The Justicar was already ablaze with rage and biotic power as she strolled forward.
"Morinth!" Samara called out the disgust she felt barely hidden in her undertones. Merely lifting one hand she sent out a powerful biotic thrust that caught Morinth in a tight grip and sent her flying against the thick living room window with enough force to nearly destroy it. The glass held, leaving Morinth pinned against the heavily cracked surface.
"Mother." Morinth said calmly, with only a hint of strain to her voice.
"Do not call me that!" Samara demanded, sending another wave of biotic force against the Ardat-Yakshi.
Morinth strained further under the force of her mother's assault, but she did not budge, subtlety using her own biotics to resist the Justicar's onslaught.
"I can't choose to stop being your daughter, mother." Morinth said easily despite the obvious strain. She spat out the word 'mother' as if it was some terrible insult. From her mother's response it likely had the desired effect.
"You made your choice long ago." Samara said accusingly. Her voice dripping with disgust and disapproval.
"What Choice!" Morinth cried out, not bothering to hide her own rage. She unleashed a powerful burst of biotic force, easily overpowering Samara and causing her to stagger backwards.
"My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me!" Morinth strode forward fearlessly meeting the Justicar head on. As she screamed she captured the unbalanced Justicar in a lift while simultaneously pulling a seat off the ground and throwing it at her mother. Samara was only barely able to deflect the attack, breaking out of Morinth's hold but falling awkwardly to the floor.
"Enough Morinth!" Samara exclaimed. Unable to keep her emotions locked down any longer, her voice was filled with more rage and frustration then Shepard had ever heard from her. She lashed out with a biotic punch from her prone position. It was so raw and so undisciplined it caught Morinth by surprise, twirling her in the air several times before she stumbled to the ground.
The two Asari stumbled to their feet but were quickly ready to attack. Both of them unleashed their biotic power, clashing in the space between them with a torrent of energy that pulled at everything surrounding them.
"I am the genetic destiny of the Asari," Morinth continued to taunt her mother, "But they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die."
"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more." Samara spat out.
Shepard watched the entire exchange grimly. For the moment all she could do was stay back and let the two powerful biotics go at it. Getting anywhere near them seemed like a guaranteed way to get ripped apart by their competing biotic wrath. For the moment they were locked in the Asari equivalent of an arm wrestling match, neither of them could overpower the other, and neither of them was willing to back down. They would both keep pushing until one of them collapsed. It was clear what the result of that would be to whoever was unfortunate enough to fall first.
"You have sworn to help me, Shepard." Samara called out to her, having realized as much, "Let us finish this!"
"I'm as strong as she is," Morinth suddenly countered, "Let me join you."
It felt like a long time for Shepard, simply standing there watching the small hurricane of biotic energy swirl between mother and daughter. She hated this, she hated this mission and everything it came to represent. She hated the compromises expected of her. This wasn't what she was fighting for.
In the end there was only one decision for her.
Morinth's eyes looked up at the sound of a heavy pistol unfolding and charging up. She could see the gun in Shepard's hand pointed right at her head.
"I promised your mother I would help find you." Shepard said coldly, "I fulfilled my end of the bargain."
It was clear by the look in her eyes that Morinth knew she was dead. Even if her Barriers managed to stop the bullet, Samara would certainly take advantage of the situation. Despite this, Morinth stared directly at Shepard, she too refused to finch in the face of certain death. If she was going to die, she would die free.
The shot was loud even over the deafening sound of the biotic storm.
But that shot was not aimed at Morinth. Shepard had purposefully shifted her aim at the last moment. Instead it struck the lighting fixture on the ceiling between the two Asari. The disruptor rounds Shepard had used quickly overloaded the electricity in the light, causing a small EMP-like blast of energy. The foreign blast disrupted the biotic forces between Samara and Morinth, dissipating the storm brining a sudden and unexpected stop to their biotic battle.
"I'm sorry Samara," Shepard told her somberly as she lowered her gun, "I won't help you kill your own daughter." To hell with expectations and compromises. Shepard knew the only real decision was to do what she felt was right. "Consider yourself freed from your Oath."
Mother and daughter stood in silence staring at the Spectre in disbelief. All around them sparks of electricity danced around the ruins of the lighting fixture as the remains of the electrical and biotic energies that were unleashed moments before. Morinth was shocked that Shepard had spared her. Samara, however, quickly grew enraged by the betrayal.
"You will regret your choice." Samara said with her eerie emotionless tone once again. The look in her eyes betrayed the rage she had shifted onto Shepard.
Shepard noticed the hate in her eyes, just moments before the Justicar flared with biotic energy once again. Shepard knew Samara's murderous intent would be directed at her this time. Battle instincts took over; in an attempt to defend herself Shepard immediately raised her gun firing a shot at the Justicar. The shot grazed her shoulder but it was already too late. The biotic pulse left her hand and arced across the living room, slamming into Shepard and sending her flying.
Shepard didn't have to plan out the trajectory in her mind to realize Samara had thrown her towards the cracked window. At this speed she would certainly break through, and as painful as that would inevitably be, she would still find herself on the wrong side of the apartment's view. Without any biotics of her own there would be nothing to prevent her from falling to her death.
Shepard heard the crashing of the window, and smelled the unfiltered air of Omega Station from outside the room flowing around her. However she never felt the sudden body wide jolt of slamming into glass like she was expecting. Nor did she feel like she was falling.
Shepard put her hands down, not even remembering how she had instinctually raised them to protect her head from the eminent collision. She realized then she was floating on the edge of the apartment's window, held securely by a bubble of biotic energy. Looking around she saw Morinth with a hand reaching out to her. She had caught the spectre in midair, though her gaze remained locked on the Justicar.
"Oh mother, so easily distracted." Morinth said cruelly. She raised her other hand, clutched tightly in a fist. She had been building up biotic energy in one hand even as she reached out to save Shepard with the other. "I'm the one you should be focused on."
Morinth unleashed the energy in her hand straight at her foe. It hit Samara square in her chest, knocking her hard on her back. Morinth didn't waste the opportunity, strolling forward with a purpose. Even as she did so, Shepard felt her biotic bubble being nudged forward back into the apartment, descending with an unusual calmness then dissipating the moment her feet touched the floor.
By then Morinth was on top of Samara, quickly straddling the Justicar and gripping her tightly by the throat, leaving her prone and defenseless to her next attack.
"Goodbye, mother." Morinth said her final words to Samara before driving a bioticaly charged fist through her skull.
It was brutal, Shepard remembered thinking, but then it was no more brutal then the way Samara had kiled her victims while on the hunt for her daughter. Certainly 'the Butcher of Torfan' was not someone qualified to judge another when it came to excessive brutality.
Morinth stood up staring down at the broken body of her dead mother for some time. All things considerd, Shepard opted to remain quiet until she was ready to speak.
"Thank you Shepard," Morinth eventually spoke up, "My mother was as powerful as she was hateful."
"I noticed." Shepard said dryly. She walked up to Morinth as the Ardat-Yakshi turned to face her.
"I gotta ask." Morith spoke up first, "Where the hell did you hide that gun in that dress?"
Shepard looked down at the heavy pistol in her hand for a moment before saying, "Let's just call it a trade secret." She collapsed the gun and latched it onto her side. "Going into the den of a biotic killer, with another crazy biotic behind me. No fucking way I was going into that situation without a backup weapon."
"Well you certainly are full of surprises aren't you." Morinth laughed.
"I see you're not exactly mourning the death of your mother." Shepard commented.
"Why should I, she was dead to me long ago." Morinth confessed. Shepard realized it had been the same with Samara.
"I suppose you have a point." Shepard looked down at the dead Justicar before adding, "It's too bad though, she was supposed to help me on an important mission. Guess we'll have to manage with out her."
"Not at all. You helped me, now I'll help you." Morinth offered, "Let me take my mother's place on your team."
"What? Seriously?" Shepard hadn't expected that.
"Sure. Why not?" Morinth let out a soft laugh.
'Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say "Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached."' Shepard remembered saying those words when they had first recruited Mordin, and now here was someone very powerful and capable doing just that. Suddenly the phrase 'be careful what you wish for, you might just get it' was also in her mind.
"You don't even know what the mission is." Shepard said.
"I know it's going to be dangerous, and I know you're going to be there." Morinth said almost teasingly, "That's all I need to know."
Shepard wanted to argue the point but she realize she had nothing to counter with. Morinth wouldn't be the first killer she had on the crew. ( Miranda had technically taken that title when she killed Wilson literally seconds after meeting her for the first time. ) Nor was she the first wanted criminal on the ship either. ( Jack flat out took the cake on that one. )
"Well when you put it that way, who am I to argue." Shepard shrugged, "It's gonna be real interesting trying to explain this one to the crew."
"Fortunately you don't need to." Morinth smiled, "I'm a dead ringer for my belated mother. Few people can tell us apart."
"You want to pretend to be her?" Shepard confirmed, "Don't bother. I don't particularly care who knows about you."
"That's cute, Shepard." Morinth told her, "But I highly doubt everyone in your crew will be as comfortable having a killer like me among them." Shepard was about to point out the flaw in her logic but she continued before Shepard could interject, "Even if that wasn't the case the Asari government knew my mother was hunting me down. If they discover what happened here they will definitely come after me, and anyone who knows the truth about me. I'm sure you'd prefer not to deal with that distraction."
"Alright, I get your point." Shepard began, "But no matter how much you look like her, you're clearly nothing like her." She was sure Morinth would take that as a compliment, she could hardly blame her, "You act and sound completely different."
"Please Shepard, give me some credit," Morinth smiled, suddenly it was Samara's voice talking to her through Morinth's mouth as she added, "I practiced long and hard, to mimic her in every way."
"Creepy," Shepard admitted the eerie similarity, "Almost like you absorbed your mother's soul."
"Don't be silly." Morith smiled, still speaking with Samara's voice, "I have a wide range of talents beyond my biotic abilities. Acting is one of them. It took years to perfect, but when I was younger, posing as my mother brought its advantages." She couldn't resist a smirk as she added, "How do you think I originally escaped from Thessia?"
"Well unfortunately you're far from perfect." Shepard commented.
"Oh? What do you mean?" Morith asked.
"You're way too emotional." Shepard explained, "And by that I mean you're actually showing emotion, in your voice, on your face, all over your body. The only time Samara ever showed any ounce of emotion was when she talked about you." Shepard paused for a beat then added, "She really hated you."
"The feeling is mutual I'm afraid." Morinth's face suddenly lost all trace of emotion, her body straightened like an empty statue, and when she spoke there wasn't even a hint of passion in her stolen voice. In other words she was exactly like Samara, "But you are correct Shepard. I shall endevour to emulate my mother more closely."
"Impressive." was all Shepard could say. Only the slight hint of emotion coming off Morinth's eyes betrayed her real identity.
"I'll take that compliment as proof that my disguise is complete." Morinth said as her mother. Then just as easily as taking off a jacket, she discarded the persona of her mother. Instantly she was Morinth once again, with all of the passion and emotion her mother lacked. "Let me just slip into this horrible uniform and none will be the wiser."
"You're actually going to take your mother's clothes?" Shepard asked.
"Not much choice there, Shepard." Morinth explained, "If I leave her belongings here anyone who investigates will quickly figure out what happened. And a Justicar would never be caught in public outside of their traditional uniform. So my disguise will be pointless without it."
"Point taken." Shepard acknowledged, "You should hurry then, we need to head back to the ship."
"Believe me, I'm looking forward to it." Morith's smile was both eager and genuine, "This is going to be fun."