It was a week later, and Morinth found herself sitting in the dark corner of her room bored out of her mind. Shepard had been taking a tour of the Terminus Systems, winding up in some remote uncharted planet in the Rosetta Nebula. Something about finding Jacob's father. Morinth had found Jacob himself to be incredibly dull by her standards so she wasn't particularly interested in whatever paternal issues he was going through.
Lost in thought, however, the situation did eventually lead Morinth to start thinking about her own father. She had abandoned her just like Samara did when Morinth's condition was first discovered. At least Jacob's father had an excuse, having been marooned on this planet the whole time.
She quickly forced herself to stop thinking about that topic. The past was over and done with, it was pointless wallow in it. Clearly she would need to find something to entertain her mood and stimulate her mind. It was time to take a quick walk. After a moment to prepare herself, Morinth walked out of her room and up to the central elevator. The mess hall wouldn't do right now. She was getting bored of it, and she wasn't particularly hungry either. Instead she opted to go up to the CIC level. It was probably a bit unusual but then Morinth had laid enough groundwork now that it didn't seem terribly out of place to the rest of the crew to have her walking among them.
The level was fairly empty and quiet at the moment. Not surprising now that the Commander was planet side. The hum of several monitoring stations processing data accompanied the real time simulation of the Normandy's systems that filled the center of the CIC. Morinth didn't see anything that interested her thus far, just a sparse population of boring crew members sitting obediently at their stations. In addition both Mordin and Jacob had joined Shepard on the ground team. While the latter was there for his father, the former had joined them at the Commander's request to deal with any potential medical issues with any survivors.
Given all this Morinth decided to head to the cockpit where the ship's comedic pilot was certain to be. Even if he wasn't, Morinth knew she would do well to move quickly before...
"Samara!" Alas too late. Kelly Chambers had set her sights on the Asari and was walking towards her. Non-pulsed, Morinth simply looked back at Kelly with a facade-appropriate disapproving glance. She had expected the therapist would approach if the opportunity presented itself, after all.
"Hey, sorry, I hope I'm not bothering you." Kelly smiled trying to play off the Asari's glare. "I'm a bit surprised to see you up here is all. Anything I can help you with?" The words were polite, but deeply inquisitive as usual.
"No," Morinth responded, "I will be fine by myself." The sternness in her voice left no room for argument, which allowed Morinth to walk past Kelly without further discussion.
With that hurdle past, Morinth quickly reached the ship's flight cabin. Sure enough, Joker the pilot was at his station as always.
"Hey, Samara, how's it going?", Joker spoke up as Morinth approached, "Lemme guess, got tired of staring out into space?"
Morinth began to think of an appropriate answer. It was unlikely that the real Samara would have ever tired of meditating in front of the same star filled view for hours on end, and would simply force herself to continue her meditations even if she did.
But then Morinth realized that a Justicar like her mother wouldn't feel compelled to answer the human's question, so she simply deflected with her own, "Does my presence bother you?"
"Not really, I mean, I guess it's no big deal right now." Joker shrugged, but to Morinth it was clear the human was uncomfortable with her presence. "Just promise me you won't try to flay me alive with your mind if I look at you funny."
That would be just like mother, Morinth thought, however she also realized there was probably a bit more to it then that. Given how hard Joker was working at not staring at her chest, Morinth already had a few guesses as to what that might be.
Oh yes, she would have a little fun with this one.
"I would only flay you alive if your actions required it as the code dictates. Thus far nothing you have done has necessitated such an action on my part." She paused - her steely eyes boring into the pilot - as if considering potential offenses to punish, all the while watching Joker squirm slightly at her words, "I am accustomed to people staring at me - Justicars typically demand such consideration - though I am unsure why that would be 'funny' in this case."
"Yeah I can see why you'd demand such consideration." Joker said sarcastically under his breathe. Of course Morinth wasn't about to let that opportunity pass her by.
"Oh? Please elaborate." She leaned forward slightly, as though simply trying to engage the pilot in the conversation. Though it had the same effect of sticking out her breasts a bit more, taking full advantage of the wide open nature of her Justicar outfit. "I would be curious what you as a human would find so captivating about Justcars."
"Oh ... well ... I..." Joker couldn't even look directly at her for fear of staring right at her chest. No doubt in his mind Joker feared that his lewd stares alone would be enough to ensure a swift death at her hands. "I'm just saying, from what I've heard, you know from Shepard and stuff, that Justicars are pretty powerful, and ... um ... Justice-y and all that."
"Justice what?" Morith asked, adding a slight hint of insult into her tone just to see what Joker's reaction would be.
"It's just a phrase!" Joker quickly explained, "It means you're filled with a strong sense of justice."
"I see." Morith said, resisting the urge to smile. She was about to continue her fun and games when, surprisingly, the ship's AI avatar suddenly appeared next to them.
"If you are concerned regarding any retaliation on Samara's part, Joker." EDI spoke up, "I am certain that her Oath to Shepard would prevent her from taking any action against you. Besides it would be in the Justicar's best interest to keep the Ship's pilot alive, particularly when we are currently very far away from reasonable port of call."
"You have an unusually harsh way of making me feel better you know that?" Joker mumbled sarcastically.
The rest of the conversation was cut short by a sharp notification that appeared on Joker's console.
"Hey looks like the gang's coming back home finally." Joker mentioned, switching off the alert icon on his panel. "Shuttle's coming in now."
Joker made a determined effort of focusing entirely too much on the shuttle's docking procedures in an attempt to avoid what he clearly felt was more awkward and potentially lethal conversation. Morinth thought about teasing him further but decided against it for now. She simply nodded and walked away in her mother's classical stoic manner.
Besides the actions of the AI had surprised her. Part of that was unavoidable, it was impossible for her to read the intentions of what amounted to a sentient ball of blue light as easily as she could read the more organic crew members. Still she could have sworn that EDI's words had been directed at her, almost like a warning. If Morinth didn't know better, she'd imagine the AI was acting in Joker's defense, not unlike a jealous girlfriend might react.
Morinth dismissed the silly notion for the time being as she made her way back to the elevator. As luck would have it, before the Asari could reach the console, the elevator doors opened.
Mordin walked out immediately. He seemed eager as always to return to his lab to occupy himself with whatever recent scientific experiment came to mind. Jacob came out next, clearly in a bad mood. Whatever happened on the planet below regarding his father certainly had a frusterating effect on the Cerberus soldier. But as Morinth continued to observe him, it became clear to her that Jacob was more angered by the fact that the events planetside had bothered him so much rather then the events themselves. He too soon made his way to his station in the Armory no doubt in an attempt to take his mind off what had happened.
Then there was Shepard. She didn't step out like the others. The commander was still in her armor and no doubt would want to return to her cabin to change into a more casual outfit. But there was something else, Morinth sensed. Shepard refused to look at anyone and held a subtle scowl on her face that betrayed her anger at whatever the ground team had discovered down below. No more then that, Morinth realized a moment later, Shepard was refusing to look at HER more so then anyone else. Rather then being insulted, Morinth found her curiosity stoked even further.
The elevator closed then and Shepard was no longer before her. Morinth would have loved to speak with the Commander about this, but for now she would head to her quarters. It would not do her cover any favors to have a proper Justicar showing too much interest in some human's problems.
When she stepped foot on the Crew level Morinth ran into a pleasant surprise in the form of the assassin, Thane, apperently just making his way to his quarters in the life support maintenance room. It was an irony that Morinth found endlessly amusing.
"Justicar." Thane said in his soft tone, suddenly interrupting Morinth's thoughts. He bowed his head slightly in respect as he greeted her.
"Thane," Morinth responded accordingly with a slight bow of her own, as expected of a Justicar, "If you are seeking Shepard, she's just returned from the mission below." It was child's play for Morinth to notice the subtle wave of attraction that had developed between the Drell and the Human, just as she had quickly realized that nothing would come of it. "However I feel now would not be the best time to speak with her."
Thane took a moment to quietly contemplate her words, "Actually I was just returning from my evening meal. However I appreciate the news." After a beat he added, "If you do not mind me asking, why do you think it is not a good time to speak with her?"
"She has only just returned," Morinth explained, "Shepard no doubt wishes to relieve herself of her armor and take a shower before speaking with anyone."
"I see." Thane nodded slightly, "But I get the sense you feel there is more to it."
"Indeed." Morinth admitted. Thane always was a challenge, the Drell assassin was always far more perceptive then most people would realize, "I cannot say for certain, but I did see her in the elevator just before she headed up to her cabin. It seemed to me that something about the mission had troubled her greatly. Considering all the nightmares we have encountered - most of which Shepard would simply scoff at - it is rare indeed for something to upset her so."
"If the Commander is upset, as you say, then someone should console her." Thane mentioned, "It is ... the right thing to do, considering how willing the Commander is at listening to our own problems."
Immediately Morinth recognized a thousand different possibilities to take advantage of the situation. Both with Thane and Shepard herself. But alas, all of them would require her to act in a way that would go completely against the behavior expected of her mother. No, she would have to keep those thoughts locked away for now, and respond as her mother would.
"The right thing to do?" Morinth stated, "Those are not words I would normally associate with an Assassin for hire." If the Drell had been insulted by her harsh words, he showed no signs of it.
"Assassin, yes, but no longer for hire." Thane explained, "I have limited time before me, and I am committed to using that time to change myself for the better; perhaps even the galaxy as well. That is why I volunteered for this mission. Free of charge."
"While I can commend your purpose, I must question your perspective." Morinth replied, "It would be extremely unlikely for someone who has known only death to simply change for the better. In my experience, that does not happen."
"I understand." Thane said with a simple confidence, "For someone like you, who benefits from a long lifespan - and spends most of it in the company of evil men - it would be a truly rare thing to experience such a person change for the better. I suspect by the time these men encounter you, they have no such opportunity left before them." He turned to look at Morinth directly as he added, "But your circumstances also make it easy for you to miss the exceptions, the rare cases where such a person manages to beat all the odds stacked against them. I am determined to become one such rare case."
The conviction in the Drell's words struck a cord in Morinth, and she found herself uncharacteristically at a loss for words for that moment. Eventually she managed to find her voice; or at least her mother's.
"I admit you have a valid point." Morinth said, "Asari are slow to change, and a Justicar does not have the luxury to offer second chances. Perhaps then you shall prove me wrong, and to that end I wish you luck."
"Thank you." Thane responded. He seemed somewhat lost in thought as he added, "Though I don't believe this is a journey I take alone. I have been blessed by Kalahira to be in the company of a guide to aspire to."
"A guide, is it?" Morinth said curiously, "Someone on the ship perhaps?" It took considerable effort on her part not to smirk teasingly at the comment.
Thane seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts he was focusing on when he spoke, "This is perhaps something you should discover on your own. I have enjoyed our talk, but if you will excuse me, I must return to my meditations." Quickly the Assassin began walking away from Morinth without waiting for a response.
"Of course," Morinth replied anyway as she watched the Drell leave. As much as she hated to admit it, his words had given her much to think about as well.
"One more thing." Thane spoke up suddenly, "I meant what I said earlier. The Commander deserves someone who will listen to her. And whatever else you might be, Justicar, you are a good listener."
By the time Morinth looked up, Thane had already disappeared into his room.
A/N: I bet you guys thought I had abandoned you. Not yet, I assure you, but life always finds a way ... to get in the way sometimes. I have plenty more in mind and in the works. So long as you guys keep enjoying my work, I'll keep working on it as much as obligations allow. :)