Chapter 43: Shadow of a Darker Power
Tali'Zorah: After our meeting on Arcturus, we finally confronted the first hint of what we would come against in the next year.
Unna'Koris: You attacked the Collector Base?
Tali'Zorah: No. We found an unrepentant Ardat-Yakshi.
From Arcturus it was only a few hours of relay jumps to Omega. Emotionally spent, Tali took the opportunity to catch up on her rest. Seeing the support for the Normandy, even if it was covert, had been a comfort, as had been meeting with Hannah. Having the blessing of Shepard's mother meant a great deal to Tali. The fact she got along with Shepard's mother so well was a good sign. Against all odds, it was looking like she and John might have a future together after all.
Right now though, they had to focus on the mission. Today, that meant bringing in an Ardat-Yakshi serial killer.
"She is powerful, almost unimaginably so," Samara was explaining in the conference room. "She is also intelligent; a cunning predator that feeds on sapient beings. She will not show herself unless she believes it to be safe."
"Sounds like we're going to have to set a trap," Garrus mused. "I've still got a few contacts on Omega. Maybe Archangel needs to make a comeback."
Samara shook her head, "No, if she senses danger she will flee. We must be subtle and quick."
"What's going to be the best way to get her out in the open?" Tali asked. "Once we know where she is we should be able to deal with her."
"I am going to require that I be the one to take her. She is my daughter, and I do not want the guilt of her death upon another's hands."
John nodded. "The kill will be yours Samara, but we are going to have to scout for you. I doubt that an asari justicar's arrival will go unnoticed."
"True," Samara agreed, "I shall rely on Thane to be my proxy until she is located."
"I shall not fail you, siha. She shall not blind me again. We should be able to locate and capture her relatively quickly." Thane assured Samara.
"I've got an understanding with Aria," John explained. "And I'm sure something like an Ardat-Yakshi won't escape her notice."
"It is good I am under Oath to you Shepard." Samara said, a wry grin creeping onto her lips, "Someone like Aria would normally require an execution instead of an alliance."
"So we'll beat the bushes, quietly, for you Samara. A drell, a quarian, a turian and a human are probably a lot more common then justicars out here in the Terminus." Tali assured the justicar
"I appreciate your help. Perhaps now, my quest can finally end."
When the Normandy docked, Tali changed into her old suit. It was of plainer make, and more fitting for a quarian out on pilgrimage. Thane was dressed in a grimy technician's overalls, and Garrus was wearing an old set of armor with the helmet on. Shepard had on the rough set of clothes he worn to mass, along with a darkened visor.
Glancing at the group, Tali sighed. "We'll still stand out you know. It's not like a group as diverse as ours is a common sight."
"More often than you would think on Omega." Garrus told her, "But quarians and drell are still pretty rare."
Their destination was Aria's headquarters, a club called "Afterlife." The bouncer took one look at the group and nodded them forward.
"Warmly; Welcome to afterlife. Please do not leave any bodies on the floor," the elcor rumbled.
"Hey, why are you letting them in!" A human in line protested, "I've been waiting here all night."
"Annoyed; you do not have enough firepower to storm the place. Firmly; Get back in line."
"We really do have to work on our idea of casual wear." Tali mused, "I don't think normal people go everywhere as well armed as we do."
"Most people don't live on Omega. Or have as many enemies as we do. Here just about everyone carries. Admittedly, most of them don't have Black Widow rifles, Claymore shot guns, Revenant machine guns or Paladin pistols." Garrus explained.
"My Paladin has been with me through many trials." Thane shouted over the beat of the music, "I would be loath to part with it."
Mandibles twitching in amusement, Garrus continued, "Most people here see one of those and figure your one of two people. Either you're a rich punk who just buys the best and is an easy mark, or you're a tough son of a bitch who's good enough to need that kind of gear."
"And we don't look rich." John grinned, "Come on, Aria's probably over here."
John led them through the writhing throng to a VIP booth guarded by several rugged looking batarians.
"Shepard." One of them said, "Aria's expecting you."
Nodding to the batarian, John started up the stairs. "Thanks, Bray."
Aria was not what Tali had expected. She knew asari could be tough, but Aria looked like a matriarch, not a maiden out for a few kicks. No maiden could have that easy aura of power and authority, or the cold look of a woman who could kill with a word and knew it.
"Shepard, have a seat. Your drinks are on me. My boys will get something for your friends too. I'm always honored to have Archangel in my house. Thane Krios has a quite the reputation as well, and who can forget Black Hand Tali."
That got Tali's attention. Not only was Aria physically imposing, she evidently had quite the intelligence network as well.
"Thanks, Aria, I could use a cold one," John said with a grin, sprawling on the couch across from Aria. Tali sat by his side, while Garrus and Thane took up positions down by the bodyguards.
"You want some entertainment? I've got a new batch of girls, humans this time. They're popular with the batarians, humans, and interestingly enough the vorcha."
Putting an arm meaningfully across Tali's shoulders, John responded, "no thanks Aria, I brought mine with me."
"Damn, when I heard you were shacking up with a quarian I didn't believe it." Aria laughed, "Guess that just goes to show me not to underestimate you."
Tali's eyes narrowed and she layered her voice with ice. "That would be wise."
Shrugging, Aria sipped at her drink. "You got a quad girl. Careful that pretty mouth of yours doesn't get you into trouble."
Tali felt John's arm tense, but before he could say anything, Garrus spoke up. "Just so you know Aria, I would rank threatening Tali up there with throwing rocks at a sleeping thresher maw. Both of those scenarios end with you as a stain on the ground."
"From anyone else I would call a remark like that stupid, Archangel," Aria snapped. But then she smiled, "I won't antagonize Shepard or his girl unnecessarily." With that, Aria tossed back the last of her drink and threw the cup to one of her flunkies. "Anyway, I know you didn't come here for the drinks Shepard. What is it now? Looking to recruit the Ardat-Yakshi that showed up a few weeks ago?"
"We're looking for her alright," John allowed.
Aria's eyes narrowed. "So, you're here to kill the filthy creature. Good. I won't personally interfere with anyone's business unless they break Omega's only rule, and I'm not stupid enough to fall into her clutches."
"Where is she?" Thane asked, "How many has she killed?"
"Two, that I know of. One was a batarian warlord, did me a favor there. The other was some human girl, an artist or something like that I think. As for where she is, right here in Afterlife. Or at least Afterlife+."
"Afterlife plus?" John asked, "Where's that?"
"Up a level. It's a place for the rich idiots to hang mostly. The drinks are a little more expensive, the company a little less inhibited, and the drugs a little harder. Perfect place for a hedonistic shit like Morinth."
"Can you get us in?" Thane asked, "We're going to need to resolve this quietly."
"Just don't depressurize more than a deck. I get grouchy if the repairs go over a hundred thousand credits. The pass word is 'Jarut,' but I'll tell the bouncer to let anyone that says they're with lover boy here in. This could work out well for the both of us. You get rid of that little parasite and fulfill your inner Boy Scout, and I get an Ardat-Yakshi-free station again."
John stood and nodded to the queen of Omega. "Nice talking with you Aria."
"Yeah. Just keep the explosions to a minimum." And with that, Aria's attention was elsewhere.
"It's like she knows you," Tali joked as they went back to the club floor. "What did you do the last time you were here?"
"Well, first we destroyed the three biggest merc groups on Omega just to haul a turian who thought he was hot stuff out of trouble. And blew up almost two whole subsections." John admitted, "Then we sort of cured a plague and destroyed most of a life support unit."
"Hey, we fixed the life support. Anyway, that was mostly the vorcha's fault." Garrus declared, wiggling his mandibles in mock protest.
"I can see why Aria was concerned about depressurization." Thane remarked, "I have noticed a similar pattern of behavior. Dantius towers and that Eclipse base were much more open air when you were finished with them Commander."
Tali giggled. "That's my captain. How are we luring Morinth out though?"
"From the intel we've got, she's a hedonist, loves power, control, and danger," John listed, "I talked to Samara, she has a drug habit and prefers Halix, as well as having a thing for sensory music."
"I can't see her being terribly interested in any of us. I extrude manliness, but I'm also a police officer. Mornith could probably tag me in a heartbeat. Same goes for you Shepard." Garrus shruged.
"Right. Thane's a religious nut, and Tali isn't what you would call worldly," John agreed. "But I think we have the perfect girl for the job."
Ten minutes later, they met Jack and Samara outside the airlock.
"So let me get this straight. You want me to lure out a psychic sex vampire by getting high on Halex, dancing like a freak and fucking up anyone who looks at me funny, and you want me to gush about my favorite band?"
"You like sensory music?" John asked.
"Fuck yes! Expel 10 is here on Omega, I was going to try and get tickets."
"Sounds good but what happened to your language?"
Jack scowled at John. "Hey I'm getting into character. Back the fuck off. Omega is my kinda place, I know how to blend."
"Just don't actually fall for Mornith," Samara cautioned. "She is powerful and seductive. Watch yourself, or you may be lost in her thrall."
"You make it sound like she's gonna Indoctrinate me, Buttercup," Jack sneered.
Samara nodded. "That is actually possible. There are reports of powerful Ardat-Yakshi dominating the minds of their prey. It could be similar to Indoctrination."
"Fan-fucking-tastic. What, are you going to give me an asari cross to ward her off? Maybe some space garlic?"
"Holy icons have power only if you believe in them," Samara answered. "But if you wish me to pray over you I will."
"No thanks. Let's do this."
"Hold on." John cautioned, "Garrus and Tali are going to cover you from a mobile air car. Thane will be on the ground, shadowing you in case things go wrong. Samara and I will follow you from a second air car. If things get bad, they have my authorization to take her out. We're trying to let Samara deal with this personally, but I'm not losing anyone over this."
"That is acceptable," Samara agreed. "Your loyalty to your crew is commendable. You and I will wait nearby in another air car. Try to get Morinth to take you somewhere private, like her apartment. I will confront her there."
"Shit, just as long as you don't want me to get laid. I like my brains where they are," Jack laughed.
About an hour later, Garrus was resting his Black Widow sniper rifle on the air car frame while Tali kept the vehicle in a holding pattern over Afterlife+.
"Can you believe Samara initially wanted Shepard to go in by himself?" Garrus asked as he sighted down his scope. "He's just about the worst person I can think of to lure in someone like Morinth. An almost perfect paragon of uprightness and moral fortitude would stick out like a krogan in a suit."
"Maybe not a few months ago, back when he was still running from his God," Tali said. Glancing in the mirror at the turian. "He was pretty hedonistic back then."
"True, but I think Morinth probably could have seen right through that. From what Aria and Samara told us she's not terribly interested in damaged goods."
Tali laughed. "Good thing we got Jack therapy, she was pretty screwed up when I met her. Even threatened to try to sleep with Shepard."
"I'm half surprised they didn't sleep together. Some of those strippers..." Garrus coughed and looked away.
"I know about them. But he's past that now. Have you seen him even drink hard since we started dating?"
"Not really. We both started getting over our issues about the time you got here. Hell, if Shepard hadn't claimed you, and you weren't so taken with him, I might have been interested."
"Really? In me?" Tali was shocked, she had never thought of Garrus as anything more than a friend.
"Sure, why not? We've been together for a long time, we get along fairly well, were both dextros and you've got very supportive hips. In another life, we might have hooked up."
"Supportive hips?"
Shrugging, Garrus explained, "It's a turian thing. Our females don't have those silly things on their chests. Have to have something to ogle."
Tali was about to respond when the tracker Jack had on started to move. "Looks like she's gotten Morinth hooked. That didn't take long, she's only been in there an hour."
"Hey, they're both psychotic biotics. A match made in the Afterlife."
"I should dump you out for that pun," Tali threatened, then activated her comm. "Angelwings to Judgment, target is mobile."
"Rodger, we see it too. Looks like they're headed for Ensilla, the expensive living units in this sector. Go on ahead, we'll track with the target," John replied.
"Copy that, moving to a new roost." Tali headed for the district, going for all the speed she could and finding a spot that had a good view of most of the apartments.
Garrus climbed out and set up an active camo tent where he hid with his rifle. Tali climbed in beside him with a pair of binoculars to spot. In a few minutes, Jack and Morimth showed up in one of the apartments, laughing and clearly intoxicated.
"I've got a clear shot," Garrus stated, adjusting his rifle. "If things get hairy I can resolve the situation."
"We're almost there, had to double back, Morimth nearly made us. Thane had to back off completely," John stated ."Jack says she's still OK."
Now that their prey was in sight, the jovial attitude evaporated and Tali felt herself tensing. Garrus's breathing slowed as he focused, ready to fire on command.
As Tali watched, she saw Morinth slowly drawing closer to Jack. At first the human biotic laughed it off and resisted, but as Tali locked on Jack's eyes slowly glazed over and she stated to fall into the Ardat-Yakshi's thrall.
"Judgment, trouble. Jack's being subverted."
"I have the shot." Garrus said in a monotone.
"We're here, but Jack isn't responding. Wing her."
In the confines of the camo tent the roar of the rifle was nearly deafening, and Tali's mask had to filter out most of the sound to keep her from suffering ear trauma. Morinth was flung back with a wrecked shoulder, and Jack slumped over as the asari crumpled to the floor.
"Let's go!" Tali shouted, and they piled into the aircar and sped over. Tali hacked the barriers the anti-material rifle round had penetrated and put the car into hover mode as Garrus trained his rifle on the scene. Jack was comatose, and Samara was straddling the wounded Morinth on the floor.
"Mother," Morinth spat. "So nice to see you. I take it this is your work?"
Ignoring the barbs, Samara coolly stated, "Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." The justicar's fist glowed with biotic fury, then slammed down on Morinth's head. The Ardat-Yakshi twitched and lay still. It was over.
Closing her eyes, Samara stood and let out a wail that made Tali's blood freeze as tears streamed down the justicar's face. Her mission was fulfilled, and her daughter was dead. There would be no after-mission celebration tonight.
"Jack's down," John yelled,."Get her back to the ship. We'll finish up here."
They loaded the still unconscious Jack into the air car and sped back to the Normandy while Tali checked her vitals.
"I don't get it, there's nothing wrong with her. It's like..."
"Like she's Indoctrinated." Garrus growled from the driver's seat.
They got back to the Normandy as soon as possible, radioing ahead for Mordin and Chakwas to meet them at the airlock.
"Subject's vitals normal. But unresponsive to stimuli." Chawkas murmured as she passed her omnitool over the comatose Jack.
"Indoctrinated." Mordin stated.
"She was attacked by an Ardat-Yakshi. Let me lay hands on her," Samara called, climbing out of her own air car.
The justicar ran over and kneeled at Jack's side. "Goddess, restore Jacquline to us. Forgive my daughter, and bring her last victim back to us."
When Samara stood, Jack suddenly inhaled and sat up.
"Fuck me sideways, you were right," the biotic gasped. "I was fucking there. I fucking was in HELL."
"Peace child, you are safe," Samara whispered, stroking Jack's forehead. "You are safe now."
"The fuck I am!" Jack grabbed Samara's armor, a desperate look in her eyes. "How do I not go there! There was nothing there, I was alone, so completely alone... That was worse than the bad place! How do I stay out?"
Gently removing Jack's hands Samara asked mildly, "You seek the blessings of the Goddess?"
The biotic nodded franticly. "Yes!"
"Then repeat after me. I, Jacqueline Naught, do accept that I am unworthy, and have not kept the Code of the Goddess. I ask for absolution for my iniquities, and accept the gift the Goddess has freely given by the sacrifice of herself as Maiden. I now give my soul to the Goddess, and am eternally hers, to rest in her arms and go where she wills, to love my sisters and all beings as myself, and to honor the Goddess above all."
Jack eagerly repeated the words Samara spoke, then demmanded, "So that's it? I'm safe? I don't have to go back to the... the nothing?"
"Once you accept grace, nothing can take it away my sister."
"Do I have to do anything? Like, you know, stop cussing or get rid of my tats or whatever?"
In reply, Samara removed her glove and drew up her tunic sleeve. On it was a rather lewd picture of a naked asari in a suggestive pose with the sari words, "Azure Girl."
"The Goddess accepts you as you are, Jacqueline. Any changes are because you desire to please the Goddess, not because she requires it of you for salvation. This is grace; it is not something you earn."
Jack frowned, clearly not buying it. "But nothing's free. There has to be a catch."
"There is," Samara confirmed. "The Goddess paid a terrible price, sacrificing herself that we, her daughters may live. She defeated the demons of darkness and death, but she yet bears the scars. Your price is this: you are no longer your own person. You belong to the Goddess, and will be used as she sees fit."
"Fine by me," Jack shuddered, "anything is better than going back to that place. Just don't call me Sister Jacqueline. My name's still Jack."
As the two biotics walked down the boarding ramp, John came up and put his arms around Tali. "Makes you think, doesn't it."
"I know," Tali agreed, "Jack was the last person I ever thought would seek religion."
"True, but that wasn't what I was talking about."
"Oh? What are you talking about?"
"Morinth Indoctrinated Jack."
Tali's blood froze in her veins. "Oh keelah, you're right. But we thought only the Reapers could-"
"It's further proof of Mordin's theory. If an organic can do it too, it's not just some advanced technology. Somehow, certain people, races, whatever can launch a spiritual assault, and if you're not ready for it, they possess you, take control of your mind and body, destroy your soul. Whatever it is, it has me worried. Atheism has become far more wide spread then it once was among humans, since about the time we discovered our Mass Relay and joined the Citadel. The other races seem to have abandoned their own faiths by and large once they joined the galactic community as well. It's as if something is actively working to make things easier for the Reapers."
"You don't think something is controlling them do you? Some sort of trap left by the Reapers subtly influencing everyone? Quarians are more religious then most, be we are outcasts removed from the majority of the galactic culture. It's actually one of the reasons the other races look down on us."
John squeezed Tali tighter. "I don't know. It's something we're going to have to find out about though."
Unna'Koris: So Shepard was the first to realize that something was behind the Reapers?
Tali'Zorah: To a degree. That was when we began to suspect that the Reapers were far more powerful then we had imagined, and that there was a darker power behind them.
Unna'Koris: The power you and Shepard eventually defeated.
Tali'Zorah: Again, to an extent. Yes, Shepard and I fought it, but it wasn't us that defeated it. It was Love. Love and forgiveness.
