Rila have followed the monastery's rules ever since they arrived. They have shown no inclination towards violence." Samara looked down, her eyes reflecting guilt. "They are my responsibility, and it is one that cannot be abandoned even as our galaxy crumbles. Unfortunately the Reapers were already here when I arrived."

"We can work together. Maybe your daughters know what the Reapers would want with this place."

"I suspect they will have much to tell us. It has been centuries since I last saw them." Another banshee shriek interrupted their conversation, and Samara's eyes darkened. "We're out of time. Continue into the monastery, we will meet again. I will draw these creatures off you."

The justicar charged up her biotics and dashed down a doorway somewhere underneath them before Aurelia could protest. Instead, she reloaded her gun and continued down the balcony, Kaidan and Liara right behind her.

The next hall behind the doorway was even grander than the balcony – and several times bigger. They were on an elevated platform and each end curled down towards the windows in a set of impressive staircases. Below them were more garden arrangements and fancy columns, making the hall seem like it had an aisle down the middle.

"This place is huge," Kaidan observed. "There must have been thousands of people living here."

"And we haven't seen any survivors," Shepard retorted glumly.

He gulped. "Yeah. They must have been mostly civilians, too. Ardat-Yakshi and their guardians, but civilians all the same."

They descended the stairs and there was another scream – closer this time. Dangerously close.

Halfway through crossing the hall, the growl of a cannibal stopped them in their tracks. Kaidan and Liara flocked to the nearest columns, with Shepard taking point behind a garden arrangement just as the first cannibals appeared at the end of the hall.

The banshee scream echoed around the chamber again, this time louder and accompanied by a ghostly figure slowly sauntering towards them from where the cannibals had emerged. When it came into the light, Kaidan's stomach turned; the creature coming towards them was a monster, even by Reaper standards. It was tall with elongated arms that ended in sharp talons, its muscles twisted around its body in a grotesque fashion, and its flesh was a mottled grey as if it were rotting. But worst of all, its head resembled that of an asari, with the tell-tale glowing eyes of a husk.

"What the hell is that?" Kaidan struggled to keep the disgust out of his voice as he activated his barrier.

"I don't know," Aurelia shouted, "but it's not friendly! Stay on the cannibals, let me take care of this thing!" She started alternating between throwing warps, other biotic attacks, and shooting at the new arrival while Kaidan and Liara remained focused on the cannibals.

After taking down a few cannibals, Kaidan turned his attention to the Reaper-ified asari. Its barrier was depleted, and its grey flesh was heavily leaking black liquid in a trail behind it, but it seemed determined to keep going. Damn, they're strong. Kaidan took aim for its head when he noticed the change in dark energy around it.

Shit. He knew that slight shift; he'd seen it so often in some of his spec-op Vanguards. It wasn't going to throw a warp this time.

It was going to charge.

"Screw this, I'm going in!"

Before he could warn her, Shepard bolted out of cover and started sprinting towards the banshee with her heavy pistol firing and a warp ready to go in her left hand.

"Shepard, no!"

The next few seconds seemed to pass by in slow motion.

The banshee disappeared, reappearing almost immediately in front of Shepard. She shrieked, caught off-guard, and reflexively threw up a barrier. The creature towered over her and let out another ear-splitting scream; it was loud enough for Kaidan to put a hand to his ear to try to block it out, so he couldn't have imagined what it felt like to Aurelia. She grunted in pain, the scream breaking her concentration and causing her barrier to falter for a second.

One second was all it needed, though.

"Aurelia!" He broke cover himself, running towards the commander without stopping to check on the other damned creatures.

The banshee's talon lunged straight for a weak point in her armour, straight towards Aurelia's neck. She regained her concentration just in time to block the talon from impaling her before throwing up another barrier with her other hand. It screamed at her again, another piercing scream, but this time Shepard growled back at it in anger.

Kaidan warped it, distracting it for a second. "Commander! Now!"

Shepard threw her biotic barrier outwards in a shockwave, knocking the surprised banshee back. She took the opportunity to unload her clip into the creature, finally finishing it off. Before checking up on Aurelia, Kaidan turned to see the rest of the cannibals down, having been taken care of by Liara while he was distracted.

"Crap." Aurelia had one hand clasped on the side of her neck, her other hand pulling off her visor and tossing it to the ground. She sighed. "That hurt."

Kaidan stooped to pick up the visor. It had completed short-circuited.

Shepard tossed her earpiece to the ground too. "The damn scream overloaded my visor and earpiece. They're no good. I'll have to do the rest of this mission without comms."

Blood started to wriggle its way through Aurelia's gloved fingers on her neck.

"Shit, you're bleeding, Aurelia," Kaidan dropped the visor and immediately reached for a tube of medigel in his armour.

"Yeah," Aurelia's voice was too nonchalant for the situation she was in. "My block wasn't fast enough. But hey, at least I still have a head."

Kaidan frowned at her as he tried to seal up the wound. It was, fortunately, not deep – but in the right place to cause a lot of bleeding. "The medigel will do for now. I think you'd probably best see Doctor Michel after this, the cut might need stitches."

"Worry about that later." Shepard's voice was loud, as if she was having a tough time hearing. "For now let's just find Samara and finish this."

Brushing Kaidan off, she left her broken visor and continued down the chamber.

Kaidan turned to Liara. "Thanks for covering us and taking out the cannibals."

"No need to thank me. Now let's go follow Shepard before she hurts herself – those screams can't have been good for her ears."

They followed in Aurelia's footsteps, heading through a doorway to find Samara and another younger asari talking to Aurelia.

"Mother! They have Rila! I saw them take her into the Great Hall. Some of those creatures. I tried to stop them, I… I didn't want them to take her, but there wasn't anything I could do…"

"Falere," Aurelia approached the young asari. "It's alright. We're here now. I'll help your mother get Rila back. But I need to ask you – do you know what the Reapers are doing here?"

The one named Falere took a deep breath, trying to keep the panic from her voice. "They're turning us… into those." She pointed at the body of a banshee. "I think they can only make them out of us, out of Ardat-Yakshi."

"Do you know how many they have succeeded in creating?"

"Too many…" Falere looked at her mother. "Please. You can't let that happen to Rila. We must find her."

Samara comforted her daughter. "We'll get to her. I promise you we'll find her."

"Commander, the bomb," Kaidan cautioned.

"Shit, yes," Aurelia turned to Samara. "There's a bomb in the Great Hall. The commandos planned to purge the monastery, and we need to finish their work."

"But this is my home!" Falere protested.

"I'm sorry, but it cannot be anymore." Shepard's tone was unfaltering. "If the Reapers are making those things here, we cannot let them make any more. We need to destroy the monastery so that they cannot turn more Ardat-Yakshi into monsters."

Falere chewed on Shepard's words. "I'm sorry… but I will not help you." She turned and jumped over another balcony, floating down biotically with ease.

"Falere!" Samara made after her daughter, but quickly turned back to say one last thing. "The Great Hall. She will try to save Rila, we will meet you there. Please be swift." Samara, too, jumped over the balcony and floated just as Falere had done.

Kaidan was impressed. He turned to Aurelia and Liara. "Can you guys do that?"

Aurelia huffed as she walked away. "I can barely enhance a jump with a lift. I'm far away from that."

Liara simply shrugged and followed Aurelia.

The trio had little other resistance as they made their way to the Great Hall, and even then it was mostly cannibals. Another banshee appeared to block the elevator to the Great Hall, but with their previous experience they knew how to deal with it: hang back and don't let it get too close. They took out the creatures and approached the elevator.

Kaidan scanned the deactivated elevator. "This is the same elevator whose shaft we climbed down. If I activate it we should be able to take it all the way back up to the entrance."

Shepard nodded at him. "Do it. Makes our escape easier."

Kaidan bypassed the security lockdown with ease and the elevator doors slid open within minutes. The squad entered and descended to the Great Hall.

At the end of the Great Hall, Samara, Falere and another asari Kaidan assumed was Rila were waiting for them. Aurelia sprinted down to them from the elevator, leaving Kaidan and Liara to check the perimeter.

When he and Liara joined the group at the other end of the Great Hall, Falere was in hysterics.

"But she's alive, mother! She's not one of them yet, we just need to wake her up!" Falere shook her sister's shoulder. "Rila! Rila? Can you hear me?"

Aurelia caught Kaidan's attention, gesturing towards the bomb. He nodded, kneeling in front of the heavy artillery to arm it. He didn't even realise the struggle going on between Rila and Falere until Rila's unconscious body landed near him.

"Why did she do that? Why didn't she recognise me?"

Samara was grim. "Because they've begun to turn her into a Reaper creature."

"I'm sorry." Aurelia placed a hand on the justicar's shoulder before turning to Kaidan. "Is the bomb armed?"

He finished up with the bomb and looked up at her. "Yes, but it needs a detonator."

"The commandos would have had one, let's look."

"Don't," a faint voice called from the ground. They all turned to Rila, who was rubbing her head and standing up. She produced the detonator. "I have it. I was going to use it but I wasn't sure how to arm the bomb. And… and I wanted to make sure Falere was alright." She turned to Falere and clasped her sister's hand tightly. "Please go, Falere! Get out of here; it's too late for me! They have successfully created hundreds of those creatures, but they haven't taken many away – we need to destroy the monastery and those creatures before they can come back for more!"

Samara nodded at Rila, turning at the sound of another scream. She started retreating towards the elevator. "I am proud of you, Rila."

Falere refused to meet her mother's eyes when the odd group exited the elevator back at the landing pad.

"Few can break the Reapers' hold," Samara said. "Rila's will was extraordinary, as was her love for you."

Falere's voice dripped with anger. "We left her to die."

Samara was silent for a long moment. "Rila made her choice, and it has reminded me of mine."

Kaidan heard Aurelia swear under her breath quietly before she took a step towards the mother and daughter. She slipped her right hand behind her back, and Kaidan realised she was charging it up with biotics.

"Shepard…" he cautioned quietly. "What are you doing?"

She ignored him, and it seemed like only Liara was listening to him – everyone else seemed oblivious.

"It has reminded me of what is truly important," Samara continued. "Why I swore I'd lay down my life."

Falere was still defiant as she faced her mother. "And what is that?"

Aurelia continued approaching Samara slowly, her arm still charging up.

"Falere…" Samara pulled out her pistol, and both Kaidan and Liara froze. "The Code demands an Ardat-Yakshi cannot live outside a monastery that no longer exists."

"Samara!" Shepard used her warning tone as she continued approaching the justicar slowly. "Don't."

"I'm sorry, Shepard. By the justicar's Code, there is only one way I can save Falere." She raised her pistol.

"No!"

Kaidan wasn't sure who shouted – was it him? Was it Falere? Was it Shepard?

Before he knew it, in a flash of brilliant blue Aurelia had Samara caught in a biotic stasis. It flared several times as Samara used her own biotics to try to break free, in vivid bursts of white and blue.

"Let go, Shepard!" Samara's voice was fierce.

"I can't let you do that, Samara!"

Liara's voice was astonished. "Shepard, what are you doing? You can't overcome a justicar! She'll overpower you!"

Aurelia continued to ignore her squadmates. "Samara, I can't let you throw your life away just for your Code!" Another flash of biotics. Shepard's face was twisted with concentration, sweat dripping down her brow – she was a great biotic, but she was no match for an asari justicar hundreds of years older than her.

"I have to! I won't kill my last daughter!" Samara continued to struggle, with another flare of blue. Kaidan realised she was holding back; the justicar could easily break out of Shepard's hold, but he guessed she wasn't because she didn't truly want to have to fulfil her Code.

"You won't have to!" Falere shouted.

Samara ceased struggling. "Falere?"

"I'll stay here… my home. I could have left anytime, but I didn't. I have a code of my own, which I will honour. And it's telling me to stay here. No matter what's become of it."

Samara was quiet for a moment. Aurelia's biotics crackled around her, holding Samara's arms still at her sides. "Very well. Then, the Code permits you to stay, as you are."

Shepard exhaled and released her hold on Samara. "Thank goodness because I don't know how much longer I could have held onto you."

Falere hugged her mother, and Samara reluctantly returned the embrace.

"When this war is over, and if I am able, I promise to visit. As a justicar should."

Samara turned to Aurelia. "I am sorry to have resisted your hold so strongly. And I am also sorry for making you have to do that, in order to prevent me from making a mistake. Thank you, Shepard."

Aurelia seemed dizzy as she replied. "And thanks for not using your full powers against me. I'm not… I'm… I'm…" Her eyes rolled back and her knees gave way under her, causing her to drop to the floor unconscious.

"Aurelia!" Kaidan sprinted over, kneeling beside her and gently taking her head onto his knees. The neck wound had reopened, for who knows how long, and combined with the effort she'd made to contain Samara she had effectively exhausted herself. He scrambled to close up the wound roughly again, thankful that they'd be back on the Normandy and she could be under the care of Doctor Michel soon.

"She spoke of you, Major Alenko." Samara's voice was serene. "She kept a photo of you on her desk. Please tell her… please tell her thank you. She has helped me in so many ways, and it is time I joined her fight. I will stay with Falere for a while, but afterwards it would be my honour to give what I can against the Reapers."

Kaidan couldn't find any words. He simply nodded at the justicar, his mind filled with worry. She reciprocated, and left him with Liara and an unconscious Aurelia.

"I've already told Cortez to come down, and fast. We'll have her with Doctor Michel in no time." Liara said.

Kaidan nodded and lifted her into his arms, not letting go of Aurelia until he lay her down on a table in the med bay.

"Major," Doctor Michel was already preparing an IV drip. "There is nothing you can do. Your field dressing was adequate, she just pushed herself too far."

EDI notified him that Councillor Tevos was waiting for an update via the QEC, and with Doctor Michel's blessing Kaidan left the med bay to provide Tevos with a mission report. Fortunately, the conversation ended with a win – Tevos was sending a group of asari commandos to Admiral Hackett. That would be some good news for Aurelia when she woke up.

Before Kaidan could return to the med bay, however, EDI pronounced that Hackett himself was trying to contact them. Hackett also had some good news: the quarians wanted to talk, and the Normandy was to head to the Far Rim immediately.

"You heard that, Joker?" Kaidan said into his comm as he made his way back to Deck 3.

"Loud and clear, Major. Setting a course now. We'll need to refuel on the way but that won't delay us too much. I'll let you know when I have an ETA."

"Great, thank you."

Doctor Michel looked up as Kaidan entered the med bay. "Ah, Major, you are just on time. I have finished patching up her neck wound, and she just finished her round of intravenous fluid. She will be fine; she just needs her rest. Would you mind taking her up to her quarters?"

Kaidan agreed, gingerly picking up Aurelia off the bed and thanking Doctor Michel for her work. Somehow the good doctor had gotten her out of her armour and into standard issue cotton tank top and sweatpants, and Aurelia just looked so small in his arms while he was still in his armour. After laying her down on her own bed in her cabin, Kaidan ruffled through her closet to find her N7 hoodie – something she practically never slept without – and delicately put it on her sleeping body before tucking her in.

He kneeled by her bed for a few minutes, taking in the sight of his precious Aurelia. The IV fluid had done her good – even the slightest amount had returned some colour to her cheeks. And now, asleep, she looked so… peaceful.

Kaidan softly planted a kiss on her forehead before leaving to finally get off his armour and clean himself up.

A/N: Thank you for reading! You can contact me here, on my tumblr (bioticnerfherder) or my Mass Effect tumblr (shepeffect)!