The Seductress

Back on the Normandy, Tali and I told the rest of the team what had happened on the Migrant Fleet. They had been shocked to see us return so battle-scarred when they had thought that the trial only involved us scouring around a stranded vessel looking for anything that could exonerate Tali. When Tali told them about how I had shouted at the Admirals like they were children, the rest of the crew bawled with laughter and there was talk of taking on a law career if I ever retired from the military. When the team began to go back to their own duties or down time, Kasumi, who had quickly become a steadfast friend to Tali, took me aside,

"You're a great man for helping her like that, you know. Tali's so cute, she talks about you all the time in that "butterflies and rainbows" kind of way. And you're lucky to have her too, remember that."

"I remind myself every waking moment," I told her, "trust me. I wouldn't have been able to just keep on going with all this Reaper/Collector business without her."

"Good," Kasumi said with a smile, "I'm glad to hear that. So…" her smile was cheeky now, "if I ever get caught on a job I can come to you for legal representation, right?"

I laughed but shook my head,

"Bit of a waste of time considering you'll never get caught."

"Sweet-talker," she giggled before heading off to her room.

The spirits of everyone on the ship were sky high and I headed down to engineering so that I could speak to Tali alone. I caught her just as she was about to head off to her quarters to properly repair the damage done to her suit during the fighting on the Alarei.

"Hi Scott," she said cheerily, "needing to see me again so soon?"

I admired her strength and "get on with it" attitude that she had embraced despite everything that had happened to her over the past day,

"You know it," I chuckled back to her, "I was just coming to check in on you, with everything that went on. The trial was completely unfair. You should have had time to mourn your father. You take as much time as you need."

Tali closed in to me,

"You know what… I really think I'm alright with all of this," she sounded surprised, "I'm still accepted among my people back home. I realise now that I was more afraid of being exiled than I thought. And my father…" I put an arm around her to show her I was there for her.

"Father's gone," Tali said slowly as she really thought hard about how she truly felt about her recent loss, "but his name and legacy have been saved, and I have my memories of him, even if there are only a few. He's with mother again."

"You're amazing Tali," I told her, "I'm so lucky to even know you. But still, you deserve better than what those Admirals were throwing at you."

Tali looked up at me and said softly,

"I got better. I got you."

"Well," I smiled at her, "suppose you're pretty lucky too."

Tali giggled and whispered in my ear in a seductive tone,

"By the way: I've got a little… reward planned for you. You won't know when you're getting it, but it'll be worth it."

Tali walked off and I watched her gorgeous hips swing side to side before she disappeared. After what just happened, I needed a cold shower.

"Scott," I heard her voice call. I turned to see her eyes fixed on me, she seemed momentarily vulnerable as she looked at me. "Thank you for checking on me. I'll be alright but… I appreciate it."

Once I had calmed myself down, I headed to Samara's quarters. It had struck me that she had been on board for a short while now and that I had still not fulfilled my end of our bargain. I entered her room, where only the small table lamp was on and the Asari warrior sat cross-legged in the centre of the room. Even just watching her meditate made me feel relaxed and weightless, and when she spoke my name her voice was one of peace and harmony,

"Commander Gardner, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I haven't forgotten about our deal. We're on our way to Omega right now. We'll find your fugitive."

Samara opened her eyes and motioned for me to go and sit on the floor next to her,

"You have had other issues to attend to Commander. And it has been… enlightening for me."

"Oh?"

"I have been able to obtain a greater sense of the kind of man you are. Your dedication to the defeat of the Collectors is admirable, but it is the relationships that you strive to maintain with your team that I am most inspired by. A leader who does not hold him or herself above their subordinates is the truest form of leader there is, and I believe that you are one of the finest leaders that I have seen in my long span of years."

I was taken aback by her generosity of words,

"Thanks Samara. But I genuinely like getting to know everyone as well, and for them to know me back."

"Especially the young Miss Zorah," Samara said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. I laughed in admittance, but Samara then stood up and went to her window, gazing longingly out into the dark abyss outside,

"You are an honourable and honest man, Commander. I have seen that for myself now and I believe that I should now be more honest in turn. The fugitive that I am tracking down… have you ever heard of an Ardat-Yakshi?"

I joined her at the window and told Samara that I had never heard of any such thing.

"You are familiar with how we Asari reproduce, yes?" Samara explained, "the melding of the nervous systems of the two parents and the passing of genetic information to the mother who will carry the child? There are few, very few, Asari that are born with a genetic defect. Instead of a pleasant and gentle melding of the senses, they instead overload your nervous system and the victim suffers from a brain haemorrhage and dies. But this makes an Ardat-Yakshi stronger, feeds their desire to kill again and again until they are but slaves to their own lust. And when you consider the fascination that males of other species have for promiscuous Asari, it makes it all the easier for a hunter to find their next feed."

The gravity and seriousness of finding and eliminating this fugitive became much more urgent in my mind upon hearing Samara's tale,

"That's… atrocious. Can't they abstain? Do they not care that they're murdering people?"

"Some Ardat-Yakshi realise what their defect will do to another, but others embrace it. With every kill, with every successful hunt they become stronger, faster and smarter. They would be similar to vampires in your Human folk-lore."

"They sound exactly like vampires," I agreed, "is this one you're hunting now an especially dangerous one?"

Samara went to speak, but her voice failed her as the words caught in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself,

"She has been hunting and murdering for over four hundred years, and she has always been that one crucial step ahead of me. This is the closest I have ever been to catching her. If I miss this chance she could disappear and go to ground for fifty years or more."

"Wait," I said, "you've been after her for four hundred years? Is that why you became a Justicar?"

"This Ardat-Yakshi, this monster…" Samara had to force the words out, "she is my daughter."

What could I say? This was something beyond my understanding, nothing I had ever come close to experiencing. Samara was asking me to help her hunt down and kill her own daughter. What must have been going on in Samara's mind I could barely imagine, but she remained calm and there was not even any sign of any suppressed emotions trying to fight through to the surface. This was something that she had been dealing with for a span of years that was completely unknown to me at only twenty-eight years old. For over four hundred years Samara had been following her killer daughter as she slaughtered her way around the galaxy, constantly eluding her mother and slipping through her fingers.

I had been silent for a while and Samara had noticed,

"I am not looking for pity when I tell you this, Commander. I will not accept it. This is a deeply personal matter to me and I wanted you to know that I can trust only you to help me. I ask only that you understand that I have to do this."

"Only if you're sure this is the only way Samara. I'm not going to pretend to understand what this must be like for you," I told her, "if you think this is the right thing to do, then I'll take your lead on this."

Samara examined me with those deep blue eyes, eyes that had probably witnessed an untold number of battles and horrors over the millennium that she had lived. I found it strange to think that my old and dearly missed friend Wrex was more than half as old again, but with a Krogan I had simply taken that as normal. Since Asari were far more similar to us Humans, it was easier to forget that they were just as alien as the bulky, brutish Krogan.

"Thank you, Commander. I will not forget this," Samara said before closing her eyes again and returning to her meditation, steeling herself for what lay just ahead of us.

I was up in my cabin updating the overall mission report when I began to think about how we were going to find Morinth, the name that Samara's daughter was currently using. We knew from the Intel that Kasumi had found in the Eclipse base that she had fled to Omega, but the information stopped there. I had hoped to avoid seeing a particular Asari Pirate Queen again, but Aria T'Loak would definitely know something about an Ardat-Yakshi being on her station, trespassing in her kingdom.

When we were approaching the gargantuan eezo mine, I decided that Samara and I would go and see Aria alone while the rest of my crew would be able to spend a few hours off of the ship. Tali, Garrus and Sophie were a bit miffed when I refused to allow them to come along, but when Samara told them how sensitive this mission was they were very accepting of the Justicar and her code. They did not know of Samara's relationship with the fugitive or the truth about her genetic disorder, the less they knew the better.

Walking back on to Omega for the second time I felt a difference in the atmosphere. Omega had never had a pleasant feel to it and the violence that the inhabitants saw every day was famous throughout every system in the galaxy. But the other famous story about Omega was how the average citizens just got on with it no matter what was going on around them. However, the people seemed a little quieter, more subdued and when my team and I entered into the main street heading towards Afterlife, we attracted a lot of worried looks. Obviously Legion had had to be left behind, though I was curious as to how a Geth would be welcomed in a place such as Omega. Tali and Mordin had stayed behind on the Normandy to do their own work. Tali said she was nearing a breakthrough on her project but had not told me what it was.

The rest of the team was with me, and most had opted to bring at least part of their personal armoury with them and the rest of the regular crew had brought side-arms with them, just in case. I told everyone to keep their guard up and stay in groups, but I sensed that the people of Omega were more likely to give mine their space. After leaving a group of some of my team and crew at the bar, Samara and I headed up to the balcony where Aria sat on her throne. When we approached her, her guards drew their weapons but kept them down by their sides, they were just giving me a friendly reminder of who I was dealing with. The Pirate Queen of the Terminus Systems sat uncaring on her plush sofa, watching Samara and I climb up the few stairs to see her with a look of contempt. I did not get a welcoming feeling from Aria T'Loak.

"So the dead Spectre returns, and with an honourable Justicar in tow," Aria said dryly.

"I'd be careful who you insult," I warned Aria, "my friend could kill you just for saying the wrong words."

"You don't need to educate me on my own species' Justicars, Gardner. I've had an… altercation with one in my time. If it had gone only a little more differently, I might not be here to have this lovely chat with you."

"We are here to ask for your assistance in a delicate matter," Samara spoke politely, "a matter that is especially sensitive to our species."

Samara caught Aria off guard and she eyed us suspiciously,

"What do you know?"

I closed in to Aria so that I did not have to raise my voice too much,

"We're after a fugitive who arrived here in the last wee while, she's an Ardat-Yakshi."

Aria stood up slowly and crossed over to the railing of the balcony and gazed down on the drunkards, players and fighters in the bar below,

"I knew it," I heard her mutter.

"Tell us," I said to her as we both stood behind her. Aria turned to face us and also spoke in a low tone, not wanting her indentured servants to hear her concern,

"There have been a few murders recently that I have taken… special notice of. I thought it could be an Ardat-Yakshi, but I didn't want to believe it. Plus, I haven't been able to find her. But… nothing leaves a body so empty, so drained of everything that makes us alive."

"You have not taken steps to kill her?" Samara asked, her voice devoid of all emotion.

"Like I said," Aria responded, "I haven't been able to track down the Ardat-Yakshi yet. And besides," her cocky smile returned to her face again, "she hasn't tried to seduce me."

"Do you have anything that could help us? Any information at all?" I asked.

"The most recent victim was a young girl. Nef I think her name was. Her mother lives just on the corner before you turn to go to the Gozu district. I believe you know where that is Gardner," there was an element of annoyance in her voice as she talked to me.

"Have I done something to piss you off Aria?" I asked her bluntly. Aria laughed grimly,

"Well, after your little war with the gangs when you were trying to find Archangel there was a power vacuum. This entire station was in a state of full-on war for a couple of weeks, thanks to you. The gangs tore each other to pieces and now a new group called the Talons have become the dominant players and they're a pain in the ass!" She stopped and collected herself,

"But… you also took care of the little plague problem that was spiralling out of control and that is the only reason I am helping you now. Go… find the murderer. Good luck."

Samara and I left Afterlife and headed to where Aria had directed us. The quaint little home was not far from the Gozu district where I had gone in search of Mordin. That felt like a while ago now.

"Aria is a powerful woman and knows how to hide her thoughts, emotions and intentions, but she admires you, Commander," Samara told me as we headed towards Nef's mother's house, "that is why she aids you now."

"I just hope that this will lead to us stopping Morinth. The way Aria described the bodies of her victims… Ardat-Yakshi are seeming more dangerous every time I hear about them."

"They are a horror to the galaxy and a source of great shame to the Asari. Removing one as proficient in her dark art as Morinth will be doing everyone a favour."

I knocked on the door of the victim's home and waited anxiously for an answer. A woman opened the door and looked us up and down. She looked terrible.

The woman's hair was frizzy and unkempt, she looked like she had not changed her clothes for days and had spent those same days doing nothing but crying. Her eyes were rubbed red and blood-shot and her shoulders sagged heavily, almost to the point where she walked around stooped over. I spoke to her in an appeasing and sorrowful tone,

"My name's Scott Gardner, and this is Samara. Are you the mother of Nef?"

As expected, Nef's mother burst into tears and bawled in misery. I approached her and comforted her,

"I'm sorry, but I was hoping to ask you some questions."

Her bleary eyes stared at me,

"Are you one of Aria's people?"

"No," I told her, "we came on our own. We have reason to believe that your daughter may have been murdered."

I was surprised when the woman looked relieved and invited us inside her house,

"You have no idea how good it feels when someone believes you," she cried to me, "the doctors told me it was a brain haemorrhage, but I am Nef's mother and I know that isn't true."

The house was in almost as bad a state as its bereft owner, except for the room on the far side of the quaint abode. The sheets on the bed were freshly washed and pressed, the floor was clean and shiny and there was not a speck of dust to be seen anywhere. On the desk and shelves inside I could see little sculptures and figurines lined up with paints, brushes, hammers and chisels sitting neatly in cups. I turned back to the wreck of a mother,

"What's your name?"

"Caryn," she sniffled.

"Caryn, could you tell us about your daughter? Anywhere she liked to hang out? Who were her friends and what were they like?"

"She didn't really have a lot of friends, she liked peace and quiet for her art. She was a sculptor and really loved everything she made. Never went out much either until…" she began sobbing again, "a couple of weeks ago she seemed to change. She started talking about this Asari girl that she had met: Morinth. I swear, whenever she talked about Morinth it was like there was no one else in the world. She started going out all the time, getting drunk and I'm pretty sure Morinth was giving my daughter drugs! She could get my Nef into the VIP section of Afterlife and they went out all the time. And now she's gone."

Caryn collapsed on the couch behind her and cried to herself. Samara and I had a quiet word between ourselves,

"This is Morinth's work for certain," Samara told me, "she is attracted to those with an artistic spark in them, slightly isolated from their peers."

"We know where to start looking," I said, "the VIP section. Should we go there now?"

"No," Samara said immediately, "one glimpse of me and she'll be gone, and you walking into the club dressed for war will arouse her suspicions as well. This will require a delicate touch. Perhaps if we were to search Nef's room we could find more clues as to the interests they shared."

"Caryn," I said to the aggrieved woman, "we were wondering if we could search Nef's room quickly. It might help to track down her killer."

"We will be respectful, of course," Samara added. Caryn nodded and motioned for us to go in. There we found a notepad from Morinth telling Nef about an Elcor artist named Forta, references to an X-rated video called Vaenia that they both had watched together and a PS statement telling Nef that Morinth had acquired more Hallex, a hard-core drug, for their next night out. We took mental notes of these insights into Morinth's tastes and left Nef's room the way we had found it. I knelt down in front of Caryn and told her,

"We've got some information we can work with and we're going now. If we find the suspect and deal with them, I promise I'll come and tell you."

"Thank you," Caryn barely managed to say, "oh, thank you both!"

The way into the VIP area of Afterlife was nowhere near the main club at all. From a few wary civilians, Samara and I learned that the entrance was tucked away deep in the markets, up a level and behind a shop that dealt in weapons. Not the ideal type of merchant to have in close proximity to a club full of druggies and drunkards. At the top of the stairs and along a tight and dull corridor, we were stopped by an armed Turian who looked to be prepared for the worst.

"That how you welcome all your punters?" I asked him.

"Our what?" he replied, but then decided he did not care, "you don't get in here without special permission. Who sent you?"

"Aria knows me," I told him, trying to get leverage over him, "we need to get in there."

"Uh huh," the Turian did not sound impressed, "you want to know how many times a day I hear "Aria knows me"? Too often for me to believe anyone. Take your crap and fuck off."

"We have important business to attend to," Samara said respectively.

"Are you kidding?" the guard was even more annoyed, "the only people with "business" in this place are mercs, drug traffickers and people smugglers. Give me one good reason to let you in."

The Turian brandished his rifle as a warning, but there was a flash of blue energy and the rifle was ripped from his hands. It hung suspended in the air as Samara snatched it from the guard's grip, and while he watched she crushed the rifle into nothing more than a worthless chunk of scrap.

"I am hunting a dangerous fugitive," Samara told the stunned Turian, "by denying us access you are assisting her. and that makes you an accomplice. The Justicar's Code would demand your death."

"I… I'm just doing my job," the Turian begged. I did not want to see him die, but we had him up against the wall so I pressed our advantage,

"Her Code doesn't care if you're doing your job. She will kill you. And I'll let her."

The Turian guard whimpered and looked between the two of us and decided that, in the interest of his own health, he should let us through. Once he had scampered off, we opened the door and found ourselves in an elevator,

"Jeezus," I complained, "they don't make this place easy to get into."

We went in and pushed the button that was simply labelled "VIP",

"How are we doing this then?" I asked Samara.

"Morinth is very cautious. She will be on watch for anyone suspicious and wherever she is she will have a hundred escape routes planned. We need to lure her out."

"Then take her out?"

"No, not immediately," Samara said thoughtfully, "for us to fight in the middle of a busy club would result in innocent people being hurt. We, or rather you, need to lure her out and get her somewhere alone."

I did not like the sound of that,

"I'm the bait?"

Samara looked at me,

"You will succeed, Gardner. And I will not be far. If she recognises you then the attraction will be undeniable. You are an artist on the battlefield, you have that fire inside of you that she looks for. If she is none the wiser… I suspect she will still notice you. Your life of constant danger has left its mark upon you, and I do not simply mean physically."

"So I'm trying to get a serial killer to want to kill me specifically?" I would almost have laughed if the immense danger was not hanging down over my eyes right at that moment, "I trust you Samara, but if I get Morinth by herself please be quick."

"Under my watch you will not come to harm," Samara swore, "but be careful. Morinth appeals not only to the eyes and ears, but to the subconscious as well. Her very scent can awaken desires like you have never felt before, her voice continues speaking to you after she is done talking, promising you all the pleasures you have ever wished for. If you are not careful, you may want her to visit them upon you."

At the entrance to the club, I relinquished my weapons to Samara and prepared to head inside. The plan, for all its inherent dangers, was simple. I go into the club and have a few drinks to myself, relying on what Samara called my "aura" to draw Morinth's curiosity. If I could peak her interests using what we knew from Nef's room about Morinth's likes and dislikes, we could get Morinth to take me to a quiet corner or even back to her apartment. Samara would then come and finish her personal mission, her crusade.

Before I went inside Samara gave me a few last pointers about her daughter,

"Commander, you will have to put on what you would call a "front" when you are speaking to Morinth or trying to lure her out. Though you are a warrior of unmatched repute, your chivalrous, passionate and caring ways will bore her. Tell her that you enjoy the killing that you have done in your time, that you live for the danger and the rush that comes with it. That will endear her to you."

"Be a badass, huh?" I tried to think what I would do differently, about the kind of man that I needed to be for the next few hours at least. Funnily enough, I found myself thinking of Garrus and his controlled aggression, the brash confidence that made him fearless and focused in battle. If I could bring out a bit of Garrus' personality in myself tonight then I figured I would be doing well.

"I can do this," I reassured Samara, and myself. She reached for me and took a hold of my shoulders,

"I can trust this to no one else," she told me, "thank you for helping me in this deeply personal matter. Be safe, Commander."

I straightened out my Cerberus issue shirt, sorted my hair and took a breath, then headed into the Afterlife VIP area, the lair of an incredibly smart, treacherous foe who enjoyed killing, loved it. And I was going to have to try my best to get her to target me.

Almost as soon as I walked into the exclusive section of Afterlife I was approached. Unfortunately, it was a young man and not a four-hundred-year-old Asari murderer.

"Hey man!" the man greeted me, "you look like you gots money. Would you have tickets to see Expel 10? I heard this amazing Asari say that she loved them. They're in concert soon and if I could get tickets I could score way out of ma league. Help a guy out bro!"

"Sorry," I said, "I don't have any tickets. But… this Asari sounds interesting. What's she like?"

I was hoping for a physical description so I could maybe scope her out in the crowd as they bounced and danced to the thumping music. The young guy looked like he was in a dream,

"She's just… she's so… ahh I can't explain it. I just want whatever she wants. I've got to get some tickets!" He wandered off on his quest to pull the "amazing Asari", but I knew who and what he was talking about and I had learned another bit of information that I could use to gain her interest.

Skirting around the overflowing dance floor I headed to the bar for a drink. While I nursed the beer, I scanned the room. The dance floor took up the majority of the centre of the room while there were seats and tables around the edges. Strippers, mostly Asari but some Humans as well, were among the mass of bodies on the dance floor, taking all their garments off and letting themselves be touched by anyone. Meanwhile, most of the tables also had a scantily clad girl writhing around on top of them too.

To one side of the club, the wall had several arches open in it and beyond I could see more private booths were available. The story with strippers was the same over there except I was sure that one of the strippers was performing an act on a guy that was more suited to a hooker. For all my observation there was no sign of any Asari that stood out. No Asari that looked like she was out to kill.

Suddenly, I was struck from behind and almost fell off of my seat when a Krogan decided he wanted more space at the bar. I turned and gave the punter an angry look, but all he did was shrug,

"I guess they'll let anyone in these days," the Krogan said for me to hear. Normally I would not waste my breath on an idiot like that, but Samara's words about being somebody else for tonight hung in my ear,

"You want to repeat that?" I threatened.

"What?" the Krogan replied, "you want to take this outside?" I could smell the strong stench of ryncol on the brute's breath. I dug the end of my finger into the Krogan's head-plate and made a motion like I was burrowing a knife into it,

"I know how to get a blade under there and pry that thing right off your head," I said darkly, "I'll dig right down to your brain and rip it out your skull!"

The Krogan glared at me and I met his stare fiercely. I was expected a smack around the mouth but instead the aggressor backed away,

"Damn Humans! I just want to drink."

I let the big guy sulk with his drink and ordered myself another. Tonight could be a long night.

I spoke to the bartender, chatted to a few mercs, told one of them to go fuck himself when he had a go at me. Leaving the bar, I wandered over to a free table and sat with my beer, trying to look thoughtful and in deep contemplation, like a man taking some time away from a stressful and dangerous mission. After some people-watching for a while I heard a female voice speak from behind me,

"Hey there, handsome."

I looked round and put on a happily surprised face, but I was disappointed to be looking at a Human girl.

"So what's your story?" the girl asked innocently.

"Me?" I answered, "Just having some down time."

"Alone?"

"If you don't mind," I told her, hoping she would get the hint and leave. Instead, she sat down on the chair next to me,

"Oh come on, there has to be some way to put a smile on that pretty face. Something we'll both enjoy," she said. I ran my finger along my scars, but noticed for the first time that they seemed much smaller and shallower than I remembered. I wondered if my eyes had become less "devilish" as well.

"Sorry, but I'm not into hookers," I told the girl, keeping up the tough, uncaring front.

"Oh dear…" she replied with a giggle, "is that what you thought I was? Well how about we get out of here and the only pay I ask from you is a good fuck?" She slyly pulled her dress down a bit to reveal her bulging breasts underneath, nipples and all. However, I kept my eyes on hers and eventually just looked past her to the dance floor with complete indifference,

"No thanks," I said. The girl was visibly insulted and stomped off in a huff, calling me this name and that name as she did so. I was pretty certain that a girl like that would end up getting a stiff one in her by the end of the night anyway.

"Sluts not your type, soldier?" Another voice said from the shadows behind me. Looking around, I found myself looking upon a beautiful Asari woman, and many of her facial features and even the build of her body reminded me of a certain Justicar. Her short, tight-fitting dress left no illusions about her perfect figure and the low cut left her cleavage on show for all to see. Around her neck she wore a black necklace that shimmered in the ever-changing light of the club and gave her a hot gothic look that I was surprised to find that I liked. In the face of such a dangerous yet desirable creature, I had to stay cool and most importantly keep in "Garrus character".

"I like to work for what I want," I told the Asari, "shagging her would have been too easy. No challenge, no danger."

"Well if it's a challenge you're after," the Asari said, "I've got a booth over there if you want to come with me. You'll find I'm a… different class of girl."

I followed the seductress over to a booth with low lighting and we sat together,

"My name's Morinth," she said, "I've been coming here for a while now but I've never seen you around. How did I miss you, Mister…?"

"The name's Barnett. George Barnett. I travel all over the galaxy," I said calmly, "not a lot of time ashore."

"You travel to dangerous places?"

"All the time, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The safe route's just not enough for me. Too boring."

There was a light kindling in Morinth's eyes and I knew that I had my foothold. Now if I could work what little I knew about her into our conversation, I could get her.

"Well aren't you interesting," Morinth said, "I guess your employers send you out into the galaxy a lot… Cerberus."

"We're not going to find anything new hiding on the Citadel, Earth or Thessia. The dark corners of the universe are where the future lies."

"Seen anything interesting?" she asked. I racked my mind for something that she would find interesting. Then I remembered the Cerberus research base that my original SR1 team took out after the Battle for the Citadel and I decided to heavily distort the truth in my favour,

"You seem like someone who can keep a secret," I leaned in closer to her, "am I right?"

The suspense was taking hold of her,

"I am."

"A few years ago, we found an ancient ship drifting in space. It was a Rachni ship."

That impressed Morinth, the desire for my life building up in her.

"We found an egg in stasis, so we brought it to a facility and hatched it. It turned out to be a Rachni Queen! We had a real live Rachni Queen and we were going to let it breed, create a secret army to fight for Humanity's cause."

"What happened?"

"The Rachni are smart, smarter than you could ever imagine. The Rachni and its children escaped and swarmed the facility, slaughtered damn near everyone! I had to destroy the base, even with survivors still inside it, to kill all the Rachni."

"Incredible," Morinth said, "such strength."

I put a smug look on my face and took a drink of my beer,

"That's not even the best of what I've seen and done, but you'll have to work hard for those stories."

Her attraction to me was clear to see, but at the same time I became worried. I was beginning to enjoy this.

"Some nights I come here and there's just nobody even worth my attention," Morinth told me, "but tonight you're the lucky one."

"You must like it here," I said, "the music do anything for you?"

"Dark rhythms, deep pulses; I love it."

"What about Expel 10?" I said, "I've heard they're worth a listen."

"Oh definitely!" she enthused, "they get into my head and tear it to pieces. They're in concert soon, maybe we could go and see them together. They're a sensory band, make you feel emotions you never thought you'd experience in your entire life. When I listen to them it's like a spiritual rebirth."

"That sounds quite deep Morinth," I said, "you an artistic person by any chance?"

"You caught me," she smiled, and for a moment I imagined her hiding vampiric fangs behind her lips, "art speaks to the darkest places in me. I can sit and look at some pieces all day, imagining what the artist was thinking when they were creating it, what story they were trying to tell."

"Like Forta?" I said casually. She looked stunned, but pleased at the same time,

"I didn't think anyone around here knew him. His work is sublime."

"I like art, but I find that art of movement more powerful, like dramatic vids," I said.

"A well-made vid can make you dwell on your entire existence, what makes you who you are," Morinth said.

"I've heard the best out there is a vid called Vaenia. Raunchy, apparently, but thought-provoking at the same time. I'm intrigued, but I've never made time to see it," I replied.

She sat up and took my hands,

"Oh you should. I have it at my apartment… if you want to come back and watch it with me. Believe me," the light in her eyes vanished and all I could see was a deep and insatiable hunger, "you'll never have experienced anything like it before!"

I hoped that Samara had seen us as we left and walked through the markets to Morinth's home, otherwise this could easily be my last night ever. I remained quiet but confident while we strolled together. Morinth had been easier to manipulate than I had expected, but I had to remind myself that her intention all along was to invite me back to where she could consume me. As long as I could keep up my charade and resist Morinth's advances, I could give Samara enough time to reach me and end the murderous reign of her daughter.

However, I had to shake off the feeling that I actually wanted to be with Morinth, more than once. Samara's warning about Morinth's allure was proving to be true. Vivid thoughts of Morinth entered my mind and I imagined us rolling around in bed, clothes gone and our nervous systems being melded into one. In these thoughts the fact that my whole nervous system would be destroyed when we melded did not appear and I saw only what Morinth wanted me to see. Flashing images of Morinth's naked body astride mine hit me time and time again, leaving me very hot under the collar. When I tried to think of Tali that only served to arouse me even more and for the first time I felt a trickle of fear spread in my chest. Did I have the will power to resist this highly evolved sexual predator? Or would my body simply be an empty shell come morning? After all that I had been through, everything that I had faced and defeated, had I finally met my match?

Morinth's flat was actually very lovely. Clean and organised with careful planning put into the décor. On one wall I spotted a sword rack and went to have a look.

"I was into duelling for a while," Morinth said from her couch, watching my every move, "So much more fun than using guns. You get to see the life drain from their eyes, hear their last breath before they die."

I knew she had killed many people in far worse ways than with a steel blade, but I acted impressed by her martial skills,

"I've never killed with a sword," I told her truthfully, "but with my bare hands?" I held them out in front of me with feigned cockiness, "Well… they've seen their share of the action."

"You need to hurry up and join me over here, soldier, I want you closer," she said. My legs voluntarily walked me over to the sofa and when I sat down, she immediately sat with her legs astride my lap. The room seemed to be getting very hot!

"You and I have a lot in common," Morinth said, her voice filled with lust, "we both know that safety is just an illusion, that the only way to really feel alive is to risk death."

I ran my hands up Morinth's arms to her neck and looked her in those hungry eyes,

"People feel safest right before they die," I said to her.

"So strong," she gasped, "I need this!"

Her hands gripped either side of my head and her eyes began to fade to black, the same way that Liara's had done those times back on the original Normandy. However, when Liara's nerves had been joined with mine the sensation that I had felt had been soothing, calming. All the tension in my muscles melted away and my mind became clear and free. With Morinth there was… a slight discomfort. It began as an itch, but then I began to feel hot at the tips of my fingers and toes. Morinth's grip was tightening.

"Look into my eyes and tell me you want me," Morinth said, and it sounded like a thousand voices were talking to me at once, "tell me you'd kill for me, anything I wanted!"

A part of me wanted her, wanted the pain and ecstasy before she killed me. The other part, however, began to fight back as I thought of Tali, of my friends and family along with everything else that I would be giving up if I let Morinth have her way.

"Tell me you want me…" Morinth whispered in my ear. I snapped out of my enthralled state a got a grip,

"Don't count on it," I said back to her. Her eyes switched back to their normal blue and I was released from her grasp,

"What? But you…" She clicked.

"Oh no," she said, "I see what's going on. She's here isn't she! The bitch herself found a little helper."

Morinth's biotics began to flare up as she prepared to end me, but the door to her apartment was suddenly blasted off of its hinges and Samara surged in, the air around her glowing blue with the tremendous power of her biotics,

"Morinth!" The Justicar said darkly and blasted her daughter into the window, nearly shattering it in the process. However, Morinth showed her strength and without uttering a sound of pain she shouted back,

"Mother!"

"Do not call me that!" an enraged Samara bellowed, blasting her into the glass again. The whole room felt like it was shaking and I could do little except move out of the way as these two incredibly powerful women set out to destroy each other.

"I can't help being your daughter, mother," Morinth spat, resisting her mother's power with terrible tenacity.

"You made your choice long ago."

"What choice did I have?" Morinth unleashed a wave of biotic energy and threw Samara and I to the ground, "the only crime I've committed is being born with the gifts you gave me!"

"Enough of this," Samara knocked Morinth back down, but when she advanced on her daughter the sofa suddenly lifted off the ground and hammered into Samara. Both Asari leapt back onto their feet and threw all their biotic power at each other, but their forces met in the middle and the whole room began to rock and furniture began to whirl around the two, tumbling over my head and smashing off of the walls. The energy field created by the two biotics was growing more and more,

"I am the genetic destiny of the Asari, and for that I must die?" Morinth screamed.

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more," Samara went right back.

"I'm as strong as she is," Morinth suddenly blurted in my direction, "let me join you and I'll help you!"

"I am already sworn to your service, Commander," Samara countered, "let us finish this."

I ducked and weaved between the various objects that were being flung around in the biotic storm, but had to hit the floor when the sword came billowing around and nearly sliced my neck apart. Before it got beyond me, I reached out and managed to grab the handgrip. With sword in hand, I charged and took a long overhead swing, bringing the blade slicing clean through Morinth's outstretched arm. As she screamed in shock and agony, Samara sent a biotic shockwave straight at her head and bowled her over without mercy. The Justicar stood over the Ardat-Yakshi, her fist clenched and surrounded by an energy field,

"Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess," she said quietly before plunging her hand straight through her daughter's head.

Silence descended on the ruined apartment. Blood seeped out of Morinth's severed arm and from her caved-in head while Samara remained stock still over the body, staring down at her own dead offspring. Her expression was impossible to read, her face was stone cold, but I knew that in her mind she must have been near melt-down after what she had just had to do.

"Samara…" I said slowly, "are you ok?"

"I just killed the smartest and bravest of my daughters," she said without looking up, "what do you wish me to say? Show mercy on an old, broken warrior and let us return to the Normandy. I must leave this place."

We left the flat behind and walked back to our ship without a word being spoken. Even once we got aboard, Samara simply drifted away like a ghost to the observation lounge where she wanted to be left alone. I checked on EDI's progress with the IFF, but got the same time-scale as before of two to three weeks and then summoned everyone back to the Normandy from wherever they were on Omega. After what had been going through my mind when I had almost fallen under Morinth's sway, I also needed to put some distance between myself and Omega and get back out into space again.