Shepard was having a weird day. Very weird, and annoying. Almost from the second she set foot on this god-forsaken Asari cesspit of a city everything around her seemed to be hell bent on annoying her. Perhaps it said something about the Asari that their ugliest city would still be this pretty. But to Shepard the venere of beauty only served to magnify just how wretched the city truly was. She would have preferred to stay on Omega, at least everyone there was honest about what they were and what they wanted.
There had been a few nice moments. Like Liara, just hearing her name had Shepard's heart fluttering, thinking back at the time they had spent together. Of course actually meeting her changed all that. Liara had changed so much in two years. But for Shepard it had only been a couple of weeks at most. And in that time her shy awkward and ridiculously cute little Prothean expert was now threatening to flay people alive and slowly building up her own criminal empire.
Things had gone a little better when she ran into Parasini. Shepard even got the drink she owed her from back on Noveria. Though she ended up getting roped into helping her on yet another undercover investigation, again.
The bartender matriarch at the bar was actually pretty cool to talk to. Though the only reason Shepard even met her was because she had to deal with Conrad Verner first.
She was able to help out that unlucky Quarian at least, but only by securing her a contract of legalized slavery.
They did manage to find the Assassin they were looking for at least; and as a bonus she got to watch him kill that annoying Asari ambassador she'd run into a few years back. All told that mission actually turned out pretty well, and the Assassin turned out to be a surprisingly nice and thoughtful Drell that Shepard actually enjoyed talking to.
Of course it also turned out that he was dying of some incurable disease.
Shepard was starting to hate Illium.
Shepard was holding onto what little hope remained for this next mission to find the Asari Justicar.
The Justicar. Everything about this dossier just sounded weird to Shepard. It sounded like something that belonged in that Galaxy of Fantasy game Joker had been getting hooked on. But if what the detective said about Justicars and their lost causes was true then hopefully things would go reasonably smoothly.
It was a small hope mind you, but Shepard had to cling to it for now. Already they were making their way past an active crime scene through the Eclipse warehouses trying to find this Justicar.
Detective Anaya had been surprisingly helpful providing them with information on where to find their target. She even warned them about the Eclipse mercs they would inevitably run into. Granted the mercs had been no trouble at all. Shepard had plenty of experience taking out much more dangerous opponents, and that was before all of her upgrades.
It had dawned on Shepard that the Detective was probably trying to just get them all to leave her precinct before things got any worse, but she was beginning to appreciate what a tough spot she was being placed in.
The sound of glass breaking, followed by a woman's scream, immediately broke Shepard out of her thoughts just in time to see the body of some Asari mercenary slam hard against the wall next to her. The force of the impact was so strong that multiple bones could be heard snapping before her body slumped to the ground. Shepard did not need to check the Asari's body to know she was already dead.
Guns drawn the three of them moved forward carefully. Up ahead, above them, Shepard could hear two people in a desperate argument. Well one person in a desperate argument, the other voice remained smugly calm. The argument was cut short by another shattered window, and another Asari was sent flying in an envelope of biotic energy. She was lucky, or unlucky enough that she wasn't thrown against a wall; she simply landed on the floor, hard. It was enough to break her leg and an arm, possibly a couple of ribs as well. Shepard could see that from the way she crawled painfully on her back.
The flash of biotic energy brought the Commander's attention to the other Asari. Immediately Shepard knew this must be the Justicar. She was tall, graceful, confident. Though her face showed no emotion she moved with a righteous inner light almost as obvious as her biotic envelope. She glided down as though gravity itself was nothing more then an inconvenience. She managed to land only two steps away from her prey, before quickly putting a booted foot to the merc's throat.
"What was the name of the ship she left on?" The Justicar asked her. Her voice was calm, too calm. It was clear she honed it to be as unoffensive as possible. And yet that made her all the more menacing.
"Go to hell!" the wounded Eclipse sister spat out, knowing her fate. That earned her a notch of respect from Shepard, she never backed down in the face of certain death.
Shepard would learn much later that this was only because she had come face to face with something far worse then death.
There was a crack, a grunt, and the Asari merc was dead before Shepard could contemplate things further.
"Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." The Justicar said. She was not doing it out of respect for the dead, Shepard realized. Something about the subtle movement of her body and the glare behind those emotionless eyes. It was clear to the Commander that the Justicar had nothing but contempt for the criminal.
Shepard nodded forward slightly, carefully walking up to the Asari. Garrus and Thane followed immediately behind her. The Justicar looked up at them considering their intrusion for a moment before speaking up.
"My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code." she spoke with a voice unchanging as she walked purposefully towards the trio, "My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see three well-armed people before me." There was only a pause, showing no concern at all for the situation as she added, "Step aside or I will be forced to kill you."
"Just like you did with those Eclipse mercs." Shepard said pointing her gun down, but keeping her gaze focused on Samara's own. She wasn't about to be bullied by her no matter how impressive her powers might be. "But I guess you would kill anyone who isn't of any use for you."
"If the code demands it, yes." Sarama confirmed. Though she was not even glowing yet, Shepard knew the Justicar was getting ready to attack if it came to that.
"Well you can relax. There's no need for anyone to kill anything yet." Shepard told her.
"Then why are you still before me?" Samara's voice never wavered even slightly, her face remained as solid as a block of ice, but Shepard knew a demand when she heard one. Still she wasn't about to take the bait.
"I need you to help me take down the Collectors." Shepard said. That got Samara's attention.
"The Collectors?" Her face remained completely unchanged except for the very subtle twitch to her left eye, "I suppose they would be worthy foes I could test my skills against. They have dealt with many criminals and the Code allows for their destruction. However I must decline, for I seek an incredibly dangerous fugitive."
"More dangerous then the Collectors?" Shepard shot back.
"More important at the moment." Samara replied.
"The Collectors are abducting entire colonies! How is that not more important?" Shepard insisted.
"Human colonies." Samara explained, "Outside of Asari space and therefore beyond my concern." She walked over to the dead Eclipse body as she continued, "The villain I seek was here moments ago, but the Eclipse sisters smuggled her off-world. I must find the name of the ship she left on before the trail grows cold. I'm sorry but I cannot help you."
Shepard doubted very much that she was sorry at all.
"I wish you were willing to go with the Human, Justicar." A new voice called out, Shepard turned to see Detective Anaya. Shepard wondered why she would follow behind them until she explained her presence. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave."
"You risk a great deal by following your orders." Samara said walking up to the detective. Shepard was no biotic but she was certain she could feel an aura of indignation around the Justicar. "You know full well what will happen if you try to restrain me."
"And that's precisely why we can't have you running around everywhere like this." Anaya said in turn. She was doing a good job of holding her own against the Justicar's intense glare but it was clear to Shepard the Detective feared for her life. "You have a way out, I don't want to have to arrest you."
"You would not be able to stop me." Samara said.
"Uh, the human is lost here. Can one of you clarify?" While it was true Shepard wasn't sure exactly what was going she was sure that it was probably a good idea to interrupt that conversation before someone ( mostly likely Anaya ) ended up as a smear on the wall.
"I was trying to convince her to leave with you." Detective Anaya offered, "But Justicars and their Code..."
"The detective has been ordered to detain me." Samara said, it almost sounded like the closest she ever got to a sneer, "I cannot force her to disobey an order. I can only remind her that any attempt to restrain a Justicar is considered a hostile action. And the Code is very clear in that regard."
"Let me guess, you get to kill her." Garrus spoke up.
"I'm afraid so." Samara confirmed without a hint of remorse. She was clearly missing - or ignoring - the sarcasm in the Turian's voice. "Along with anyone who tries to stop me." That last bit was likely targeted at Shepard herself, she chose to ignore it too.
"Hey, here's an idea, before we all go around killing each other, how about a compromise?" Shepard suggested mirthfully.
"The Code does not allow for compromise." Samara insisted.
"Just hear me out." Shepard continued, putting a hand up in a motion that said 'calm the fuck down already'. "The powers that be don't want you running around killing everything between you and the name of the ship you're after. But I'm a Spectre, and I can get that name for you. Probably with a smaller body count."
"'Probably' being the key word here." Garrus could help but add in.
"The point is, I can get the name of the ship for you." Shepard continued with only a stern but friendly glace in Garrus's direction. "If you don't mind waiting with the detective here that is."
"And why should I trust you?" Samara asked. This time Shepard wasn't sure if the question was sincere or an insult thrown her way.
"Well think of it this way. If you try to break out you might have to kill quite a large number of cops who are just trying to do their job. I'm guessing your Code might have something to say about killing innocent civilians." The twitch in the Justicars eye confirmed to Shepard that she was on the right track, "Not to mention you'll have every law enforcement as well as every mercenary on Illium trying to take you down. Hell by that point I might have to stop you myself just to ensure peace in Council space." Spectre status has its advantages.
"Are you threatening me?" Samara, ironically, looked ready to kill her.
"Not at all," Shepard said her hands up innocently, though she could not restrain the smirk on her lips, "You might be able to kill everyone. Who knows? But there is a slim chance someone might be able to kill you. Even if they don't they'll slow you down long enough for your fugitive to get away for good. Either way you risk losing the trail. Or you can take a chance on me." She crossed her arms then, knowing she had this, "The choice is yours of course. Far be it for me to make the decision for you."
"Think of it this way. A small chance is better then no chance at all." Thane spoke up.
"Very well." Samara said after a long tense silence, "The Code allows me to cooperate with the detective for exactly one day. After that I must continue the hunt."
"At which point you'll break out and kill everyone in your way." Garrus added.
"Precisely." Samara said, once again missing the sarcasm.
"Great, one day, no problem." Shepard said, "Now that that's settled, lets see if we can manage to get back to the precinct without any of us killing each other."
Shepard decided, as they made their way back to the police station, that she definitely hated Illium.