2185
Illium
It didn't take long before Shepard returned, having hacked the terminals and gotten the information that Liara needed. Shepard agreed to let the Doctor tag along as they attempted to find Samara, though she didn't bother to hide how irregular she found the whole situation.
Their first stop was the transportation hub, where Officer Dara elaborated on what they could expect when they found Samara. The Doctor listened and didn't interject at any point, which was unusual for him. Her description of Samara was more elaborate - and troublesome - than Liara's had been. Did everyone in this universe walk around with a gun and start shooting whenever someone looked at them wrong? At least Samara had reasons for it, and the Doctor had to admit that he wasn't terribly fond of corruption and bribery either. He pondered Dara's words during the cab ride over to the commercial spaceport. He had to remember that this wasn't his universe, and there had been no Doctor to run around solving things peacefully.
Madame Kovarian's words echoed in his mind briefly. "This endless, bitter war…"
They exited the cab just as an asari walked away from a short, round alien in a breather suit similar to Tail's. The information the Doctor needed came a moment later - it was a volus, guarded by a pair of turians.
"What do you want?" the volus demanded as Shepard walked over. "I've already got mercs wanting to kill me like they did my partner! I don't need any more trouble. As if that weren't enough…"
Everyone was complaining about the asari justicar. The Doctor wondered if anyone would offer to pay Shepard just to get her off-planet.
The volus told the story of his murdered business partner and the mercenary gang who had probably (definitely) done it. From the looks that Garrus and Tali exchanged (it must have been two-way, even though the Doctor still couldn't read the quarian's expressions) they didn't buy his story of "innocent merchants" for a second.
They found the investigating officer, Detective Anaya, easily enough. She was clearly stressed over the justicar situation, and perked up when Shepard mentioned that she was hoping to recruit Samara for her mission. "Justicars usually work alone, but they are drawn to impossible causes," she said.
"We've got that covered," Garrus noted.
"You're awfully anxious to get Samara out of your district," Shepard asked, which seemed to be a rather obvious statement.
"My bosses want me to detain her," Anaya explained. "They're worried she'll cause some kind of cross-species incident. But her Justicar Code won't let her be taken into custody. If I try it, she'll have to kill me."
The Doctor thought, irrelevantly, that he was glad River didn't follow this Justicar Code. Her body count would be a lot higher.
"I have no intention of dying, so if you lure her away with some big noble cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you," Anaya said dryly.
Shepard looked annoyed. "Your superiors are sending you to certain death for no good reason. You have a right to disobey."
"We can disobey suicidal orders?" Garrus asked, sounding incredulous. "Why wasn't I told?"
"That's about twice a day," Tali added.
"Most of the time, I'm not being stupid about it," Shepard insisted. "I can't say the same for Anaya's superiors."
"I'm a cop, and I know my duty," Anaya said. "I've been ordered to detain her and I will - unless I can get her to leave my district first."
"How do I get to the crime scene?" Shepard asked.
"It's around the corner - go outside, take a left. Look for the police line. I'll send word to let you in." Anaya paused. "Be careful - the local Eclipse mercs have been all over those back alleys lately."
"What do I need to know about these mercenaries?"
"Eclipse mercs are professional killers," Anaya said. "They sell red sand, trade illegal weapons tech, and smuggle criminals off-world. They control some back alleys around here. I haven't been able to find their nest yet, though."
Shepard looked around for a minute, then apparently decided to satisfy her curiosity. "What can you tell me about justicars?"
Anaya thought for a minute. "They're a kind of … humans might call them 'warrior monks'. They live by a complex code that compels them to punish the wicked and protect the pure. They've been a part of asari culture for millennia. I read adventure stories about justicars when I was a child."
"What do you think of Samara herself?" It appeared as though Shepard was trying to get a feel for this person that she wanted to recruit. The Doctor was starting to be glad that Liara had insisted he accompany Shepard. Liara's perception of Shepard bordered on hero-worship, and the interaction with Detective Anaya was shading the Doctor's perspective into 'a real person'. Perhaps it was arrogant of him to assume that the only person who could have a larger-than-life presence was himself.
He wondered what Amy or River would have said to that.
"She's been a justicar longer than three of your life spans," Anaya said. "Whoever she was before she swore that oath, that person is dead." The Doctor could definitely relate to that.
Shepard stood. "I have to go," she said.
Anaya acknowledged this with a nod of her head. "Good luck."
The group left the detective's office and headed over towards the crime scene. Two officers on duty acknowledged Shepard approaching and let her pass through the virtual police tape. Shepard paused to read something on a tablet and pressed a button. "Upload complete," a synthetic voice said. Neither Garrus nor Tali commented on this, so the Doctor decided it was something that was considered "regular".
As they rounded the corner, Shepard brought out a shotgun and pressed a button on the side, bringing up a holographic overlay of a red bullet. Garrus and Tali followed suit - Tali was also carrying a shotgun, and Garrus had the sniper rifle that Careena had mentioned earlier. They picked up the pace, and the Doctor lagged behind.
Shepard paused as she heard someone talking in the distance. " … Alpha squad went after that justicar 20 minutes ago, and they've gone dark."
"Mercs," Garrus said.
Shepard rounded the corner and sprinted behind a crate as one of the mercenaries yelled "A human. Open fire!"
At least, the Doctor thought, Shepard hadn't been the instigator. He stayed behind the corner, occasionally peeking his head out to see the progress of the fight. He saw Shepard's arm glow bright blue, setting off a series of explosions that headed from Shepard towards the enemies. The explosions sent the asari flying off to one side - some got back on their feet afterwards, and some didn't. Garrus lifted his left arm, which glowed bright orange for a moment and sent a spark towards one of the robots that was moving forward, slowly. The robot halted, fizzled, and then fell over. Tali made the same motion with her left arm, and one of the other robots paused, then turned around and started firing on its former allies.
The fight was over quickly. Shepard, Garrus and Tali had been outnumbered, but that hadn't seemed to daunt them in the least.
"Liara didn't mention you had biotic abilities," the Doctor commented as he came out from behind the corner.
"I didn't, before Cerberus rebuilt me," Shepard said dryly. "Guess the Illusive Man wanted to get his money's worth. Had to learn a whole new fighting style."
Garrus laughed. "C'mon, Shepard. You can't tell me you didn't enjoy the challenge."
"Well. A little," Shepard said, grinning. "Let's keep moving. Samara has to be here somewhere."
At the end of the hallway where the fire fight had taken place was another cordoned-off area. Shepard passed through the tape and the door opened for her, the others following.
The first thing the Doctor saw was a uniformed mercenary flying across the room, bouncing off the wall and landing on the floor next to them.
"Those were my best troops," a voice said from up ahead, in what looked to be some kind of office.
An asari strode forward in a tight-fitting red outfit trimmed with gold. "Tell me what I need to know, and I will be gone from here," she said in a calm, serene voice. Her body was outlined with the blue biotic glow. Samara, most likely. "Where did you send her?"
"You think I'd betray her? She would hurt me in ways you can't imagine," the mercenary said, coming out from cover, her gun trained on Samara. The two asari were now circling each other warily, like a pair of cats.
"The name of the ship. Your life hangs on the answer, Lieutenant."
"You can kill me, but one of us will take you down, Justicar." The other asari's skin was a darker blue, almost purple. Each asari had different facial markings, the Doctor realized (remembered).
Samara clenched her fist, then threw out her right arm, the biotic glow intensifying. The mercenary was lifted off the ground as Samara stared at her, expression implacable. Samara whipped her arm back and the mercenary flew across the room, crashing through a window and landing hard on the ground.
Samara ran forward and jumped off the landing, the blue light intensifying and slowing her descent so that she landed gracefully on her feet. The mercenary had not yet gotten to her feet as Samara approached her, and she backed herself towards the wall. Samara put one booted foot on the mercenary's neck.
"What was the name of the ship she left on?" Samara asked.
"Go to hell," the mercenary spat out angrily.
Samara's expression didn't change. "Find peace in the embrace of the goddess," she said, and twisted her foot to snap the mercenary's neck.
In that instant, she reminded the Doctor of River Song.
Shepard strode forward after the justicar killed the mercenary. Her biotic abilities were impressive, even for an asari. She could stand to have another pure biotic on her team, and Samara's brand of crazy was more in line with what Shepard was comfortable with than Jack's. She wasn't sure anyone would be comfortable with Jack's brand of crazy.
"My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code," the asari said, walking towards them. "My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see four-" she paused, apparently re-assessing the new addition to Shepard's party "three well armed-people before me."
She got that right, Shepard thought. The strange human had, as promised, stayed out of the way during the fight. She still didn't know what to make of him, except that Liara seemed to want her to take him on as a party member. Something was off, but Shepard didn't know what. She hoped she'd get the chance to figure that out later.
"Are we friend? Or foe?" Samara asked.
"That merc was wounded and helpless," Shepard said. "Do you just kill anyone who won't help you?"
"If my cause is important enough, yes. Are you different?"
Shepard's tone grew steely as she replied. "I've killed enemies, but always with good reason."
"I answer to a code that is clearly defined. If my actions are true to that code, I am just. If they are not, I am unjust." Samara's tone was the same slow, even cadence that she'd had during the fight with the Eclipse mercenary. "I don't pretend it was a simple matter, or that it seems right to everyone. But I sleep well at night, and that is more than most can say. How may I be of service to you?"
"I'm going up against suicidal odds, and I need the best - that's you," Shepard said.
"I sense the truth in what you say, and it humbles me," Samara said with a nod of her head. "But I seek an incredibly dangerous fugitive." She turned to the side and started walking back towards the dead mercenary. "I cornered her here, but the Eclipse sisters smuggled her off-world. I must find the name of the ship she left on before the trail goes cold."
"I wish you were willing to go with the human, Justicar," Detective Anaya said from behind them. Shepard cursed herself for not having heard the approach. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave."
"You risk a great deal by following your orders, Detective," Samara said, turning back to face the detective. "Fortunately, I will not have to resist. My code obligates me to cooperate with you for one day. After that, I must return to my investigation."
"I won't be able to release you that soon," Anaya said, her tone carrying a warning.
Samara's voice didn't change. "You won't be able to stop me."
"There must be some way we can all get what we need," Shepard said. She understood Anaya's position, but by now it was obvious that a lot of good cops would die - for no reason - if Samara was detained for longer than a day.
"I see a way. While I am in custody, you find the name of that ship," Samara said. "Do that, and I will join you. Then the Code will be satisfied."
"A moment ago, you refused to give up your investigation. But now you'll swear to follow me?" Shepard asked, trying to get a feel for the changing situation.
"If I stay, I will be compelled to kill many innocents to escape incarceration," Samara said, confirming Shepard's thoughts.
"Like me," Detective Anaya said dryly.
"I may be killed - and my quarry would be free to continue murdering. If I come with you and survive your mission, I can resume my investigation." That was a pretty big if, in Shepard's mind, but she could work with it.
"To do that, I need the ship's name to track her to her next hiding place," Samara continued. "It is a simple choice."
"Do you have any leads?" Shepard asked.
"The volus merchant, Pitne For, is tied to this. Eclipse mercs are preparing to kill him," Samara said, walking past Shepard towards the exit. "Get the truth out of him. He may know a way into the Eclipse base."
Detective Anaya walked to Samara's side. "Well, I've got to get back to my station. And, I guess I've got to take you with me."
"And me," the Doctor said. All eyes turned to look at him. "Well, you don't have to take me, but I'd like to come along. Chat with Justicar Samara for a bit. I'd prefer to avoid the shooting that seems to be coming when Shepard assaults the base full of mercenaries."
Shepard felt relieved at that. She really didn't need a non-combatant trailing her for this.
"I guess you can stay with Samara," Detective Anaya said. "I'll have to babysit her anyway."
Samara looked over the Doctor, then Shepard. She nodded. "Thank you, Shepard." She peeled off and started heading back the way they'd come, Doctor Smith and Detective Anaya following.
"What the hell are we going to do with him?" Garrus asked.
"I don't know," Shepard said. "Maybe Samara will have some ideas after spending time with him."
"Did you see that blue box in Liara's office?" Tali asked.
Shepard and Garrus looked at her. "It's just a box," Garrus said. "Isn't it?"
Tali shook her head and brought up her omni-tool. "I had my omni-tool doing passive readings. There's something really weird about the box. It's giving off some kind of weird energy."
"Dark energy?" Shepard asked, remembering Tali's mission on Haestrom.
"Maybe. In some ways, dark energy is a catch-all term for 'energy we don't understand', so in that sense, yes, it is dark energy. On the other hand, the readings are different from Haestrom, so … no."
"Think it can help against the Collectors?"
Tali shrugged. "I'd have to take more readings to be sure."
Shepard nodded. "We'll do that when this is over. Hopefully finding that ship for Samara won't take too long."