A/N: Delays are what I do.

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Anaya could hear the creak as her teeth ground together over the pounding of her headache and wondered if they'd shatter inside her mouth or simply crumble. Unfortunately dealing with her superiors often had this affect on her.

"Look, Chief," she tried again, "think about it like this. A Justicar working with us, as opposed to through us, has got to be a good thing, right? Right now we're in a position where we can help each other. We get to have our little problem dealt with by someone who has three times the experience of anyone on my squad, if not the whole district. The Justicar gets to keep her oath and not be harassed by us. Which, I might remind you, nearly didn't turn out so well last time." She couldn't keep the dryness from her voice at this last.

The holographic image flickered as the officer regarded her stolidly. Anaya sighed.

"Look, the fact is I don't have the resources to spare in taking the Justicar in. I've got officers doing double and triple duty and we're about to hit the no go zone on our stims." She leaned forward, resting her fists on the desk, and spoke quietly. "We need her. She doesn't need us. It's in our best interests to cooperate with her. Please."

Anaya looked into the orange glowing eyes of the hologram, trying to convey her desperation. It must have worked. After a few seconds' deliberation, her Chief nodded curtly, then terminated the call.

The detective leaned back in her chair and let out a tired, quiet whoop. She massaged her forehead, trying to relieve the pressure, and looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Good news, boss?"

She nodded, grinning tightly. "Good news. Send that contract off ASAP. And let's hope the Justicar is as efficient this time as she was last time."

oOo

The peace and serenity of the temple was a balm, enfolding her soul. The ball of energy before her hummed and pulsed contentedly in response to her skilled, soothing touch. Samara looked deeply into it without seeing it, her eyes awash in dark energy. She felt it course through her body, felt the minuscule sparks within her brain triggering tiny flows of energy, which she grasped and directed. She felt the motion of her cells within her body, the rushing of blood through her veins, and harnessed the forces they generated. She was filled to capacity with the transcendence of her power, and it sang within her.

For an untold time she remained, brimming, until a single quiet knock at her door roused her. Blinking, she let the ball of energy dissipate and climbed gracefully to her feet. Samara stepped over to the door, opening it only to reveal the retreating back of one of the priestesses. She looked down – there, on the floor, was an innocuous looking datapad.

Smiling gently, she stooped to retrieve it. It was time to get to work.

oOo

Samara breathed deeply, filtering city-tainted air through her nostrils as she crouched in the bowels of a dilapidated office building.

She made sure her rifle was secure before picking her way over broken and dented floor panels and around the debris of a failed business. Her last communiqué from the Shadow Broker had indicated that this building was often frequented by her quarry and those of her ilk, presumably to coordinate whatever nefarious schemes they were perpetrating.

So far as she could tell the building was currently deserted. However it was still light outside, so it stood to reason any activity wouldn't occur until night.

Samara glanced at golden beams of light slanting through broken, dusty windows and judged there to be only another hour to sundown. She wanted to find a secure listening post before then. She scanned the room and strode across the floor.

A subtle mechanical hum alerted her as she approached a dark corridor and she froze. There was a glint of metal in the darkness before her, and then a group of security drones burst out of the corridor and hovered menacingly before her.

The lead drone fired a short burst of energy at her. Her shields flickered but held and she dove for the dubious cover of a pair of crates. Gathering dark energy, she flung it at the nearest of the drones and watched in satisfaction as it was hurled backwards into the wall, were it spluttered briefly before sliding to the floor in a cascade of sparks. She unfastened her rifle and flicked the safety off, letting it charge while she studied the setting.

Two drones still hovered protectively in front of the corridor, while another two had risen to the ceiling where they were buzzing angrily. A group of three had circled to her left and were attempting to flank her.

Samara centered herself quickly and leveled her rifle. She breathed in, aiming for the ones in front of the corridor, and pulled the trigger on the exhale. Bullets impacted with machinery and the one on the left dropped to the floor. She ducked back behind cover as it overloaded, then flung another pulse of dark energy at the right hand drone. There was a concussive thump as it connected and the drone hurtled backwards into the darkness of the corridor. Energy sparked to her right, and she turned as her shields faltered under an assault from the group of three drones.

She strafed her rifle at them, making the drones bob in place, then gestured and trapped the three in a reave net. Their attack momentarily halted, she vaulted over her crate and searched for a more defensible point of cover, ducking from the anticipated fire from the two ceiling drones.

The drones on the ceiling circled but made no attempt to join in on the attack. Samara narrowed her eyes as she studied them, wondering why. Moving to a position where she could view them better, she heard the three drones behind her whining and knew her net was fading. She crouched behind an overturned desk and threw another reave net at them to keep them at bay. As the overhead drones made another pass she caught a glimpse of the reflective lens of a recording device. Samara frowned. So, someone was watching, were they?

She swung her rifle up to bear on the drones and squeezed the trigger. First one, then the other, exploded overhead and she knelt in the midst of a brief metallic rain, sparks flaring harmlessly against her shields. She brushed shrapnel from her shoulders and carefully placed her rifle on the ground.

Behind her the three drones had recovered and she could hear their stabilizers working as they advanced on her position. Grasping dark energy, she leant out from cover and gestured at them. Blue energy glowed around the three and forced them together with a resounding crash. The center drone dropped to the floor where it promptly exploded, while the other two listed off in opposite directions.

Samara scooped up her rifle, aimed, and fired quick bursts; watching dispassionately as they impacted and the drones disintegrated. They overloaded in quick succession before her as she stood and headed for the corridor, flicking out a spent heatsink as she approached. It sizzled and died as she strode past.

The corridor was still, quiet. The final drone was lying crumpled and broken on the floor several meters in. Samara frowned; she didn't think she'd hurled it that hard. She nudged the inert pieces of machinery, flipping them over with her boot. The drone's casing was heavily scored with scorch marks most definitely not caused by her biotics. She dropped to her haunches, studying the wreckage and the corridor before her.

The walls were scratched and marked with age and the activities of who knew what was in here in times past. She ran her eyes over the markings, studying them… something about their placing was not quite right.

Fingering the debris, she scooped up a handful and scattered it before her. Sparks flew and the metallic taste of scorched electronics filled the air as the debris impacted with an energy field blocking the corridor. A red net criss-crossing the hallway was briefly apparent, glowing malevolently as the sparks died. She could feel the heat on her face as it flared. She'd have to find another way past it.

Samara stood and dusted her hands off. She smiled as she secured her rifle. She'd had her misgivings at first, accepting intel from the Shadow Broker. She was relieved to see Liara didn't know everything.

This hunt was proving slightly more challenging than she'd first thought.