The monastery was exactly what Shepard had been expecting. Bland, sterile, devoid of anything to inspire happiness, and had an overall air of misery from loneliness that made it feel even more like the cushy prison that it was, especially in the late day sun.
"If I had to live here, I'd give myself a week before I told the guards to just shoot me," Ashley said from beside Shepard.
"This is a monastery, not a prison," Samara said.
"Uh-hu, sure. That's why there are gun turrets hidden there," Ashley pointed at a statue that if one didn't look closely they wouldn't notice that it was actually out of place, "There," A plant pot secured to the wall and had a fake plant, she then pointed out several other places with items that didn't belong, "And there."
"Well Ash, we're soldiers. Of course we'd notice things these innocent maidens wouldn't," Shepard said.
"Oh we notice them," an Asari holding a broom said, "we just ignore them or use them as reminders that we're prisoners here do to the fact that we're the one black mark on our species's otherwise perfect record. If we thought we could get away with it we'd have all left to build a settlement in the woods long ago instead of being trapped in here."
"Arla!" Everyone turned to see a stern looking Matriarch looking down at them from a balcony, "This is a place where you can-"
"Be oppressed just because of a condition we never asked for! And don't say we aren't because those turrets the human pointed out say otherwise!"
"Excuse me young lady," Samara said. The maiden turned and finally noticed that she was a Justicar, "If you want I could and would easily end your suffering."
"Give me a few decades of being stuck with NOTHING to occupy my time. I may take you up on that offer."
"Shepard," EDI said through the comm line, "I just had a thought that if and when the Reapers do invade, since we've seen what they do to captured species, that these monasteries would be quickly and easily over run and all these powerful biotic maidens would be turned into weapons."
"Good point EDI. Are there any run down space stations that could be retro-fitted to hold however many Asari there are in the monasteries?"
"Well there is the Cerberus station that was overrun by the mechs. The Illusive man has sold it to the Alliance, and they've managed to deactivate the mechs, and with some anonymous help have completely cut off all ways that Cerberus can retake control."
"How long will repairs take?"
"Most damage was cosmetic and will be completely repaired in a few months. I shall contact Admiral Hacket and request its donation to this cause followed by a call to the Asari Government to move all Ardat-Yakshi to the station along with several thousand mechs to maintain order and to oversee all functions, finally I shall have the station relocated to an undisclosed location dictated by the Asari government."
"Sounds good, do it."
"Thank you madam," The maiden said before returning to where she had been heading.
"I must say Shepard, the things you do even when nobody asks are extraordinary," Samara said as they started up a set of stairs.
"What can I say, I never had a reason to smile for a long time so I try to make others smile."
When they reached a higher landing the Matriarch was waiting for them, "Hello Samara. Visiting your daughters I assume."
"That is correct. The commander here helped me accomplish killing my eldest and wanted to be here as I told the Reilah and Felair."
"Well then, they should be cleaning their sheets and other laundry if I remember the schedule correctly."
"Thank you. Also Shepard here needs your help dealing with dreams brought on by her encounter with 'Morinth'."
The asari nodded and led them to what Shepard assumed was her office. She motioned for Shepard to lay down on a couch. Shepard did as she was told and the woman sat next to her. She felt her mind reaching out for hers and when she allowed access…
When Shepard woke up it was night outside, someone had removed her armor, and the Matriarch was at her desk typing away at a report.
"Damn. How long was I out?" Shepard asked, holding her head.
"About nine hours. Samara's daughters had finished their laundry and had gone to bed already so she decided to talk to them tomorrow. I'm actually surprised you're up already."
"When were you expecting?"
"Around mid-day tomorrow. You had more in your head than just those images so I decided to help you by removing or taming things that may hinder you in the future."
"Thanks I guess," Shepard said laying back down.
"No thanks necessary. I saw what your mission was and how you were being hindered so I decided to help you tame your demons."
Shepard looked over at her. She looked sincere. Shepard couldn't see what she had been typing but she noticed a symbol on the message that looked like an upside down V next to a lower case i ending with a blue upside down triangle, "Well if I'm ok to leave… is there somewhere for me to properly sleep?"
The next morning Shepard staggered into what she assumed was an 'employee' dining area. She had barely tamed her morning hair with a pony tail, her uniform was wrinkled, which was un-hide-able due to her armor having been taken somewhere, she had no make-up on, and she was slightly stooped due to the mattress she slept on having been an old one that was waiting for disposal.
"Coffee." She groaned.
Someone walked up behind her and slipped their arms around her, grabbing her right hand in the process and wrapped it around a steaming cup of coffee, "Here you go Shepard."
It was Ashley.
Shepard turned to see that not only was she fresh as a daisy but she looked annoyingly semi rested, "Where did you sleep last night?"
"Samara and I shared a bed in one of her daughter's rooms while the daughters shared their other bed."
"Where did you get a shower and make-up?"
"We used a communal shower area, shower stalls that have opaque bullet proof glass, and Felair let me use her make-up."
"Has Samara told them anything yet?"
"She didn't need to. They took one look at her and we could tell that they had a good idea about it."
Shepard sipped the coffee and felt herself relax. Ashley walked around her and Shepard noticed that she was wearing a dress.
At seeing Shepard's raised eyebrow Ashley blushed, "I needed a change of clothes and one of the nuns gave me this," she handed Shepard a bag, "There was one for you too as well as some make-up."
"Good, I get the feeling that I'm horrifying looking."
"You're not too bad. Especially since you got your scars healed up."
"Thanks, now which way to those showers?"
Ashley had been right. Samara's daughters had figured correctly the reason their mother was there. So they mostly just spoke of current events going on out in the galaxy.
Shepard spoke of the Collector attacks, Ashley spoke up about how Counselor Tevos has been suspected of having an affair with Aria of Omega, and Samara mentioned how she'd taken Jack under her wing.
As they spoke they heard one Asari say she'll miss the head matriarch.
"What's going on with the head lady?" Ashley asked.
"Apparently she signed on with that Andromeda Initiative project, and they just mentioned how they've moved up their schedule and will be leaving a year early," Felair said.
Shepard chuckled, "Sounds like someone listened to my warnings."
"Well they've gotten a lot of volunteers. From what I've read on it, when I've earned time to surf the net, there are several thousand of several species going. Mostly council races, each getting its own ark, along with an entire Krogan clan, and a fifth ark for species that require a certain environment like Quarians, Drell, and just the miscellaneous races."
"Ha, it sounds as if someone found out about the Reapers early and devised a plan to survive," Ashley said.
"But probably Saran's helping their return and a Reaper appearing to attack the citadel scared them enough to push things forward," Shepard agreed.
"Well then, all the more reason to begin preparing for the worst," Samara said.