AN: Continuation from when Harry met Samara

Harry was sitting in the cafeteria, tinkering with a new piece of wood when he felt the commander approaching. His hands stilled in their movement as he contemplated making a run for the bathroom, and then he forced himself to relax, sitting back a little in his chair as the red-head moved to stand in front of him. She stood there for a moment, folding her arms as she waited for him to acknowledge her. Harry tried to meet her eyes, and failed, shifting his gaze to the side.

"Looking for that explanation, then?" He asked quietly, his eyes flickering back across her face. She nodded once, sitting in the chair opposite him.

"We were on Farissa. It's an asari planet, but not in their main space. Bit of a backwater. Still, nice enough. You don't get attacked going down the street – well, not unless a Justicar's after your blood, I guess." Harry had moved his gaze to a point over the commander's shoulder during his monologue, his eyes drifting as he stared into his memories.

"It was a nice day, damn hot. The young asari were showing some skin, even the mercs had taken off the armour. Then – Bam!" Harry sat forward with the last word, meeting the commander's eyes again.

"This well-armed, heavily armoured asari launches herself out a window and flings a singularity right at this lone girl. Pretty girl, couldn't be older than her second century from what I could see and hear. Now, I have what one of my friends called a "saving-people-thing". It's buried pretty deep down these days, but it's there. I won't help everyone, but an unarmed, un-armoured person on the street being attacked by a madwoman? I'll help, no questions asked. Sure, I might stop if I find that they break my moral code, but a random stranger? Yeah, I'll settle things down." Shepard sat back, appraising the black-haired enigma. She could see it fairly clearly, and in all honesty she might even have done the same. She motioned Harry to go on.

"So I jump in. My reflexes have always been damn good, and my aim is – if I dare say so myself – pretty near phenomenal. So I spear the singularity out of the sky, blowing it apart a couple of meters back from this girl's head. She, of course, screams and looks round, sees who it is and runs. Off like a shot into the crowd. Couldn't blame her either, not at the time or later. So the Justicar's just been screwed out of her prey by me. I'm an outsider, a human on an asari world, no-ones gonna help me against her." Harry snorted in amusement at the memory.

"Four hours it took for me to get back to my ship and get it up in the air. Took another one to get her off it. Five hours of near constant fighting, running and hiding. On both our parts." Shepard looked confused, holding up a hand.

"You made her hide?" She asked disbelievingly. "She doesn't seem the type." Harry's smile contracted, gaining a vicious edge, and he dropped his gaze to the table.

"When you ram a metal pole through someone's stomach, they tend to have to run away, even if it's just to apply medigel. Chased her for half an hour after that, trying to catch her so I could knock her out. Hell, I'd have settled for her passing out from exertion and blood-loss. She's made of tough stuff though." Harry looked back up at the commander as he said that. "She's only become faster, too. She'll be one hell of a weapon on the field. Might be best to keep me and her out of each other's line of fire though. I've got nothing against her, but I think getting that close and being cut off at the knees might have pissed her off a little."

Shepard nodded in acknowledgement, then sighed.

"Why is it never easy?" Harry let out a dry chuckle.

"Because we're the good guys, Shepard. Don't you ever read? The good guys never get it easy" She gave a wry smile in answer as she got out of the chair.

"Enjoy your... whatever it is you do," she said, gesturing at the pile of wood shavings in front of the wizard. "I'm getting some rest." Harry raised a hand in acknowledgement as she left, settling back into the chair and allowing his senses to flow outward again. He tensed back up as they did, feeling Samara at the edge of his consciousness. He slid his gaze to the left, gathering his power just in case. The blue-skinned woman was stood at the junction next to the lift, her eyes trained on him. He could feel the power building in her hands, and he again wondered why he could feel it. It was physics, and technology, and mechanical implants. A shiver ran down his spine as she approached, and he shifted all of his attention over to her as she rounded the table. Both of them were clearly on edge, spines straight and hands clenched into fists as the Justicar settled into the seat Shepard had just left. They stayed silent for several minutes, both pairs of eyes locked onto the others. Samara broke the silence first.

"I will not seek to attack you while either of us follow Shepard." Harry nodded slightly, keeping their eye contact unbroken.

"I return the sentiment." He replied, stating the words precisely. The asari returned the slight nod before continuing.

"I offer you a bargain," she stated quietly. "Either you will assist me in my quest, providing information or willing assistance, or when our contracts are finished, we will battle. No retreating." Harry cocked his head to the side, thinking about the offer.

"And if you find and deal with your quarry before I can assist?" The asari's eyes tightened.

"Then we will battle. To submission." Harry contemplated her terms, their eyes still locked, then gave another slight nod.

"Agreed," he said softly, "thrice bound I swear, I shall lend you one instance of aid, if called upon, for your quest to find and deal with the Ardat-Yakshi that bears the name Morinth." The statuesque asari's eyebrows tightened in confusion as he swore, then her eyes widened in shock as Harry's magic bound the oath to him with a soft glow of light. With that, Harry outwardly relaxed, returning his gaze to the piece of wood he was currently investigating. His insides were still on edge, though, and his magic sense followed the asari from the room, watching for any flare of biotic power. As she turned the corner toward the observation deck that she had claimed for her own she moved out of Harry's sense, and he finally let the magic that had been pooling in his body relax back into his core.

"Great," he muttered as the crew started to filter in for the off-shifts breakfast. "Just... great."