"I can promise you Shepard, it wasn't me." Wrex laughed over the holo link, "If I wanted you that badly I wouldn't have bothered with a breeding request. I'd just go straight to the source."

"Thanks Wrex, that's so romantic of you." Shepard rolled her eyes.

"Romance is a luxury Krogans can't afford these days." Wrex shrugged.

"That's not true." Shepard corrected him, "Look at Charr and his fiance."

"Hmph. Guessing you have something to do with that one?" Wrex asked.

"Not telling. A girl's gotta have some secrets." Shepard winked.

"Ha! If you say so Shepard." Wrex laughed again. "It was good seeing you again, my friend. I miss our little chats."

"I've missed you too Wrex." Shepard smiled.

"Wish I was joining you to help kick the Collector's collective asses." Wrex smiled back, "But I've got an entire race to take care of."

"They're in good hands, Wrex." Shepard told him, "Couldn't think of a better leader for the Krogan people."

"I can say the same thing about Grunt." Wrex replied, "Couldn't have picked a better Battlemaster, or a better family."

"I can honestly say I'm happy to see him join Clan Urdnot." Shepard said with a bit of pride.

"I'm not talking about the clan." Wrex said with a knowing glint in his eye.

"You mean the Normandy?" Shepard sighed, "It's not the same as the old crew Wrex."

"Wasn't talking about the ship either." Wrex added, smiling now.

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Shepard asked, her brow slightly wrinkled by perplexing thoughts.

"Maybe I'll explain it to you some day. A Krogan's gotta have some secrets, right?" Wrex winked one of his large red eyes, making it impossible for Shepard to resist a giggle.

A notification popped up on her console suddenly placing a hard limit on their conversation. "Looks like we'll be hitting the relay soon, Wrex. It was great talking to you."

"You too." Wrex told her, "I'd say 'be careful', but this is you we're talking about. As far as I'm concerned the Collector's days are numbered."

"Aw that's so sweet." Shepard smiled even as she added sarcastically, "And you say Krogans can't be romantic." She ended the call before Wrex could respond only seconds before she felt the telling shift of a Relay jump.

They were still several hours away to the next Relay jump when Shepard heard the door chime to her cabin go off.

"Come in." Shepard said unlocking the door from her desk.

"Shepard, you wished to speak with me.", Samara's voice rang out as she walked into the cabin.

Shepard looked at her for a moment before reaching for her omni-tool and triggering a hardware lockdown that she had installed herself for just such an occasion.

"You're safe Morinth." Shepard said once the sequence was complete.

"Thank you Shepard." Morinth was speaking as herself once again, "It was getting tiring pretending to be mother for so long." She stretched her arms as if trying to get the aura of her mother's facade off her body. It was not lost on Shepard how much Morinth's actions intentionally emphasized her breasts as they strained against the partial cover of her black uniform.

"Is that why you've decided to update her fashion sense?" Shepard asked as she looked over Morinth's outfit.

"Do you like it?" Morinth grinned as she turned around slowly to show off her new dressings. The new uniform had clear stylistic similarities to Samara's classical Justicar's outfit, but the colors were strikingly different. Unlike the more earthen red tones of her mother, Morinth's outfit was pure black with bright golden accents.

"Not exactly subtle is it?" Shepard said. "Then again I figured you'd grow to like that kind of outfit, with the impossibly plunging neckline and all."

"I admit, it has its advantages." Morinth said still smiling, "Besides, I could only wear mother's old uniform for so long before it started getting weird, even for me. I think we can both agree this is more my style." Shepard didn't respond right away, she simply raised a questioning eyebrow, prompting Morinth to respond. "Don't worry, I already gave the crew a good story to explain the new outfit. It is an authentic Justicar uniform after all, so they have no reason to suspect anything."

"You might be underestimating some of the crew." Shepard said sagely. "Kelly's already mentioned how much you've changed since you got back from Omega."

"I promise you Shepard, my secret is safe." Morinth told her, "I've been doing this for longer then you've been alive. I'll know if my true identity is discovered."

"I guess we'll see." Shepard shrugged, she still thought it would have been better just to tell everyone the truth.

"So what did you want to speak to me abut?" Morinth asked, "I get the feeling you didn't call me up here for a fashion show."

"You're right." Shepard said, "I just had an interesting conversation with Miranda."

"It sounds like she took my advice." Morinth said.

"Yes, though she wouldn't admit she got the idea from you." Shepard added, "That much I gleamed from the mess hall gossip."

"Happy I could help." Morinth smiled as she leaned lazily against the wall.

"Are you really?" Shepard asked suddenly.

"Well I am part of the crew." Morinth said without missing a beat, "Though I admit it was fun to mess with her."

"Uh huh." Shepard deadpanned.

"Consider the alternative." Morinth continued, "I doubt the real Samara would have been nearly as helpful."

"I guess not." Shepard said cautiously, "Particularly since you're coming with us."

"Oh?" Morinth was not expecting that.

"We'll be arriving back on Illium soon." Shepard explained, "We're going to make sure Miranda's sister is safe. Ideally there shouldn't be any trouble. But with my luck I'd rather prepare for the worst."

"Sister huh? That would explain it." Morinth mused, "So what are we protecting her sister from?"

"Her father." Shepard said bluntly. She watched Morinth's reaction before adding, "I figured you'd find that interesting."

"Is that why you want me along?" Morinth asked with an amused expression, "Thinking I might sympathize with the Cerberus lackey?"

"Nope," Shepard shot back, "I want you along because if we run into the worst case scinerio, you're probably the best person to have on our side."

"Is that so?" Morith thought out loud before adding, "So what exactly is the worst case you're expecting?"

"If Miranda's father has tracked down her sister, he'll probably want to hire local help." Shepard said.

"On Illium that means Eclipse." Morinth finished the thought.

"Exactly." Shepard said, "You have the most experience with the Eclipse on Illium. Not to mention I'm sure you know your way around Nos Astra better then anyone else." At least anyone else on this ship, Shepard thought quietly to herself trying not to think of Liara. "On top of that you'll be playing the part of a Justicar on an Asari world. I don't need to tell you how useful that would be. If things go to hell I want to bring every advantage with me. Just remember, the top priority is the safety of Miranda's sister and her family." On that Shepard was deadly serious, and the way she stared back at Morinth made that abundantly clear.

"You're testing me." Morinth said after a moment's realization. "Really Shepard, this isn't the first time I've joined you on the ground team."

"The last time we were just mopping up crappy ass mercs from an abandoned military base." Shepard said, "That was not what you'd call a subtle operation. This is different, this mission requires a bit more finesse."

"And you think I'm incapable of finesse?" Morinth tone clearly conveying how inaccurate that idea was.

"I know you're capable, all too well." Shepard explained, "I'm more interested in seeing how you handle this mission."

"Because if things go wrong, I'll have every chance to stab you in the back." Morinth deduced, "You're giving me the perfect opportunity to betray you just to see if I will." A knowing grin spread along her lips.

"It kinda loses a lot of the effectiveness if you figure it out ahead of time." Shepard admitted.

"I don't know, maybe I will sell you out. Just having that possibility should keep things more interesting." Morinth teased mischievously. Though Shepard was pretty certain Morinth was just trying to mess with her, the way the Asari was smiling at her now she could believe that woman would double-cross her just for the fun of it.

"If you do, I recommend you make sure I stay dead." Shepard replied with a deadly intent in her voice.

Morinth's subsequent silence assured her that the Ardat-Yakshi got the message.

.


.

"Miss Lawson? I'm glad you made it, we've had a complication" The purple skinned Asari spoke up as Miranda approached her in the private room of the Nos Astra bar. Shepard walked up next to her even as Morinth stayed a step behind.

"What happened? Is Oriana alright?" Miranda asked Lanteia. She kept her voice calm but Shepard could tell she was very worried about her sister.

"She's fine, but ... you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source?" Lanteia explained, "He contacted me, warning me that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep." I knew it, Shepard thought to herself even as Lanteia continued, "He suggested that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

"You never told me about this Niket." Shepard told Miranda, the look she gave the Cerberus Operative demanded more informaiton.

"He's a friend, he and I go back a long way." Miranda said quickly. Not much of an explanation.

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Miss Lawson?" Lanteia asked.

"No, you and Niket are the only two I trust on this." Miranda insisted.

"I don't like the sound of this Miranda." Shepard interjected, "Are you sure we can trust Niket?"

"Absolutely, he's one of my oldest friends, I trust him with Oriana." Miranda said with certainty.

I'll just have to trust her as well, Shepard thought. It was her mission after all.

"Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion." Miranda told the Asari, "Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention. Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood Miss Lawson." Lanteia confirmed.

"So the plan is for us to get shot down by eclipse while your sister gets to safty?" Shepard asked, not entirely convinced about the whole operation.

"Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that will kill us." Miranda assured her.

"I doubt eclipse will send all their people just to stop you." Shepard suggested, "Do you want to give Niket any backup?"

"Niket can take care of himself." Miranda said, "Besides any armed backup just draws attention to him."

"Great, so we just need to play bait." Shepard said, she looked back at Morinth as she added knowingly, "Again." She had to hand it to Morinth, didn't even budge an eyelash at her comment.

"Pardon?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing." Shepard told her as she started heading out of the bar, "If we're going to do this we should leave right away before the mercs pick up Oriana's trail."

"Thank you Shepard. I appreciate this." Miranda said after a moment, "I hadn't planned on eclipse. But they never planned on you."

Shepard looked at Miranda and offered a small smile. Then she looked at the demon hidden in the Justicar's skin next to her.

You have no idea. She thought to herself.