Chapter 27: Lure of the Dark Side

I was back on the Citadel, wandering through the halls. Minding my own business. Everything was fine. The door I was approaching opened.

Wrex was there. His eyes full of anger and accusation. "Wrex," I said.

"Shepard." He slowly stalked towards me, hand gripped tight on his shotgun. I wasn't the only one who noted that. "Sir," a C-Sec guard said. "Visitors are prohibited from bringing weapons into the—"

Wrex backhanded him. The guard flew through the air and skidded to an unconscious heap on the ground. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I know what you did," he hissed. Activating his omni-tool, he played my recording of the conversation between me and Dalatrass Crankypants, the one I recorded before we went to Tuchanka.

"I don't get it," I confessed. "I played that recording for you on Tuchanka so Mordin could repair the Shroud and disperse the cure."

"Only the cure wasn't delivered," he growled. "Which you knew, didn't you? You pretended to be on our side, but you planned to sabotage the cure all along. Luckily Mordin wasn't my only source in the STG."

"What… what are you talking about?" I asked in disbelief.

"Did you really think I was as stupid as my brother, Wreav?" He lifted his shotgun and pointed it at me. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Attention," the PA announced. "We have a security breach in Bay D24. Code Red."

"Wrex," I tried, "why would I betray you? We've fought alongside each other for years now. I helped save your family armour all those years ago. I supported your plans for the reunification of the clans. I defended the right of your people to have a future."

He slowly lowered his shotgun. For a moment, I thought I'd gotten through to him.

"Words," he sneered. "You're so good with words, aren't you? But words aren't going to cut it this time, Shepard!" He lifted his shotgun and pointed it at me again. "I will honour our friendship, though, by shooting you in the head and making it quick!"

I dove out of the way just as he pulled the trigger. The sound of the discharge almost deafened me. Desperately, I scrambled to my feet and found cover behind one of the columns.

"But before you die," he roared, "I want you to know I'm calling off our support to Earth! If my people go extinct, so do yours!"

No. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. All the work I'd put in, all the sacrifices I'd made… and now it was all falling apart. Why? Why was Wrex doing this? What was he thinking?

"It doesn't have to be this way, Wrex," I shouted back.

"It should have been this way back on Virmire!" Wrex cried out bitterly. "But I made the mistake of trusting you—believing you were my friend. I was a fool!"

"No matter what you think, I didn't do anything to sabotage the cure," I tried again. "I honestly thought it would work."

"You think you can just talk it out?" he sneered. "Sorry, Shepard. Ashley's not around to do your dirty work for you. She's dead, remember? 'And it's time you found out how that feels!"

"Take him down!"

It was Commander Bailey and a couple C-Sec officers. They'd flanked him while we were talking. "Wait!" I yelled.

But I was too late. They had already opened fire. Geysers of blood burst from Wrex's body as the bullets hit him. His body shook violently as C-Sec drove him back, until he hit a glass wall so hard it cracked. With his last ounce of strength, Wrex began to lift his shotgun at me. "I know… what… you… did…"

Another shot from one of the guards shattered the glass. Wrex fell through and dropped into the abyss, his roars echoing against the cold walls of the Citadel. Bailey peered down after him before turning to me. "What the hell pissed him off?" he asked.

"I don't know," I confessed. In the distance, the PA announced that Bay D24 was off-limits due to a security incident. "He was my friend."

"Don't beat yourself up too much," he said quietly, patting my shoulder. "An angry krogan coming at you like that? He didn't give you much of a choice."

"No. I guess not."

"Well, sorry it ended this way, Shepard," Bailey said before getting on the comm. "All right, people, let's get to it. Let the morgue know we've got another delivery coming. Probably too big for a coffin. Might have to space this one..."

Maybe I should've become a writer instead of a soldier/kleptomaniac/pyromaniac/cybernetic ninja zombie. If I had, maybe I wouldn't be creating these elaborate nightmares to torture myself with. I mean, what the heck was this about? Residual guilt over not being able to find another way to cure the genophage and save Mordin? Lingering doubts over whether siding with the krogan was the right thing to do?

And what was with the timing? I'd helped cure the genophage weeks ago. So why be plagued with this terror now? Why not earlier? Why did this keep happening? When would this stop?

When would I finally get some peace?

I thumbed through the last maintenance and inventory reports while I drank—or gulped—my now-daily dose of coffee. This was gonna be a tough habit to kick after this damn war was over, I thought. Assuming I actually survived, of course.

It seemed that our fuel reserves were starting to run low. Oh, we could go through the mass relays without any trouble. Simple cruising around a system would be fine. But if we weren't careful, we might find ourselves suddenly adrift in between systems, helpless against any Reapers or Cerberus ships that happened to be in the neighbourhood. And it wasn't as if there were tons of ships casually passing by. If we couldn't find a fuel depot that was still operational, we might have to start looking for derelict ships or something.

At least Jacob, Brynn and the others we rescued from Gellix would be safe. A cruiser had picked them up several days ago. From the looks of the e-mail Liara had intercepted, they were already settling in:

I miss you, Brynn, but I'm glad you're back there. The fighting's going to be tough when we push out with the Crucible.

I've gotten the cold shoulder from people who know I used to work for Cerberus. Can't say I blame them, especially after what happened on the Citadel. I've been able to teach other soldiers how Cerberus fights, though. They may be wearing new equipment, but I know their tactics.

I love you, Brynn. Take care of yourself.

From what Hackett had told me, Jacob had been offered a formal reinstatement into the Alliance Marine Corps. However, he had refused, feeling he did not deserve it considering his past with Cerberus. Hackett was quick to hire him instead as a consultant on Cerberus tactics and defences, a role that included the occasional mission against TIMmy.

All things considered, they were in good hands. (1) So I could concentrate my efforts on helping the asari out with their problem. At long last, it was time to try out the Black Widow sniper rifle. An Alliance variant on the original Widow Anti-Materiel Rifle, it was designed to retain the stopping power of the original rifle while introducing two key features. First, it could fire more than one shot, thereby reducing the need to reload a fresh thermal clip. Second, it could be operated by any trained soldier without snapping the humerus, ulna, radius and other bones.

I upgraded my new toy with all the bells and whistles I had on hand before suiting up and boarding the shuttle with the rest of the squad. (2) While Cortez began his pre-flight checks, I started the briefing. "All right. We're heading down to Lesuss to help the asari out with a rather large problem. Liara?"

"Asari High Command was very reluctant to divulge any details, and now I understand why they wanted to hide it. We're headed to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery."

"A what now?" James asked.

"The term means 'Demon of the Night Winds' in an old dialect of my people," Liara explained. "It's used to describe a rare genetic condition in asari that affects their nervous system. While it does not harm them, per se, it causes asari who have it to completely overwhelm and dominate their mates. Individuals who bond with Ardat-Yakshi often experience cranial hemorrhages and, in extreme cases, death. Ardat-Yakshi themselves become increasingly smarter, stronger and deadlier after each encounter—and become increasingly addicted to the act, compelled to do it again."

"Jesus," Kaidan breathed. "Sounds like a vampire or succubus or something. Isn't there some way to, I don't know, treat this?"

Liara shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Both the lethal and non-lethal variants are impossible to identify until an asari comes of age, and it's too late by that point."

"What happens to these Ardat-Yakshi?" Javik asked.

"After being diagnosed, they are given a choice: live in seclusion or be executed."

As expected, that elicited a strong response. "The rationale is that the addictive nature of mating compels them to do it again and again," Liara explained, "and the only way to avoid it is to isolate them so they won't—or can't—harm anyone. In the monasteries, Ardat-Yakshi are taught to suppress their desires for the good of the community. If they can demonstrate restraint and self-control, they may be offered a chance to reintegrate into asari society."

There was more to it than that, of course. The asari viewed Ardat-Yakshi as a disgrace. Rather than acknowledge it and try to research treatments or cures, they chose to ship them far, far away—where no one would have to know about or deal with them. Hell, Ardat-Yakshi were such a dirty little secret that the asari went to great pains to hide their existence from the rest of the galaxy. (3) No wonder Asari High Command waited as long as they did before finally giving up and indirectly asking for help.

"While these Ardat-Yakshi are isolated, it doesn't mean they're harmless. Their urge to feed can be powerful. Furthermore, they're still powerful biotics and potentially very dangerous. At least, that was the rationale for why High Command sent in commandos to investigate the monastery's distress signal."

"Magnified asari vampires," Kaidan said, shaking his head. "This is great. Just great."

"So what does Asari High Command want us to do?" Garrus wanted to know.

"If there was a chance the Ardat-Yakshi could break loose, the commandos were to purge the monastery."

Wonderful. I had a feeling I knew what that meant. "Purge? You mean destroy?"

"They would've brought heavy explosives with them, yes."

Of course. Because why shoot them personally when you could just blow them up by remote control instead? "I tangled with an Ardat-Yakshi before. (4) They're dangerous, sure, but are they really so big a threat to warrant summary execution?"

"I know who you're talking about," Liara nodded. "Believe it or not, Morinth was just hitting her stride. Ardat-Yakshi who kill leave behind astronomical body counts. That's why High Command won't rest until this monastery is secured or destroyed. They'd never risk a single Ardat-Yakshi getting loose."

"Geez, Doc," James protested, "isn't that a bit much? From what you said, they never hurt anyone. They've been stuck in that monastery for, well, ever since they were ID'd. Just because of some bad genes that they were born with."

"And yet, because of the perceived risk, High Command has apparently decided to kill them all, whether they've done anything or not," Miranda said, a slight edge to her voice.

I could sympathize with what James and Miranda were saying. Yeah, Ardat-Yakshi who had been on the loose for centuries were dangerous. But could the same really be said for Ardat-Yakshi who had been in seclusion for most of their lives? Seemed to me that 'normal' asari were treating them like lepers. Something to be regarded with disgust. Dirty little secrets that had to be locked away where no one would have to see or deal with them. And even asari like Liara had become so used to that way of thinking that they might just accept it as normal without question.

Still, that wouldn't help the situation at hand. "Let's not assume anything just yet," I cautioned. "Maybe the Ardat-Yakshi sent out the distress calls themselves. Either way, I'm not going to just fly by and nuke the monastery from orbit. If the asari want us to destroy this place, I need to know what the hell happened."

"Agreed," Liara said. "And once we find that out, and give a report to High Command, they'll stop wasting lives here."

The monastery was typical of asari architecture. At least, what little I've seen of it. Sleek, modern, lots of curves. You get the idea. It was kinda dark, though. Not much illumination, though, aside from a few outside lights scattered here and there.

Our eyes immediately went to a nearby skycar. "My visor's IR says it's still warm," Garrus reported. "Recent visitor?"

"And if so, is it a friend or an enemy," Miranda added.

"We'll find out soon enough," I said. "Let's go in. Keep your eyes peeled."

We opened the door as soon as I scanned a nearby weapon mod, only to find that it led to an elevator. Or rather, it led to an elevator shaft—the elevator car itself was nowhere to be seen.

"Curious," was all Javik said.

"The question is whether it's by accident, to prevent someone getting in or to prevent someone getting out," Kaidan frowned.

"There is only one way to answer that," EDI pointed out.

So we had to hop across the gap to a platform on the other side and take a series of ladders down.

The back of my neck began tingling just before an inhuman screech filled the air. "Did you hear that?" Miranda winced.

"Like nails on a chalkboard," James confirmed.

"And it's calling its buddies," Garrus added.

Great. So we were entering the real-life asari equivalent of a horror vid. And just like all those idiots who always populate those things, we were ignoring every shred of common sense and marching blithely into the darkness. No doubt some horrible monster was waiting in the shadows to shred us to bloody pieces. Which was why we turned on our flashlights. Funny how a little bit of light was so comforting… until you saw all the datapads and broken shards of glass strewn over the floor.

It was with that in mind that I read the following message:

A reminder:

Students are not allowed to visit each other's quarters, or to meet in rooms unsupervised by staff. Students are also forbidden from extranet communication without approval by senior staff members. There are no exceptions to these rules. First offenders will have their free time revoked for a month. Further violations will be met with confinement.

Our monastery is our shelter. For it to remain that way, we must make sacrifices. If we do this, I have faith we can continue to enjoy the order and peace this place has given us.

Matriarch Gallae

Yeesh. And I thought the guys at Basic were strict. Another bone-chilling keen filled the air. "What was that?" Liara whispered.

"Stay sharp," I said. Spotting a datapad, I picked it up and heard the following recording:

"Tolae, you won't believe what Yanis managed to smuggle in: a copy of Vaenia! Meet us after supper in the library. Bring some study work. Rila's floor warden tonight, so act natural. We'll be by the east video banks. This is going to be so great. See you there! Oh, and delete this once you listen to it. Not like last time!"

Heh. Looked like some students were just a little bit rebellious. And this Tolae person had obviously forgotten to cover her tracks again. We continued on until—"I heard something," I hissed.

"That was me. I, uh, tripped. Sorry.

We whipped our headlights towards Kaidan. "Behold, the next human Spectre," Miranda said dryly.

"Good job," Garrus snarked.

"Clumsy human," Javik sniffed.

While we were stopped, I took the moment to check out a nearby room. There was another weapon mod to scan and the authorization control of Matriarch Gallae—who apparently ran the place—to download. After that, I led the squad through the cavernous hall. There were more datapads and glass on the floor, along with papers, knocked-over chairs…

…and bodies. I scanned them, but we were too late. They were long dead. We silently moved on.

In another room, obviously a dormitory of sorts, we found a daily schedule. Apparently the Ardat-Yakshi got to look forward to meals, meditation, study periods and two hours of free time. Yippee. What was more interesting to me were the safe full of credits and a sniper rifle ammo mod. (5)

No sooner had we left the dormitory than we ran across another asari—this time a commando. She was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, just metres away from…

…

…from a Cannibal.

Aw, crap.

We looked at each other with growing alarm. "Reapers," Garrus muttered. "Looks like we know why the commando teams went silent."

"This monastery's out of the way," I frowned. "And it's hardly well-populated. Why would the Reapers go all the way out here? What do they want with Ardat-Yakshi?"

Miranda crouched down and pried a datapad from the asari's fingers. "Anything useful?" I asked.

"A floor plan of the monastery," she replied after a minute, "with a NavPoint indicating the most effective location for a bomb: something called the Great Hall. There are schematics of the bomb as well."

"So the commandos started the purge after all," Liara said sadly.

Garrus took a look at the bomb schematics for himself. "At least it's no surprise nuke on Tuchanka," he offered, "but the commandos definitely want this place gone.

I shook my head. "Ardat-Yakshi or not, evacuating this place would've saved a lot of lives." I looked down at the dead commando and sighed. "All right: keep your eyes open for any survivors. If we find any, we get them out—I don't care what the High Command says. Otherwise, let's get to the Great Hall and set off that bomb."

We went through a door and into a rather spacious T-junction. Large glass windows displayed what would have been a stunning midnight view of the landscape. The left path was a dead end, while the right path led to a locked door. Asari encryption, but easy pickings after all the practice I've had. The door opened, revealing a balcony overlooking a large room below and huge floor-to-ceiling windows, through which we could see another stunning vista.

But not so stunning that we didn't hear a soft thump. We hurried to the balcony and looked down. A body hit the ground, its wiry flesh riddled with the telltale glow of Reaper implants. An asari glided out of the shadows, her footsteps barely making any sound at all, and looked up at us. "Very good," she complimented. "I almost didn't hear you."

My eyes widened with surprise. "Samara?"

She bowed her head in acknowledgement. "It has been some time, Shepard. You are a most welcome sight. The corruption here runs deep."

Introductions were in order. "Kaidan, James, Javik; meet Samara, a member of an ancient order of asari justicars. She took a break from roaming the galaxy fighting injustice and sin to help me deal with the Collectors. Samara; Kaidan, James, Javik and EDI. Well, a mech EDI's co-opting, but you get the idea."

"I assume you're here on your own, Justicar," Liara said formally.

"Perhaps for someone… special?" Garrus added.

"My daughters have lived here for centuries, Garrus. I've come for them." Her face became troubled. "Unfortunately, the Reapers had already infested this place by the time I arrived."

"You met me hunting down your other daughter, Morinth," I said. "Your other daughters aren't like her, are they?"

She shook her head. "Falere and Rila have followed the monastery's rules ever since they arrived. They've shown no inclination towards violence."

"And you're here to save them?"

Samara suddenly found the floor very fascinating. "They are my responsibility, one that cannot be abandoned even as our galaxy crumbles."

Now why did I have a bad feeling about that? I know I wasn't the only one: Miranda's eyes had narrowed in that certain tell-tale way. Well if both of us felt the same way, then we probably shouldn't let Samara go off on her own. "Let's go together," I suggested. "Maybe your daughters can tell us why the Reapers hit this place."

"I suspect they will have much to tell us," Samara said blandly. "It has been centuries since I last saw them." Her head jerked as that eerie cry rang out again. "We're out of time." Clenching her fists, she summoned a veritable storm of biotic energy that writhed over her body. "We will meet again," she announced. "I will draw these creatures off."

"Wait!" I hastily called out. But Samara blithely ignored me, too caught up in her Justicar Code—or, at least, her interpretation of the Code. So much for not letting her go off on her own. I was about to go when I saw yet another dead commando with a blinking datapad. Bending down, I picked it up and took a look. My thumb accidentally hit the playback button and triggered an audio recording: "My name is Tashya Porae. I'm wounded. Bad. Give this to my bondmate, Weshra. Asked her to go to the Citadel. And tell Weshra I love her. Tell her… sorry we fought. I was an idiot. Didn't mean any of it, Weshra. Want… want you to have everything of mine, okay? Love you. I love you so—"

Damn. I copied the audio recording to my omni-tool and got to my feet. "Let's go," I sighed to the squad.

We walked in silence to the door and into another room. Javik broke the silence first. "This monastery would make an ideal fortress. Isolated, defensible. The Ardat-Yakshi must have believed they were safe from the war."

"I can't get over how huge this place is," Kaidan said. "There must have been thousands of people living here. Bet most of them were civilians."

James scratched his head. "Yeah, but what makes asari nuns a priority target?"

"They're all Ardat-Yakshi, active and latent," Miranda reminded him. "Perhaps the Reapers knew this somehow and felt they could serve some purpose."

"Goddess," Liara gasped. "I hope you're mistaken."

"So do I," I said. "But we haven't seen any survivors so far."

It was on that disturbing note that we descended a flight of stairs and entered a large atrium. More beautiful curved architecture, lots of flora in nice arrangements, wide open space—and a light that grew brighter and brighter as it flew towards us. We ducked just in time as the biotic blast vaporized an innocent tree. A horrible scream ripped through the air, chilling me to the bone.

"Well… that one's new," Garrus managed.

My sensors were detecting some strong kinetic barriers, so I signalled Liara, Miranda and Kaidan to hammer the hostile with their best biotic shot. EDI launched a fireball, but she missed as the hostile dodged—no, it didn't dodge. Not exactly. One moment it was crying out from a balcony, the next moment it had moved to the ground level. Almost like it was teleporting or…

…

Aw, crap.

Back on Illium, some of us had tangled with a Spectre named Tela Vasir who was in cahoots with the previous Shadow Broker. Vasir had this trick of covering short distances at incredibly fast speeds. Sort of a scaled-down, infantry-level version of a starship travelling through a relay. This… creature apparently could do the same thing. And considering how hard it was to take Vasir down, well, we could be in serious trouble.

Thankfully, this monster wasn't quite as aggressive as Vasir. It seemed content to slowly stalk towards us like some kind of mythical horror, while randomly blurring forward in fits and spurts. Which meant that my fireball, coupled with James's concussive round, managed to land a direct hit. I fired a shot from my sniper rifle, only to have it blur or charge away.

Garrus and Javik were ready, having eschewed any fancy tricks in favour of rapid-fire bullets. The barrage drained the remnants of its barriers, revealing some kind of protective organic carapace. Like armour. And, by now, we knew what to do with armour. A flurry of biotics and plasma flew out, creating secondary explosions with every other assault. In short order, the ugly beast was dead.

Which was a good thing, considering we had company. I sniped two Cannibals while Liara grabbed a few more in a singularity for EDI to set on fire. Miranda and James amused themselves pummelling a fifth Cannibal with biotics and concussive rounds while Garrus and Javik kept an eye out for any more surprises while blasting targets of opportunity with their particle rifles. I fired another shot, blowing the brains out of another Cannibal, before lighting the last hostile up. One concussive round from Garrus finished it off. Team Two repeated that trick with yet another Cannibal with similar success. The very last Cannibal was too busy trying to munch on its dead buddies to notice us until it was too late.

Once we were sure there no more surprises, we all headed for the first hostile and got our first good look. "What have the Reapers done?" Liara gasped.

Her reaction was understandable. To say we were shocked and horrified would be an understatement.

Imagine a naked asari—yeah, yeah, get your wet dreams over with. Now imagine her with pale grey skin. Her limbs are all elongated and alarmingly skinny—which makes sense considering how emaciated she is. Her belly's bulging out like she's pregnant, probably with some obscene hellspawn. There's a network of lines running over her body, studded with glowing blue nodes at regular intervals. The head crest is expanded into some unholy crown. And the face… the face is completely twisted into a leering skull, grimacing with both pain and arousal.

That's what we were looking at. That was the newest monstrosity in the Reaper war machine. Kinda kills the mood, doesn't it?

James found his voice first. "Holy shit! We're fighting Reaperfied asari now?"

"I think we have a better idea of why the Reapers came here," I said grimly. "Everyone reload. We gotta move."

Everyone inserted fresh thermal clips and scooped up replacements as we headed for the door. I had to bypass it, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The doors opened just in time to see a lithe figure run by, her body lit up with that telltale biotic glow. A Cannibal was hot on her heels. She turned around and flung a cerulean sphere in its face, to no avail. She screeched to a halt as she realized there was nowhere left to go.

Before we could attack, Samara dropped out of nowhere. She simply flung a hand out and launched a devastating biotic wave. The Cannibal flew through the air, hit the ground with an audible crack and died.

"Mother?" the asari cried out in disbelief. "You came!"

"As soon as I was able," Samara nodded. By that point, we had joined them, so Samara made her introductions. "Shepard, this is Falere, my youngest. She and her Rila are Ardat-Yakshi. They—"

"Mother!" Falere interrupted, tugging on her arm. "They have Rila."

"What?"

"I saw some of those creatures take her into the Great Hall," Falere explained. "I've been trying to get there."

"They're creations of the Reapers," I explained. "From what we've seen… I assume they're…"

"Harvesting us," Falere finished. "Yes. They're turning us into… into those… monsters." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Please, you can't let that happen to Rila."

"Well, that confirms it," I said. "The asari thought the Ardat-Yakshi were to blame for the attack."

Falere looked shocked. "This is our home! Most of us are grateful to be here. The monastery is a place Ardat-Yakshi can achieve peace."

Yeah, when everyone thinks you're freaks and monsters, it's nice to have a place away from all that bigotry and prejudice. I kinda felt, well, pity for her. I'd never had such sentiments towards Morinth, but by the time I'd met her, she had embraced the darkness within her.

"Falere speaks truthfully, Shepard," Samara intervened. "I vouch for her words—with pride."

I had the feeling Falere didn't receive such compliments very often, given the way she blushed. Of course, it's hard to receive such praise when the person giving it hasn't been around in hundreds of years.

"Then we have to hurry," I said. "We gotta find Rila and any other survivors and get them out fast. There's a bomb in the Great Hall."

"A bomb?" Falere gasped. "Didn't you come to rescue people?"

"We came to find out what was going on and why all the commando teams sent here went dark," I explained. "Of course we'll rescue anyone we can, but we can't leave this place standing. Not with the Reapers milling about."

"Commandos," Falere spat. "You sound just like them, and they didn't stop to help anyone. Too busy treating us like enemies and monsters—"

"Falere."

She winced at the chastising tone in Samara's voice. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be—wait!"

"Falere!"

I thought Falere was apologizing for her earlier outburst, but she might've been apologizing for her next move. Without another word, she hopped over a nearby rail and gently levitated to the antechamber below.

"She's looking for Rila," Miranda and Samara said in unison.

Of course she would. Rila was more than her fellow outcast. She was her sister. And everyone else seemed to be a Reaperfied monster, a neglectful mother wrapped up in her own melodrama, asari commandoes set to blow up the only home she knew, or random strangers who potentially wanted to do the same. Of course she would run off on her own. Miranda probably figured that out. Samara… well… I'm honestly not sure what she'd want.

Samara hopped over the rail and floated down. Like mother, like daughter, I guess. "We'll meet you at the Great Hall," I shouted after her.

"Please be swift," was all Samara said before heading off in pursuit of her daughter.

I turned to Miranda. "You picked up the datapad with the map of the monastery. Lead the way."

The fastest way was down an elevator on the far side. The one whose doors were riddled with bullets, bulging outward and spitting out sparks between twisted metal panels. Garrus whistled. "You'd need a crowbar to pry those doors open."

"Damn," James whistled. "The commandos really trashed the place on their way through."

"They were about to blow it up," I reminded him.

"What a pity," Liara said sadly. "This place was beautiful before the Reapers came."

We considered that for a second before double-timing it for the other side, hoping we'd have better luck. Instead, all I found was a recording: "Jethra? This is Gallae. I've blocked extranet access. We don't need the students panicking about these Reaper rumours. Still, it will not hurt to tally our supplies. Please bring me an inventory before evening prayer. I'll contact Thessia later tonight to inquire what set the asari to war. Go in peace."

Right. Don't worry about it, pretend everything's fine and check it out later. That worked out well. Giving up, I went back through the doors we'd originally used to get in here.

Of course, the hostiles had come back by that point. At least a couple Cannibals, led by a Marauder. EDI fried the latter's shields, I set it on fire and Liara pummelled it with her biotics. Teams Two and Three began hammering away at Cannibals with biotics and concussive rounds while I switched to my sniper rifle. I'd dropped one Cannibal before realizing that some of them were being protected by barriers. It only took a few seconds of searching to find a barrier engine. My sniper round didn't shut it down, but my fireball and Garrus's concussive round sure did.

Turning back to the hostiles, I saw Miranda strip away a Cannibal's barriers with her biotics. That cleared the way for a headshot and a stream of plasma from yours truly. EDI and Liara blew another Cannibal to smithereens. And that was that.

While everyone reloaded, I did a little scrounging. Found an asari hardsuit mod, an asari shotgun and some credits—all of which were very welcome.

I also found some reports to skim through. A justicar had brought a new girl in, but may have used excessive force. One of the girls would not be approved for supervised visits to Thessia—the only one from this year's candidates—due to her impulsive, cunning and ultimately immature behaviour. Nothing groundbreaking, but it certainly provided some insight into the kind of life the Ardat-Yakshi led before the Reapers turned everything upside down.

At last, we found a flight of stairs heading down into the antechamber. Given that the back of my neck was still tingling—come to think of it, I don't think it had stopped since I first set foot in this place—I silently moved the teams into cover. My caution was rewarded as our HUDs began lighting up with targets. Only a couple at first—but one of them was that Reaperfied asari, wailing like some goddamn banshee. (6) "Teams One and Two focus on the asari thing," I ordered. "Team Three: keep the others back."

I hit it with a fireball, which Liara promptly ignited. The Reaperfied asari zipped to her right, but I was half-expecting such a move. Once she'd slowed down, I snapped off a quick shot. Then I set her on fire again. Miranda excited the plasma into a full-fledged conflagration with her biotics. EDI's fireball was next, followed by James's concussive round.

As I activated my cloak, I saw Team Three dispatch a Cannibal. They seemed to have things in hand, so I fired my sniper rifle. It hit centre-of-mass rather than her head, but it still sent her staggering back. She was too stunned to do anything, so I launched some more plasma. I was about to follow up with another shot when I spotted some movement out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, a Cannibal was trying to sneak up behind us. A single sniper round put an end to that nonsense.

Going back to the Reaperfied asari, I saw she was slowly advancing towards us. I couldn't tell if she was injured or if that was how fast she normally went, but she was still getting a little too close for comfort. So I set her on fire again. Miranda's biotics finished her off.

Now the entire squad could concentrate on the Cannibals—and a good thing too, since they seemed to be everywhere. No one needed me to give the order to fire at will. Without asking, Team Two handled the left, Team Three took care of the right and my team focused on the middle. I sent a fireball after one, reloaded, fired a shot at another, ducked before a hail of bullets could hit my shields, then went after a third. If it sounds a bit rushed and chaotic, well, that's probably because it was.

Another burst of plasma flew from my omni-tool to hit a Cannibal. I looked around for another hostile and found one on the left. Team Two was busy tangling with someone else, so it was up to me to drop a fireball on its head like a miniature meteor.

My body jerked as a stream of bullets shredded my shields. The Cannibals had charged our right flank en masse and at least one of them had gotten through to score a couple free hits. I ducked down before any more shots could hit me. By the time my shields regenerated, Garrus and Javik had managed to free themselves up and took that beastie down.

I looked around for another target, but we seemed to have finished them off. We quickly cleared the antechamber, just to make sure, bypassed the door and entered the next room. There was another dead commando propped up against some crates. "Doesn't feel right seeing dead soldiers in a monastery," Kaidan said somberly.

"Was she holding off Reapers?" Garrus wondered.

"Or maybe she got left behind in the panic," Miranda speculated. "This place must've been chaos."

"They did come ready to level the facility," EDI said.

I shook my head. "Sending commandos with explosives is more damage control than an actual plan, if you ask me."

"And I bet they knew it," James snorted. "Tell me they weren't expecting casualties, and I'll show you a fucking liar."

"At least her death was quick," Javik said. "She was fortunate."

It was on that sad note that we made our way towards an elevator, stopping only long enough for me to scan another weapon mod. This time, the elevator worked. It took us down for what seemed like forever, though it couldn't have been more than half a minute. When the doors opened, we had reached the Great Hall.

Looking back, it reminded me of the Presidium or the Citadel Tower. Undeniably modern-looking with sleek, clean lines. Curved columns soared towards the ceiling. Gentle moonlight and starlight bathing the Hall through the enormous windows. It would've been so peaceful and inspiring, were it not for all the bloodshed and death we'd waded through to get here.

I carefully scanned the Great Hall. A few medical stations near the elevator door, which I quickly swiped. Several thermal clips, scattered around the bodies of dead commandos.

"There's our bomb."

Big and ugly, dead centre in the hall. And standing next to it was Samara, Falere… and a third asari.

We headed for her, pausing long enough for me to scoop up a med-kit on the way. "Rila. Rila, wake up," we heard Falere plead.

"Falere, Rila cannot hear us," Samara said. I stopped next to Samara. She had a mixture of sadness and dread on her face. Falere was kneeling next to her currently-comatose sister.

"Look," Falere cried out. "She's still alive."

"I know, but I am afraid Rila is not well," Samara replied.

Aw, crap. We were too late.

"Rila's not one of them yet," Falere insisted frantically. "She can't be. She just needs to wake up! Rila? Rila, can you hear me?"

To everyone's surprise, Rila stirred. Her head rose slightly as her body shifted into a slightly more vertical position. Her eyes opened. She looked around; the blank expression on her face suggesting she wasn't really registering what was around her. Falere gently helped her to her feet. Rila rubbed her eyes.

Then her eyes went completely black, her irises disappearing in a whirlpool of darkness. She lunged at her sister, clamping her hands around her throat. Falere struggled before throwing her to the ground. Rila did not move.

Kaidan carefully crouched down and began examining the bomb. Falere looked at us in confusion. "Why did she do that?" she asked.

"Because they've begun to turn her into one of the Reapers' creatures," Samara answered.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. Samara gave a slight nod. Falere didn't react at all. "Can we set off that bomb?" I asked.

Kaidan stood up and shook his head. "Not without a detonator."

Of course. Because things just couldn't be simple. "Okay. The commandos wouldn't have lugged this bomb all the way here if they didn't have a detonator. We've got to find it."

The tingling on the back of my neck suddenly exploded into a full-out vibration. A horrifying screech assaulted our ears. Looking around, I spotted one of the Reaperfied asari stalking towards us. "Later," I amended. "Everyone, get ready. Kaidan, how's your EOD training?" (7)

Kaidan figured out what I was getting at. "Took an introductory course on non-human bomb design. Hope that's good enough. Keep that bitch and her buddies off me and I'll see if I can jury-rig a backup detonator."

While Kaidan began tinkering, the rest of us got to work. We had one banshee and several husks to deal with. "Team Two—husks." I barked. "Team Three—Reaperfied asari. Team One—play it by ear. Weapons free!"

The way I saw it, Team Two was better equipped to deal with the fast-moving husks. Random bursts of speed aside, the Reaperfied asari was fairly slow. All we had to do was keep it at bay, and Team Three would be more suited to that kind of long-range combat. That left Team One to go wherever we were needed.

I started things off by shooting the Reaperfied asari in its bulging belly before setting a husk on fire. A fiery explosion told me Miranda and James had tag-teamed another husk. Meanwhile, Liara snatched several husks in her singularity. While EDI set them all on fire, I finished off another husk—possibly in the crotch. Before I could even mouth a silent apology, I saw a surge of biotic energy. My eyes widened as I realized the Reaperfied asari had gotten way too close for comfort.

Team Three came to the same horrifying discovery. Javik hit it with a surge of green biotics before Garrus fired a concussive round. The verdant flare of violent energy was still surging when I fired my sniper rifle. Then I launched a fireball. Liara ignited the plasma, creating an explosion that drained the last of her barriers. Then EDI set her on fire. Team Three distracted it with particle fire, buying me the time I needed to shoot her in the head. I frantically reloaded as Team Three tried another biotic/concussive round combo. She was still advancing! I fired again, hastily reloaded and fired a third shot. EDI and Liara hammered her with plasma and biotics, respectively. Team Two was frantically firing at—

—a second Reaperfied asari! Shit!

There was no time to give orders out loud. Activating my HUD, I selected the second Reaperfied asari as the primary target for Teams Two and Three. Meanwhile, Team One finished the first Reaperfied asari off. To my relief, it only took a few seconds. I spared a glance at the bomb. Falere was alternating between fearfully staring at the chaotic battlefield before her and talking to Rila. Kaidan was still fiddling with the bomb. Samara had erected a large biotic barrier to protect Falere, Rila, Kaidan and herself—just like the one she'd used to thwart the seeker swarms back at the Collector Base.

Back to Reaperfied asari number two. I shot her point-blank with my sniper rifle. Miranda smacked her with a biotic blast. James fired a concussive round. Big boom. Javik and his biotics. Garrus and his concussive round. Another big boom. EDI and her plasma. Sniper round from me followed by some more plasma. Liara, biotics, boom. She was still standing!

Cloaking, I fired again. Someone—I didn't see who—hit her with something. Someone did something else. Another explosion. We were almost there. Peering through my scope, I squeezed the trigger and shot her in the back. She staggered, swayed, then disintegrated in a fire of biotic energy and a flurry of ash. Phew!

"Last one down," Garrus rasped as Samara lowered her barrier.

"For now," I sighed. "Let's get back to that bomb."

"We've got a problem," Kaidan sighed as the squad approached him. "This thing's way more advanced than anything that course taught me. If we can't find that detonator…"

He broke off as Rila stirred. She slowly got to her feet. We all tensed up, bracing ourselves for another attack. Her eyes opened, then widened in panic. "Falere, go!" she urged. "Take the elevator. Hurry!"

"Rila?" Falere took her hands and squeezed them gently. "What are you doing?"

"It's too late for me," Rila said sadly. "There are hundreds coming. Just go!" She reached into a back pocket and pulled out a small cylinder—the detonator we'd been searching for. Falere's eyes were filled with dawning realization at what she was about to do. Samara simply watched before turning towards the elevator.

I motioned for the squad to do the same.

Falere just stood there. Not moving. Too stunned at what was going to happen. Reaching back, I grabbed her arm. "Move!"

"No, Rila!"

Rila gave her sister a sad smile as I dragged her away. "I love you."

Seeing how much of a struggle she was putting up, James doubled back to help me. "Rila!" Falere cried out. That now-hauntingly familiar cry rang out. Rila doubled over. No doubt the part of her that had succumbed to the transformation was responding to that sound. For a moment, I hesitated. If Rila couldn't muster the strength to pull it off…

The first Reaperfied asari couldn't climb over the crate in her way. So she sat on it and slid over, with a lack of grace and awkwardness typical of a pregnant woman. Somehow, that made it worse. I saw Rila summon a surge of biotic energy and launch it towards her. The act was ineffectual, but it proved she was still in the fight. That would have to be good enough: judging by the size of that bomb, it would kill everything in the Great Hall and most of the monastery. If Rila was unable to set it off, we'd have to return. Otherwise, waiting around to see if she would do it would be suicide. And there had been enough death today.

We finally made it into the elevator. Miranda hit the controls. With a sudden burst of strength, Falere broke free. But the doors closed before she could get out. The last thing we saw was a half dozen of those Reaperfied asari surrounding Rila. Helpless, Falere banged her fists against the doors.

Then there was a dull boom. The elevator car shook. Falere slid to the floor and cried.

The rest of the trip out was uneventful. No hostiles to shoot. No need to run. We just slowly made our way through the monastery in silence.

Falere was the first one to walk through the doors. We watched her quietly for a moment. Samara went after her last surviving daughter, the rest of us close behind her.

"Rila… there wasn't even time to say goodbye!" Falere said at last.

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

"We left her to die!" Falere said angrily, her eyes brimming with more tears.

Samara said nothing at first. Then she walked towards her. "Rila made her choice, and it has reminded me of what is truly important, why I swore I'd lay down my life."

Uh oh. I didn't like the sounds of that. I quickly headed towards them, hoping to head off what I suspected might happen. Falere looked at her mother curiously. "What is that?" she asked blankly.

"Falere… the Code demands an Ardat-Yakshi cannot live outside a monastery that no longer exists." Samara pulled out a pistol. Falere took a step back in shock. "Samara!" I snapped. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Shepard," Samara said. "By the Justicar's Code… there is only one way to save Falere."

Great. This was just great. Samara was gonna stick to her twisted Code and kill her last surviving daughter to save…

"Mother, no!"

…oh for crying out loud. I watched in stunned disbelief as Samara pressed the barrel of her gun against her own right temple. "My daughters," she said. "You were all so much stronger than I believed."

Before Samara could drag this out any longer, I yanked her arms down and pinned them behind her back. She tensed. Struggled fiercely. Then grew very still. "Let. me. go!" she said quietly.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Fulfilling the Code."

Oh for the love of—"By throwing your life away? I know you're self-righteous, but this is ridiculous."

"Shepard—"

"No, listen to me. You've spent the last six or seven centuries wallowing in your own melodrama. Locked away your daughters when you found out they were Ardat-Yakshi. So convenient that you can wash your hands of them 'cuz that's what asari law demands. And then you became a justicar. Great! Now you have the Code! You can wander the galaxy instead of visiting your daughters, because it's easier to spend centuries running around chasing bad guys than spend a couple minutes with your daughters. It's easier to shoot criminals than spend time with your family. It's easier to cling to a black-and-white view of the galaxy than to show any kind of love to your kids. Because it's not your fault, right? You have to do it. Because of the all-and-mighty Code."

"You think I don't love them?"

"I think you found it easier to hunt your daughter like an animal than reason with her. I think you didn't see or talk to your other daughters for centuries, letting them spend all that time wondering if their mom loved them and asking themselves what they did wrong. I think Falere just lost her last sister. And I think you were about to kill yourself in front of her, without any thought of how traumatizing that would be. Because you're too busy wallowing to care what kind of impact that'll have."

"I won't kill my last daughter!" Samara cried out.

"You won't have to!"

That got everyone's attention. "Falere?" Samara asked.

Garrus and I exchanged looks. He reached over and wrestled the gun from Samara's now-limp fingers. Only then, did I let Samara go. Falere walked towards her. "I'll stay here—home—no matter what's become of it."

Naturally, Samara went on autopilot. "Without a proper monastery—"

"Mother," Falere interrupted, her voice gentle, but firm. Maybe even with a bit of pity. "I have spent the past 430 years here. I could have left at any time. Do you know why I stayed?"

…

"This is where you say 'No, Falere. Why did you stay?" I added helpfully.

Samara looked at me. I looked back and made an exaggerated motion with my hands towards Falere. She finally acquiesced. "No, Falere," Samara repeated. "Why did you stay?"

"Because I don't need a building to honour my own code. It might not be as formal or respected as the Justicar Code. But it's the one I chose to live by. And if the Reapers return, they won't take me alive. I promise."

Falere gave her a minute to let that sink in. Probably a good thing considering how infuriatingly dense Samara could be.

"Then… the Code permits you to stay, as you are," Samara finally said.

I rolled my eyes. It wasn't much, but it was progress. I guess. Maybe. Falere hugged her mother. Samara just stood there. Like a statue.

Then her hands moved up and Samara hugged her daughter back.

"Once this war is over, and if I am able, I will visit," Samara vowed. "As a justicar should."

"She meant as a mother should," I intervened. "Justicar, mother. It's easy to mix them up. They sound so similar."

Falere smiled for the first time.

"I'd understand if you wanted to help Falere rebuild a home here," I said. (8)

"It must wait now that I can help oppose the Reapers. I must…" Samara broke off and reconsidered. "Perhaps I can help her search the ruins. Begin finding supplies to build something that can be called a monastery by the Code and asari law. Then I will join your forces. If you'll have me, of course."

"I'd be honoured," I replied. "But the Reapers won't be going away any time soon. Right now, Falere needs you more."

Samara bowed her head towards me. "The honour is mine, my friend."

I watched Samara and Falere walk away before contacting Cortez. "Everything's taken care of down here. Bring in the shuttle."

"Right, Commander. I'll just follow the smoke."

(1): As much as Shepard commented about the unwavering faith and trust that others placed in him, it does not seem to have occurred to him that he was doing the same to Admiral Hackett. Having said that, it is notable that Admiral Hackett stood by him when few others would.

(2): A human idiom for visual or functional features that enhance the appeal of an object rather than its utility. It is the opinion of this editor that the weapon mods Shepard added should not fall under this definition.

(3): I cannot deny any of Shepard's observations. I would only add that the asari spent millennia cultivating a public image of perfection and superiority, and acknowledging the existence of the Ardat-Yakshi would mar that perception. Furthermore, Ardat-Yakshi only appear amongst so-called purebloods—which likely explains the prejudice and stigma against them.
(4): Morinth, one of Samara's daughters. Shepard and Samara faced—and ultimately killed—her on Omega.

(5): Because walking through 'the real-life asari equivalent of a horror vid' wasn't enough to suppress Shepard's kleptomania. Reassuring, if nothing else.

(6): Again, Shepard's impromptu designation would soon become the officially accepted means of referring to these abominations.

(7): An Alliance acronym for Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

(8): Readers will note that Shepard did not offer a place on the Normandy for Samara. He later confided that he 'didn't want to give her an easy way out.'