Samara

Samara did a quick sweep around the small village her search had led her to. She had traced her target to the asari/human colonized planet of Asteria in the Traverse and set off to find her before she could do much harm. After showing a holo of her adversary around the capital of Blackdamp, Samara was pointed to a small settlement a few hours south.

The aerial reconnaissance showed a much smaller colony than she was led to believe. There were only a few dozen houses built around a central hub. They had no defenses to speak of, choosing to surround the area with crops instead of guns. Its only noteworthy aspect was that it was so far from any other settlement, pointing toward a very insular community.

Samara didn't understand why her target would come to such an odd place. She briefly entertained the idea to assume her informant was covering for her, using the settlement as a decoy. Yet it was the only lead she currently had, and she would see it through.

She set her small shuttle down in the outskirts of town and walked toward the biggest structure, hoping that it was whatever qualified as a government building in this remote location. An armored and armed asari met her before she made it, however. Samara could tell she had had some military training by her stance. She may have even been a huntress at one point.

"What are you doing here, Justicar?" the asari said curtly.

The greeting wasn't completely surprising. Most asari children were regaled with tales about the legendary justicars that trounced evil throughout both the known and unknown galaxy and grew with an admirable respect for Samara's order. But there were pockets of asari that believe the justicars were an antiquated order that no longer served a valid purpose in society. It was these people that looked at her with barely concealed scowls.

"I have come in pursuit of a very dangerous asari. I wish to speak with the leader of this settlement and discuss her capture."

"Our leader is indisposed at the moment and can't speak with you, Justicar. You will speak with me in her stead."

Samara raised her brows at the audacity of the asari before her. Even those that disagree with her order's continued existence respected the justicar's martial prowess. She didn't seem to share their respect.

"And who are you to speak for her?" Samara asked.

"I am her lieutenant. I'm responsible for this settlement's protection."

The Justicar Code compelled her to work with local authorities. Still, she was wary to fully trust this huntress.

"Very well, Huntress. I am looking for this asari," she said as she presented the picture. "She is very dangerous."

The lieutenant barely glanced at the holo Samara held.

"Haven't seen her. Now, please leave. We have enough problems without adding a justicar to the list."

"If you would look again. My information has led me to this settlement, and I will not leave until I'm satisfied that she is not here."

The lieutenant took a step forward. "Listen well, Justicar. This is my settlement, and I won't have you going around making the people here scared. Leave. Now."

Samara narrowed her eyes at the younger asari. "The Code compels me to work with the local authorities, even allowing myself to be detained for the span of a day."

"Good. As the local authority, I say you need-"

"But that is only the case if they are cooperating with me. You, Huntress, are not only not cooperating but also hampering my investigation. The Code is very clear about what to do with such individuals."

She unhooked her shotgun at the thinly veiled threat and aimed it at Samara. "Leave now, or I'll put so many holes in you that-"

"It's okay, Lyra," a voice came from the large building. "The justicar will leave when she is finished and not a moment before."

The huntress' eyes widened, and she spun and knelt, giving Samara a clear view of the speaker. It was her target.

"Mistress, you should not be here! I beg you; please go back inside while I deal with the situation. It isn't safe."

Samara was surprised at the asari's reverence to her quarry. "What have you done to the people here, Morinth?"

The huntress spun and pointed at her. "You will not speak to the Mistress that way!"

"Peace, Lyra," Morinth said. "To answer your question, mother, I have done nothing to these people. They chose to worship me freely."

"She-she's your mother?" Lyra stammered, obviously stunned.

Morinth nodded. "Yes, but I doubt she will ever call me her daughter again. I'm the black sheep of the family, you see."

Samara didn't rise to the obvious bait. "Come back with me, Morinth. While you are too far gone to return to the Ardat-Yakshi monastery, I will make sure to make your execution quick and painless. This is the last time the Code will allow me to offer you this."

She scoffed. "You and your ridiculous Justicar Code. Life should be fun, not stuck following some stifling moral rulebook. You should loosen up, mother. I bet you might even enjoy yourself a little."

"If you will not come with me willingly, I will take you by force. If you die in the process, then so be it."

"That simply won't do."

Morinth pulsed with biotic power, and Samara found herself suspended in the air and propelled backwards. Even though she was unprepared for the sudden attack, Samara should not have been so easily overcome by her much younger daughter.

She must have claimed more victims, growing in strength, she thought grimly. This must end now.

"Lyra!" she heard Morinth yell. "Your Mistress is under attack. Protect me from the justicar."

"Of course, my lady," she responded before approaching and firing on Samara.

Samara took cover from the onslaught behind one of the many buildings. She peeked out to catch Mornith's form disappear into the large building. She had to pull back into cover as Lyra unleashed another blast from her shotgun.

The justicar didn't want to kill the young huntress. She was a thrall, being used by a predator much more cunning and much more deadly than she normally fought.

Yet the Code was clear.

Samara exited cover and held Lyra in a stasis field. She approached, removed her pistol, and placed it against her head.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess," Samara said before dropping the field and firing.

As the young huntress slumped, a PA system crackled to life.

"My devoted followers," Morinth's voice started, "there is an enemy in our midst that wishes to destroy your Mistress. I beseech you; protect me from the justicar menace. You will be well rewarded."

The other settlers must have been alerted to her presence by the dead huntress' shots for they swarmed Samara much quicker than should have been possible. She had to strengthen her barrier and retreat back into cover to avoid the multiple projectiles fired towards her.

She quickly discovered that the others were not trained like the huntress was. Their shots lacked any semblance of precision or accuracy, and Samara heard the telltale sound of the old weaponry overheating from constant fire. Their biotic attacks were weak and slow from years of disuse. They were farmers, not soldiers, and Morinth must have known they would not last against a justicar. They were fodder.

Yet the Code was clear.

They were decimated by Samara's more advanced weapons and tactics. None of them had armor, and their biotic barriers were barely able to withstand a few bullets from her assault rifle. Yet, when one fell, two would seem to take her place.

The work was long and wounded Samara in ways no physical damage could.

Eventually, there were no more of Morinth's subjects standing in her way, and she quickly made her way to the building the Ardat-Yakshi retreated to. Inside, she found a small bay that the records showed once held a small shuttle. It was no longer there. Morinth had escaped again, using an entire settlement to cover her.

Samara quickly made her way back to her small transport, hoping to catch her target before she could get off world. As she passed the remnants of the battle, she noticed the young ones of the settlement began to creep out of their homes and try to find their parents.

She spotted one of the oldest asari staring at her, her eyes on fire with hateful recognition. Samara could use that.

"Gather up the little ones and take them to the largest building," she told the young one. "They don't need to witness this. I will send help when I can."

The child's eyes never lost their intensity. "You did this, didn't you?"

"Yes."

The child said no more, choosing to do as Samara suggested, but she knew what the little one wanted to say. She hoped the hate and anger would not consume the young one's life.

The justicar turned her back on the young asari as the oldest of them herded them away from the carnage. She entered her small shuttle and moved back to the capital where Morinth would most likely search for passage from this planet.

As she rocketed away, she turned one of the external cameras to the village and watched as the little forms moved into the largest building. She would contact the Blackdamp authorities when she was in range and notify them of what occurred. She wished she could stay, wished she could help the orphans she had a hand in creating. But if she delayed any longer, her quarry may escape without leaving a trace. This could not be allowed.

The Code was clear.

Kasumi

Kasumi looked through her bag one last time to make sure everything was there. She wanted this evening (and night hopefully) to go absolutely perfect. It was a time to celebrate after all.

Real sake imported from Japan, check. Homemade sushi, check. Mood music, double check.

She smiled to herself as she set off to Keiji's modest apartment on the Citadel, a little more hop in her step than usual. The thieves hadn't seen each other in six months. Keiji ran into a little heat in one of his solo missions that he took from time to time and was detained by the Alliance.

Fortunately, he was too good to leave behind evidence, and the Fifth Amendment made it impossible for the prosecutors to use his greybox against him. Now, he was free, and enough time had passed to warrant a visit from his significant other.

Once she reached his door, she hit the call button.

"Open up, Keiji," she said after a moment.

When it felt like a minute had passed, Kasumi banged her fist on the metal door.

"Keiji, it's me. Kasumi."

Still nothing.

"Okuda, you better open this door right now before I splice it. I know how much you hate me cracking your codes."

When another moment passed without a sound coming from inside, Kasumi put down her bag and went to work on the door control. She found it very odd and disturbing that he hadn't changed the software since the last time she hacked through. Something was wrong.

The door slid open when she was done and revealed a dark room. Kasumi slowly and careful walked in, forgetting about her bag of goodies at the door.

"Keiji?" she whispered.

There was no response. Inside, she noticed that a few personal effects were missing. The apartment wasn't trashed as if someone had raided it, but there was a frantic energy that seemed to be lingering.

Kasumi headed to the bedroom, moving as quietly but as quickly as possible. She found that the drawers that held his clothes were empty. When she pulled back the cabinet, she found that the safe had been opened and all of Keiji's false identities had been removed. Some of the money from their most recent exploits had been taken, but the vast majority of it remained.

She stood, disbelieving the conclusion that the evidence led her to. It wasn't until then she noticed a piece of paper lying on the bed. She recognized it to be Keiji's Japanese.

I'm sorry I had to leave. What I found, it's too dangerous. I'm going to be a hunted man for the rest of my life. I don't want you to have to live through that. You have been too careful with staying anonymous even with all your jobs. If you're around me, you will be in danger too. You shouldn't have to deal with my mistake. I can't risk losing you because of me. I love you, Ka. Never forget that.

Kasumi felt tears threatening to fall as she finished. He had used his nickname for her, ka written in the kanji for "song." Usually, her name is written as "fast summer" for the July cold snap Japan was suffering during her birth.

When she met Keiji, he had mistakenly written her name as "song" and "compose." She responded by spelling his name with the kanji for "child" and "cinnamon tree" instead of "wise samurai" as it was normally written. The nicknames stuck, and they used them often to disguise their correspondence as well as more intimate moments.

She was his song while he was her cinnamon tree.

Anger flashed in Kasumi as she crinkled the note.

Keiji, you idiot. If I want to be with you, I'm going be with you. You don't get a choice in the matter.

She went back to the door, took her discarded bag, and removed the sushi before jamming what was left in the safe into it. She didn't remove the sake nor the mood music because, once she found her boyfriend and after she gave him the royal pounding he deserved, she was going to get her romantic evening that would bleed into the night. The only reason the sushi didn't stay was because it would go bad before she found him.

And she was going to find him. Kasumi was excellent at evading the authorities and disappearing without a trace. The reason she was so good at it was that she knew every little trick they employed.

Keiji, while no slouch, was not as adept as she was, hence his arrest after whatever job led him to running. She was going to use her knowledge as well as her much better hacking skills (due to Keiji's tutelage) to find him.

Kasumi threw the bag over her shoulder and purposefully walked out of his apartment, ready to find her cinnamon tree.

Author's Note:

I almost missed my weekly post. Nothing much to say here so please review!