A/N: Forgive me if my chapters are short for awhile. I'm in a funk, and this is the best I can manage for the time being.
Chapter 12: Samara
"Mother?" Confusion, surprise, and maybe even a hint of fear crossed Rila's face. Hands frozen in the air, hovering over her meal tray, she didn't seem capable of tearing her gaze from Samara to take the bite of food waiting on her fork.
"Hello, Rila. It is good to see you." Samara offered her daughter a smile despite the images of Rila's last moments haunting her memory. The things she saw on her walk with Jane within Shepard's mind never left Samara. Not for a moment. She must make certain those things never came to pass.
Chair scraping across the floor as she stood, Rila continued to stare, wide-eyed, at Samara. After a moment, she took two, hesitant steps forward. "I'm so happy to see you, but … why have you come?"
Samara crossed the floor to embrace her daughter, ignoring the other Ardat-Yakshi staring at them with a mix of envy and fear. Pulling back, she held Rila at arm's length to look her over. "You look well. Where is Falere?"
"She went to her room to read." Voice rising, taking on a hint of panic, Rila asked again, "Mother, why are you here? What's happened?"
Pressing her palm to Rila's cheek, Samara smiled. "I have failed you by not coming to visit more often. Please, finish your meal, and then we will go sit with Falere and talk. It has been too long."
"Mirala is dead?" Falere wiped tears from her eyes as she lowered her gaze. Staring at her hands held in her lap, anger filled her voice in contradiction to the softness of her tone. "You killed Mirala?"
"Falere … you knew Mirala refused to join us at the monastery. You know what that means," Rila said before casting a furtive glance at Samara, "and Mother called us before she committed to her path as a Justicar. This was expected."
"I suppose I thought that after more than four-hundred years …." Falere took a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling helplessly with the motion. "What's done is done. What will you do with yourself now, Mother?"
"I hope to ensure the two of you are safe before the war begins." Samara crossed her legs, settling her hands down on her knee. "When it does, I must fight wherever I am most needed."
"War? What war?" Gaze darting around the sparsely furnished room as if expecting to find soldiers with weapons aimed and waiting for her in the corners, Falere swallowed before returning her attention to Samara. "What do you mean ensure we're safe?"
"There is something I must tell you. A complicated story, one in which I am not completely sure where to begin or how to tell you." Samara took a moment to consider what, exactly, she wanted to tell her daughters. "My hunt for Mirala led me to Illium, but she escaped once again. While searching for her trail, the name of the ship she left on, I met a woman named Commander Shepard. A human. She served in the Alliance Navy and is the first human Spectre.
"She asked for my assistance in a matter—collectors were abducting entire human colonies out of the Terminus Systems where neither the Alliance nor the Council holds political sway. I agreed to help her if she aided me in finding your sister. I swore an Oath of Subsumation—" Samara paused when both of her daughters gasped. "I believed her quest was just, and she proved herself to be an honorable woman. She found the name of the ship while I waited with the Illium police."
"The police?" Falere asked, brow rising.
Samara smiled. So many years had passed since she sat and conversed with her daughters, yet she still recalled and cherished Falere's curiosity and constant need to ask questions instead of having the patience to wait for the answers to come in their own time. "Yes, but that is of no importance right now."
"Of course." Cheeks turning a darker blue, Falere waved a hand before folding them in her lap once more. "I'm sorry, please continue."
"While working with Shepard to fight the collectors, I learned of the existence of a terrible threat to the galaxy." Samara paused, anticipating Falere's interruption.
"What kind of threat?" Adjusting her skirt, Falere pulled her legs up on the bed, tucking them in beneath her. She braced her elbows on her knees, leaning in a little closer to Samara—just as she used to do when she was a child and Samara would sit with the girls to read them a story.
"There is a race of sentient AIs who have existed far longer than even I can imagine." Samara had seen them clearly through the memories Jane shared with her. She saw the enormous ships descending, tentacled protrusions reaching downward like the claws of some nightmarish creature as they landed. Artificial beasts come to rend the very planet and consume everything that walked upon the surface. She heard the blare of their sirens and saw the twisted, empty shells of every species swarming over and slaughtering everyone in their wake. And it frightened her.
"Every fifty thousand cycles," she said, straightening her shoulders as she pushed the images aside, "they return to the galaxy from dark space to harvest the races which have reached a certain level of technological advancement."
"Harvest?" Falere's brow knitted with her confusion, eyes narrowing. "What are you saying?"
Rila reached over, settling her hand on her sister's back. "She's saying they come here to kill everyone."
"Indeed." Samara sighed. It would be so much easier if she could simply share everything with her daughters, but she'd sworn to Shepard that she would tell no one about Jane and the others. "Although it is far more complicated and disturbing than simply mass murder."
"How so?" Rila asked, gaze steady on Samara.
"I cannot explain to you exactly what I know or how, but please, trust that I do know. These AIs, Shepard calls them reapers, do not simply slaughter the advanced races. They take some and turn them into mindless monsters and use them as soldiers against everyone else."
"Goddess." Falere brought a hand to her mouth, fingers fluttering uselessly over her lips.
"The collectors were acting under the guidance of the reapers. I have seen and fought against terrible creatures who were once human but no longer can be called such." Samara needed to remind herself that she was not speaking to children, despite how young Rila and Falere still seemed, having lived most of their lives in seclusion. Still, she found it difficult to share with them the most gruesome of details. "Other humans were being … broken down, their bodies used to help build a new reaper within the collector base beyond the Omega 4 Relay."
Neither Falere or Rila appeared to have anything to say, yet the horror reflected clearly in their eyes. It pained Samara to see such a look on her daughters' faces; it hurt more to be the one to put it there. They needed to know, though. It was unjust for Tevos and the other councilors to keep such information from the public, and she most certainly would not keep it from her daughters or anyone else willing to hear the truth.
Standing, Samara tucked her hands behind her back and moved to stare out the window. "Other races have been taken by the collectors for countless cycles, though on a far smaller scale. They looked for members of the different races with specific and unique traits or mutations."
"Mutations … like Ardat-Yakshi." Rila always was so wise, quiet and shy at times, but when she did speak her intelligence showed so clearly.
"Which is exactly why I must take measures to protect you and your sister, as well as all Ardat-Yakshi who call this monastery home." Turning back around, Samara faced Rila and Falere.
"Why?" Falere sat upright, feet flat on the floor once more. Her lip lifted in the hint of a sneer, but her disdain rang clear in her voice. "To keep us safe or to make sure we're not turned into weapons?"
Rila's brow furrowed, and she turned her gaze on her sister. "Falere."
"What?" Falere glanced at Rila, shrugging and shaking her head. "She said it herself, they turn people into monsters and set them free against people." Turning her attention back to Samara, she lifted her chin in challenge. "Aren't Ardat-Yakshi already monsters? Demon of the night wind. It's what Mirala was. What we are. What better people to take to turn into these soldiers?"
A soft tut of reproach slipped past Rila's lips. "You're being crass."
"Falere is right." Samara lowered her gaze to the floor as she crossed over to sit back in the desk chair. "This is a great concern, and I have reason to believe when the reapers arrive, the monastery will be a target for this very reason." Meeting and holding Falere's gaze, she said, "This does not mean, however, that I do not also wish to keep you safe. You are my daughters, and I love you."
Tears welled in the corners of Falere's eyes, but obstinance locked her jaw. A moment later, she cast her venomous accusation, "Like you loved Mirala?"
"Falere!" Rila's voice raised, her sister's behavior apparently disturbing her more than the news Samara brought. She rushed to her feet and spun, blocking Falere from Samara's sight. Her hands fisted at her sides, biotics licking at her skin as she looked down at Falere.
Urging Rila aside with a gentle hand at her elbow, Samara said, "I accept your anger, Falere. Killing Mirala was the hardest, most painful thing I have ever had to do … but I did as I must; she needed to be stopped, and she was my responsibility." She couldn't bring herself to tell them that she wasn't even the one to kill Mirala in the end.
Samara knelt in the center of the circle created by Justicars, hands resting on her thighs, surrounded by her biotics. Although they all looked at her, she kept her gaze focused on the edicts of The Code carved into the stone of the temple. She still believed in The Code, still felt the call to service as a Justicar, but her time with Shepard and everything she saw during her time aboard the Normandy left her feeling as if The Code was no longer … adequate. Not while facing a threat such as the reapers she saw in Shepard's mind.
It pained her to think such things, especially in the presence of her sisters, but she felt the truth of it weighing heavily on her shoulders as she explained her concerns to the Justicars. It was a blessing they dared not ask her for more evidence of the reapers or demand she reveal how she came to possess knowledge of such things, understanding she learned about them while under the Oath of Subsumation.
She didn't withhold much from them, however, only those things which were personal to Shepard and her crew. Unfortunately, that included Shepard's unique circumstances with Jane and the others, which encompassed most of what Samara learned about the reapers. Still, she believed there was enough evidence otherwise, and the Council finally spoke to the public about the threat. It appeared to be sufficient for her sisters.
"What exactly are you asking for, Sister?" The voice came from somewhere behind Samara, one she didn't readily recognize. "The Ardat-Yakshi must remain at the monastery. Surely you understand the need for this."
"I do," Samara agreed.
"Then what do you propose?" Nasteria asked, her voice giving nothing away as to what she might think of anything Samara had to say.
"The monastery must be placed under guard," Samara said, ignoring the desire to meet their gazes. It was imperative she kept her focus on The Code. It was the way of the Justicars. If she looked away, her motives would be questioned, seen as unjust. "It will come under heavy fire, and by a deadly enemy with nothing to lose. An enemy which does not feel pain and cannot be reasoned with. If the reapers are allowed to take the Ardat-Yakshi, the Ardat-Yakshi will be turned into a force even more terrifying than they already are and used to slaughter us all."
Samara told them of the human husks and the collectors, proven to be nothing but mindless shells of the ancient and revered prothean race. She told them what she could of Sovereign and Harbinger, spoke to them of the monstrosity the collectors were building in their base. Surely they understood how detrimental it would be for the reapers to claim the Ardat-Yakshi.
"You are certain of this?" Another voice she didn't recognize.
"I am," Samara said.
"The Order will gather in the conclave and discuss these things." Halvetta, an Elder of The Code, stood in front of Samara, signaling the end of the supplication ritual. "Justicars will be sent to reinforce the monastery, and we will speak to the leaders of the Republics. If such a war is coming, we will all be needed, regardless of the threat the Ardat-Yakshi pose in the hands of the reapers."
"Hello, Shepard." Samara studied the commander's face on the screen of her omni-tool, noting the unsettling way the woman's eyes moved around, unwilling or unable to hold Samara's gaze for more than a second or two at a time.
She knew there were times in the lives of the other Shepards in which they chose to allow Morinth to kill her, seduced by the Ardat-Yakshi's promises. She'd felt the guilt and remorse from most of those while she melded with Shepard. She wondered if it was the same emotions which kept Shepard from looking at her just then or if it was a more general symptom of her current instability.
"Samara, we're glad you called." Shepard settled on Samara for the span of a heartbeat, violet eyes reflecting the glow of a nearby lamp, before her gaze drifted away once more. "How are things?"
"I have returned to Thessia, to my daughters." Saying so brought a smile to Samara's face only for it to falter as the next statement settled onto her tongue. "I told them of their sister's death and warned them of the war to come. I have also spoken with the Justicars, informed them of what the reapers might do if they are able to breach the monastery and capture the Ardat-Yakshi. We are placing Justicars at the monastery and reinforcing defenses as well as engaging in discussions with asari leaders to prepare for the war."
"Good." Shepard nodded, licking her lips as she glanced around. "Good, hopefully, it's enough to keep Rila safe."
"Indeed." Hesitating, Samara weighed out the risks of upsetting the woman before asking, "And how are you, Shepard? It is good to hear your voice again and to see you more alert."
"We're …" Frowning, Shepard shifted on the couch, brow furrowing deep. "… I'm … confused, but we're trying."
The familiar voice of James trickled through the call. "You want me to tell her what the doc said, Lola?"
Shepard looked up and off-screen before nodding. "Yes."
James sat down next to her and smiled at Samara. He looked tired and worn, darkness ringing his eyes and a thicker stubble decorating his chin and jaws. "Hey."
"Hello, Lieutenant." Samara dipped her head to him in greeting. She liked the usually energetic man, young and full of life with a burning desire to make the galaxy a better, safer place for those unable to protect themselves. A noble and just goal.
Resting his elbows on his knees, he laced his fingers together and leaned closer. "Dr. Chakwas said her implant readings are showing that she's pulled in even more of the others. The good news, they seem to be sort of coming together faster than before. She's stabilizing faster this time, too."
"I am afraid I do not understand." Samara waited patiently, knowing the lieutenant would elaborate further and make things clearer.
"Oh, uh, Jane said that when we got back from the collector base … uh, Ídola sucked in a bunch of Shepards like she did when she woke up from the coma." James rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Shepard who sat next to him passively. "Except for this time, with the trauma of losing people and how many she pulled in, it opened the door for—"
"Us," Shepard said.
"Right." He nodded, turning his attention back to Samara. "And she did it again a few days ago. So, there are hundreds of consciousnesses vying for control on Ídola's side of 'The Veil'. But they're starting to sort of merge together."
"I see … and what of Dawn?" Samara didn't understand how such things could be, but she knew the universe held many more mysteries than she could ever hope to understand in her lifetime.
James shrugged, glancing at Shepard again. "She's still in there, somewhere." The statement sounded more hope-filled than a certainty.
"She's not crying anymore," Shepard said, gaze finally settling and staying on Samara, "but she still doesn't want to talk."
"I understand." Samara did understand the pain of losing people, and she sincerely hoped Shepard's grief passed. She'd come to see Shepard as a friend, and it pained her to see the woman so bereaved. "I hope you all continue to make progress. I must go, my daughters are waiting for me. I will keep you updated as much as I can. Be well, Shepard."