Author's Note - The Connoisseur
I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to writing the next scene! However before I get to that I had to add a very important note. I really love to write about the interaction between Morinth and other crew members. Fortunately I'm not the only one.
Go and read "Connoisseur" by 4th of Eleven, I have it in my favorites if you don't want to search for it. It's not only a great story, but it's pretty much exactly what I would imagine the scene between Kasumi and Morinth would play out. In fact, with the author's permission, you can just assume that all happens at this very point in the story.
And now on with the show...
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Shepard sat on the hard bed in the med bay as she waited patiently for the doctor to finish her scans. She would have prefered to avoid the procedure entirely. But Chakwas insisted on a regular checkups to make sure her cybernetics were funcitoning normally. After all the she had died, the doctor had reminded her, and there was unsurprisingly little precedent to "accurately determine all the long term health consequences that comes with such a procedure", as she put it.
Currently the only issue was her scars were getting larger, and glowing. That alone she could handle, but her eyes were also glowing a bright red instead of being her old reflective blue. It was as if her implants were just begging for attention; nasty, evil-looking attention.
"Well you don't have anything to worry about." Chakwas told her finally, "Your cybernetics are fine. They're simply ... over-reacting."
"Overreacting?" Shepard spoke up, "To what?"
"Well, to you, of course." Chakwas explained, "I've already gone over the your scans with Ms. Lawson."
"Seriously Doc?" Shepard interupted, clearly not comfortable with the idea.
"She might be Cerberus but she's a good woman in her own way." Chakwas lectured the Commander, "Regardless of that fact, she's the premire expert on all of the procedures done to bring you back to life. So as far as expert consults go there's simply no other option."
"Great, fine." Shepard grumbled, "So why are my implants overreacting then?"
"Quite frankly, it's your attitude." Chakways said, she barely paused long enough for Shepard to give her an annoyed glare before continuing, "You have some brutally pragmatic tendancies when it comes to dealing with difficult situations. And your implants are responding to that by constantly priming themselves for potential conflict at every situation. This is intentional, the cybernetics are designed to adapt to whatever operational patterns you provide them. However, your implants weren't completely synchronized before becoming fully activated."
Shepard let out a small huff as she recalled waking up to Lazarus Station under a full assault from their own security mechs. Chakwas merely continued her explanation, "As a result they have a tendency to become over-primed. The unfortunate side effect is what you're seeing now with your unusual scarring. But I can assure you it's purely cosmetic, nothing more."
"Great, so now what?" Shepard asked, "Just keep thinking sunshine and rainbows all day?"
"I imagine if you maintained a more hopeful, positive attitude the cybernetics would infact begin to adapt to the calmer state of mind." Chakways concluded, "Which would revert the effects you're seeing now. The normal regeneration protocols would kick in giving you a smoother complexion." Chawkwas considered the Commander critically then added, "But we both know that's bullshit."
It was so rare to hear Karin using curse words that Shepard couldn't help but chuckle. She quickly realized that was probably the good doctor's intention.
"You're right doc, there's less then a snowflake's chance in hell that I'll ever become a paragon of polite society." Shepard agreed, "Considering what I'm up against, I have to be ready for the worst case scinerio."
"I assumed as much." Chakwas agreed, "Besides, you're not one to change who you are just so you can look pretty. That said, there is an alternative. We can provide you with a bio-synthetic polymer overlay, essentially a second skin designed to work with your implants."
"That sounds complicated." Shepard noted.
"Actually it's quite simple." Chakwas corrected, "However it is also very expensive. There are a number of specialized components we would need."
"Just how expensive are we talking here?" Shepard asked.
"I'll put it plainly, the new Thanix cannon was a great deal cheaper." Chakwas said crossing her arms.
"Figures." Shepard muttered. "Forget it then. We have far more important things to focus our resources on. Upgraded weapon mods will help us survive this mission a hell of a lot more then a pretty face."
"As you wish, Commander," Chakwas said as Shepard stood to leave, "The people who follow you on this ship do so because of who you are, not what you look like."
"Thanks doc, I appreciate it." Shepard smiled as she walked out of the med bay. After she was sure the door was closed behind her and no one was looking she took a deep breath. Carefully she reached a hand up to her face and touched one of the larger scars there. It was strange, it felt fine to her, the texture was odd but otherwise it was just skin. But normal skin didn't have that annoying red glow that kept meeting her in the mirror every morning.
Shaking her head, Shepard made her way to the elevator. This problem was, quite literally, skin deep. Cosmetic, nothing more. It didn't matter. If anything the scars would only help with her particular style of interpersonal communication.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that Sara. Shepard thought to herself.
As she walked around the edge of the elevator Shepard stopped herself the moment she noticed Morinth walking out of Kasumi's room. The Asari wasn't even pretending to be her late mother as she strolled out with a big smile on her face. Oh yeah, "suspicious" didn't even begin to describe the scene.
"And what are you smiling about?" the Spectre asked, arms crossed, leaning against the wall by the elevator, and casting an accusing glance at the Ardat-Yakshi.
For a very brief mome Morinth had the look of a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar, until she noticed it had been Shepard calling her out. She kept the soft smile on her lips as she walked up to the Commander and leaned in close.
"Just having a little fun with our resident theif." Morinth cooed quietly into Shepard's ear, "Don't worry, Commander, she's perfectly safe, just like I promised."
It was clear enough to Shepard that this was just the tip of a whole iceberg full of potential problems she wold have to deal with eventually. She was about to admonish Morinth to that fact when Joker's filtered voice called out through the comm system.
"Uh, Commander, Jack and Miranda are in the middle of a ... disagreement." The pilot warned, "Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Shepard cursed.
She had hoped their recent trip to Pragia would have proved more theraputic. Seeing the Teltin Facility and everything that had happened there gave Jack a chance to confront her abusive past. It also gave Miranda a first hand look at what her boss is really like. Unfortunately Miranda was all too quick to declare it a rogue operation, refusing to lay any of the blame on Cerberus, which in turn only pissed off Jack even more.
"Sounds like the kids are misbehaving." Morinth teased.
Shepard deliberately ignored her as she activated her own comm to give Joker a response, "I'll deal with it."
"Take pictures." Joker added, true to his namesake.
Shepard didn't even bother to pause long enough to react. She began walking straight to the XO's office. After a few steps she quickly realized Morinth had chosen to follow her. She paused briefly and looked back as the Asari, and quickly saw an expressionless facade looking back at her. Morinth was back again in her mother's persona. Shepard had to wonder what game the Adrat-Yakshi might be playing by following her for this. Could be as simple as morbid curiosity to see just how far a fight between Miranda and Jack might go. Or it could be something far more sinister that Shepard simply hadn't figured out yet.
In the end there wasn't any point in wasting any energy on what might be. Shepard had bigger problems right now, and opted to simply resume her pace towards Miranda's room. The commotion on the other side of the door could already be heard before she even activated the door's lock.
"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" Jack's voice rang out loudly as Shepard saw her biotically throwing a nearby chair at Miranda, who in turn deflected it away with biotic push of her own. It seemed she had arrived just in time.
"Enough!" Shepard yelled, her voice so commanding that everyone within earshot had to stop and pay attention. "Stand down both of you!"
The two human biotics were just staring at her now; both were clearly primed, barriers up, and ready for a fight. Jack was practically frothing at the mouth, just waiting for something that would set her off. Meanwhile Miranda tried to come off as calm and collected, but it was clear to Shepard the Cerberus Operative was running high on adrenaline just the same.
"Now who wants to be the first one to calm down and explain to me what's going on here?" Shepard ordered.
Jack was the first one to speak up, as if iching to get back into the fight, "The Cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!"
"It wasn't Cerberus. Not really." Miranda was quick to excuse, she then calmly looked at Jack as she added, "But clearly you were a mistake."
"Fuck You!" Jack shot back without a second thought, "You got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"
"How shocking you'd resort to threats." Miranda sneered before turning her attention back to Shepard, "She can't be trusted, Shepard. She's unstable. She'll jeopardize the whole mission."
"Are you kidding me with this drama queen crap?" Shepard called out to both of them with clear disapproval in her voice, "Both of you need to check your personal feelings at the door and learn to talk to each other like adults."
"Fuck your feelings," Jack exclaimed as she moved threatingly close to Miranda, "I just want her dead."
"And I just want this mission to succeed," Miranda responded with out backing down an inch, "Threaten me all you want, but I will do whatever is required to ensure that, even if it means taking out the garbage."
"Try it Cerberus Cunt." Jack raged. Without further warning she lauched a biotically charged right hook at Miranda's face.
The Cerberus operative was prepared, generating a biotic field around her arm to use as a shield as she blocked the punch. The force of the blow was enough to stagger her back a few steps but she quickly recovered and instantly sent out a biotic push with her other arm. Surprisingly rather then try to block or deflect the biotic attack, Jack just sidestepped it quickly then fired back with a shockwave. Miranda quickly countered it with a Warp field to forceully disappate the energy from Jack's biotic attack. However Jack wasn't about give up so easily putting more biotic energy behind her next Shockwave. Miranda matched her step for step, skillfully weaving the Warp field back and forth against Jack's assault. The two quickly ended in a stalemate, as Jack's more powerful but unfocused Shockwaves clashed against Miranda's presicion Warp fields.
Meanwhile, Shepard stood calmly at the edge of the room as the biotic warzone played out before her.
"I swear to god I'm just going to fucking nuke the next pair of Biotics that get into a pissing match in front of me." Shepard said, completely aware that Morinth was standing immediately behind her as they witnessed an ironically fammiliar scene before them.
"At the risk of being 'nuked'," Samara's voice called out behind her, "I believe this time I could be of some assistance."
Before Shepard could question what she meant by that, Morinth stepped past her into the room and directly into the center of the dark energy maelstrom forming between the two Human biotics. Rather then being ripped apart by the conflicting powers, the biotic energies smoothly curved around the Asari's body. Shepard had no idea what trick Morinth used to pull that off, but it was damn impressive.
Suddenly Morinth reached out with her hand, her entire arm glowing with her own biotic power. Before the other two biotics could react their respective energies were suddenly absorbed into a glowing biotic mass at Morinth's hand. In an instant that energy expanded with an almost explosive speed.
The next moment both Jack and Miranda found themselves pressed against opposite walls. It took a moment for the shock to pass before they realize they hadn't been slammed against their respective walls but were infact being held in place by a large biotic stasis bubble that now filled the entire room. At the center of the room stood Morinth, her entire body was glowing though the majority of the energy eminated from her hand as she held the bubble perfectly in place.
Morinth turned around to face the Commander. Shepard was certain the Asari was suppressing a smirk after that biotic display. But she couldn't deny she had effectively shut down a potententially disasterous altercation. Now it was her turn to finish this.
"Pathetic." Shepard began as she stepped calmly into the room, her voice brimming with her commanding intensity. She looked back and forth between Miranda and Jack as she continued, "Both of you are acting like pathetic children. And I have no room for this bullshit on this mission if the rest of us expect to survive. So let me settle things up once and for all."
She walked over to Miranda first making sure to lock eye contact so she could see first hand what Cerberus was capable of in every single scar of her face. "Yes, that was Cerberus responsible for what you saw down there. Even if they weren't working directly on the Illusive Man's orders it was Cerberus' resources and careless attitude that made it possible. This isn't the first Cerberus fuck up I've run into, it won't be the last. If you weren't so preoccupied with being perfect you might realize that Cerberus' mistakes are not your own. The fact is, you're not perfect, and no one here cares if you were. All you'll ever accomplish with your perfection crusade is alienating your own teammates. And that more then anything else will jeopardize this mission."
Miranda didn't respond, she simply looked away. But from the way she was looking at the floor it was clear the words were sinking in. From there Shepard turned her gaze to the other side of the room to see Jack staring intently at Morinth like a caged animal, still struggling against the stasis field.
"Subject Zero." The intensity of her voice caused Jack to look at the Spectre. The instant Jack's gazed locked onto Shepard's red glowing eyes a wave of realization seemed to wash over her face. Despite being the only non-biotic in the room, despite the fucked up situation she was in, in Jack's eyes the most dangerous person here was Shepard herself.
"I get it, you had a shit childhood." Shepard told her as she walked closer, "It sucks, and guess what, you're not the only one. But this isn't a fucking competition, and it's no fucking excuse. We just got back from blowing your past the fuck up. Use it as an opportunity to take control of your life for once. Cause right now, everytime you play the victim card, every time you fly off the handle over some minor stupid bullshit, you're just giving that control away. And I don't want anyone so easily manipulated to watch my back. So stop hiding behind your anger like you hid underneathe that desk."
Shepard's words had a more obvious effect on Jack's face, her eyes wide at the stinging words. For a moment Shepard wondered if she would blow up more or break down crying, but surprisingly Jack began to relax after a moment and nodded an acknowlegement back at Shepard.
"As for you." Now Shepard turned her intense gaze on Morinth, who had managed during this time to pull up the previously flung chair to sit on with an almost smug calmness. Shepard stepped directly in front of her, her attention not budging an inch from the Asari's eyes.
"Put. Them. Down." Shepard commanded. Her cybernetic eyes seemed to flare with an almost demonic power at her words as they bore down on Morinth. She could have had her gun charged, pressed directly against Morinth's skull, and still wouldn't be any more threatening.
Morinth just smiled gently, completely at ease, as she said, "As you wish, Shepard."
The next instant the massive stasis bubble was simply no longer there. Both Jack and Miranda were unprepared for their sudden freedom and they stumbled to their knees. Jack got to her feet first, weary for any potential threat. Miranda stood next, focused on straightening her outfit and hair as she tried not to look as shaken as she actually was.
"One last thing," Shepard spoke up again, causing all three biotics to look at her, "You all get a pass this time, but make no mistake, NO ONE is allowed to endanger my crew. Anyone who tries to kill anybody on this ship will have to deal with me. Personally." She didn't need to go into anymore detail. The looks she got back from the others in the room confirmed that her message got across perfectly. It was a good thing then that Morinth was there, since the warning applied to her as well.
"If you want to survive this mission I recommend saving your rage for the Collectors." Shepard added as she walked back towards the doorway.
"Don't worry Shepard." Jack spoke up first, causing Shepard to look back at the fugitive, she had a defiant gleem in her eyes that surprised Shepard, "I'll make sure the Cheeleader lives through this, even if it's just to make sure I get to kill her afterwards." Suddenly Jack strode out of the room, not bothering to wait for any sort of response. She barely cast Shepard a glance as she walked past.
"Good talk." Shepard quipped as she looked back at Miranda, "Now is there anything else?"
"Nothing more, now that that's been settled," Miranda said sternly walking back behind her desk, "Thank you." There was no doubting the dismissal in her voice.
"Samara?" Shepard said as she looked at Morinth, it was a challenge to keep sarcasm from filling that single word.
Morinth just stood and gave Shepard a polite nod as she spoke, "It was a pleasure to be of assistance on this matter." Calmly Morinth just strolled past Shepard, prompting the Spectre to just roll her eyes knowing that the Ardat-Yakshi was just teasing her now.
Shepard walked out heading back to the elevator once again. She did not like the direction things were going now and was not about to put up with it. Fortunately the Commander had a pretty good idea of what she would do to resolve it and was now determined to see it through, and to hell with whoever disagreed with her this time.