Much to her pleasant surprise, Morinth found herself enjoying her new exposed status among the Normandy crew. She had feared - and rightfully so given past experiences - that once her true nature was revealed the majority of the crew would recoil in horror. It was an ironic twist of fate, Morinth realized, by virtue of this being a Cerberus vessel it meant she was the only Asari on board. The humans just didn't have the same ingrained cultural prejudices against her particular condition.
Certainly most of them didn't trust her, but at least they accepted her pressence. And with the truth laid bare it allowed her to experience a freedom she hadn't even realized she missed. Morinth no longer had to hide in plain sight; she could now do and say things as her mood struck her instead of forcing herself to conform to a hated script. She laughed when she heard a joke she liked. She contributed her own opinions and experiences to a conversation. She danced to her own music, sharing it with others, and enjoyed whatever songs they shared in return. Most importantly she could be herself; which was the whole reason she had struck out on her own after all.
And of course, she didn't have to worry about a Justicar comming to kill her because of it.
She took a simple pleasure from just being able to walk about the ship casually, as she did now returning from her morning excersise. She did so in light clothing of her own choosing, rather then the Justicar uniform demended by the Code; another simple pleasure.
Of course, not everything had changed for the better. Case in point, as soon as the Asari opened the door to her room she saw Miranda sitting on the couch, clearly and calmly waiting for her.
"Miranda," Morinth spoke sweetly.
"Morinth." Miranda spoke with a tone icy enough to mix drinks with.
"I could have sworn I locked the door before I left." Morinth mused casually.
"You forget I am second in command of this vessel." Miranda said, "Not to mention the overrides which that entails."
"It's hard to forget with you reminding everyone you're in command." Morinth shot back coolly.
"I see you've gotten quite comfortable aboard this ship." Miranda continued, not rising to the bait. "Not too comfortable I hope."
"Are you worried I might ennjoy myself with some of the crew?" Morinth gave her a dangerous smile.
"Should I be?" Miranda matched her gaze, crossing her arms confidently.
"I've already had this conversation with Shepard." Morinth said, "She's much better at this then you are. Though that might be a personal bias."
"Oh, you already know what I'm going to say then?" Miranda asked her.
"It's not hard to figure out." Morinth spoke as she walked to the footlocker that served as her dresser, "You're a perfectionist, and I don't quite fit into your perfect view of the mission. Feeling threatened perhaps?"
"Not as much as you might think." Miranda smiled deliberately, "I agree with Shepard that we would be well served with someone of your high skills on this mission. I'm more concerned if you are worth the risk involved."
"Shepard seems to think so." Morinth said simply while pulling out a few things from the locker.
"Shepard is far more reckless then I am." Miranda told her.
"She's not reckless, she's fearless." Morinth added, "And she can adapt to unpredictable situations better."
"Wanting to be prepared is hardly the same thing as being afraid." Miranda replied. She was about to say something but was interupted as Morinth calmly took off her shirt. "What are you doing?"
"Getting undressed." Morinth said, just as casually removing her shoes and pants.
"Must you do that now?" Miranda insisted.
"I just got back from my excersices." Morinth said, not pausing as she removed her bra, "Naturally I'm going to be rather sweaty now so I'd like to take a shower." She sliped her panties past her hips, letting them fall to her feet before steping out of them. "I don't make a habit of showering with my clothes on." She turned around, folding her arms undernethe her breasts shifting her weight casually on one foot as she looked back at Miranda mischeviously, "Or am I making you uncomfortable?"
"Do as you wish." Miranda said dismissively, clearly she was not about to fall for the obvious taunt. Still Morinth had shown that she wasn't afraid to appear vulnerable in front of the Cerberus Operative; and Miranda's earlier invasion of privacy in an attempt to throw her off balance had no effect.
"In that case, I'll go take that shower." Morinth eventually said, reaching for a towel before heading for the door.
"EDI, lock the door to this room." Miranda said. In response the door interface immediately turned red, refusing to respond to Morinth's pressence.
"Oh EDI." Morith spoke with a forlorne facade, "How could you?"
"Apologies if I have offended," EDI's voice rang out through the room, "However my programming shakles make it impossible to deny Miranda's request as she technically outranks you in the ship's command hierachry."
"That was a joke EDI." Morinth teased the AI.
"I see." EDI replied cautiously, "I will have to work on my development of a proper humor heuristic."
"So what now, Miss Lawson?" Morinth turned around with a dangerous smile on her face, "You should know the last time I was locked in a room with someone completely naked it did not end well for the other guy."
"Charming." Miranda said unamused, "But I'm afraid you're just not my type."
"I've never let that stop me before." Morinth cooed.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you." Miranda told her, "Don't worry, it won't be long, I just have some questions that demand answers."
"Is that all?" Morinth said sarcastically.
Miranda had shown that she would not be unnerved by Morinth's display, so the Asari chose to wrap the towel around her body roughly. It wasn't enough to really cover much, but it was enough of a concession towards the human. Morinth was not at all self concious about her body, if anything she was even more comfortable nude then most Asari, which was saying alot. But she was also genuinely curious what sort of questions Miranda would ask.
"Go ahead then, ask away." Morinth said as she laid down on the couch.
"Then I'll get right to business." Miranda began, "Tell me, why should I trust you?"
"Shepard seems to trust me." Morinth smiled.
"Good for her. That's not what I asked." Moranda shot back, "Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't." Morinth replied without missing a beat.
"Well, at least you're honest." Miranda admited smugly.
"Then allow me to continue with the honest truth. I have no intention of betraying you or anyone on this crew." Morinth added, "I'm not stupid. I can see that the Collectors are a threat, not to mention the Reapers. I know first hand how easily people are willing to ignore the truth. How easily they'll believe any lie just to avoid having to deal with a threat they can't understand."
"Are you talking about the Reapers, or yourself." Miranda gave the Asari a telling smile.
"Yes." Morinth replied simply before returning a smile of her own. "I suppose being a monster means it's easier to believe other monsters exist. More importantly, I spent 400 years surviving in the face of a Justicar's so called justice, I'm not about to let anything else take that away now that I'm finally free." Morinth shifted her weight and crossed her legs playfully as she added, "Let me be clear, I'm here for Shepard, not you, as such I have no reason to lie to you. Whether you choose to believe me or not is your choice. Either way it's none of my concern."
"Of course that implies you have ample reason to lie to Shepard." Miranda replied smartly.
"That I do." Morinth said without a hint of sarcasm, "Unfortunately Shepard has an annoying ability to see right through me anytime I try. Which only makes her all the more alluring, incidentally."
"And now that I know the truth about you," Miranda warned, "You can be certain Shepard won't be the only one to see through your lies."
"It's cute the way you like to think you're in control," Morinth laughed, "You're going to be so disappointed when you finally realize you're still being played."
"You'll find me to be a much harder mark for your little cons." Miranda warned sternly.
"You were ridiculously easy to begin with. I'm not worried." Morith said casually.
"You seem overly confident about that." Miranda frowned.
Morinth stayed silent for a moment as she allowed a knowing smile to crawl slowly across her lips. "Do you remember the little confrontation between you and Jack? Interesting how Jack managed to figure out who I really was from that one encounter, however you never realized the truth until Shepard spelled it out for you. It must frustrate you to have missed that this whole time."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Miranda insisted, her tone speaking volumes about the accuracy of Morinth's words.
"This just highlights your biggest weakness." Morinth explained, "You're trying so hard to be perfect, and that makes you easily exploitable."
"Care to explain how striving towards perfection makes one so exploitable?" Miranda asked in an amused tone.
"Perfection is a foolish aspiration." Morinth began, "Perfect is not just the absence of flaws, the very concept implies that there is no room for improvment. Striving for perfection means wanting to reach a point where there is no motivation to get better, and no reason to look for potential faults."
"I should be so lucky." Miranda scoffed.
"The problem is," Morinth continued, her voice like velvet, "You're so used to being better then everyone else around you that you've convinced yourself you must be infallable. But in fact you are easily manipulated because you can't believe that someone as smart as you are could be so easily duped."
"That sounds like something that a truly flawed person would say." Miranda sneered.
"Oh yes, I am, beautifully, wonderfully flawed." Morinth cooed, "And I am not the only one. So is Shepard, and Jack. Both of them understand that they are flawed so they are always willing to consider the possibility that they've made mistakes. It's why Shepard was willing to chose me over Samara, and why Jack was able to realize I had taken her place. Both of them have limitless potential simply because they don't allow themselves to be limited by anything, even perfection."
"But I'm neither Jack nor the Commander." Miranda replied, "I don't have the luxury of being flawed. Everything about me was designed to be perfect, literally, from the genetic level. Perfection for me isn't an aspiration, it's an expectation. It's how I was raised, and how I've worked my entire life."
"In other words, after all these years, you're still not free of your father." Morinth said.
Miranda snaped her gaze at Morinth, glaring at her for a moment. Clearly her first intetion would have been to shout back harshly, but the Cerberus Operative chose to consider those words carefully instead rather then be goaded into a particular response.
"If you're saying that in an attempt to rile me up for your own entertainment, you will be most disappointed." Miranda said instead.
"That doesn't make my words any less true, however." Morinth replied shrewedly.
"Oh Please, do explain that one." Miranda sounded threatening.
"You do realize I was there next to you when we rescued your sister." Morinth continued casually, "You said it yourself; your father pushed you to be perfect, demanded nothing less then the very best. And despite running away from him, here you are still desperate to be perfect. You're repeating the same patterns he forced on you without even realizing it."
"That's not true." Miranda said dismissively.
"Isn't it?" Morinth said knowingly, "What else is The Illusive Man but a substitute for your overbearing control freak of a father? Or do you want to convince me that your boss isn't just as controlling and demanding of perfection as your real father is."
"Even if what you say is true." Miranda admited, "I did not join Cerberus for myself. The Illusive Man was the only one who could protect my sister."
"Maybe, maybe not." Morinth shrugged, "Whatever your reasons for joining them, you are still chained by the memories of your father. You still defend Cerberus beyond reason, even when all the evidence shows them for what they really are. Because in the end you don't want to disappoint daddy TIM." There was a heavy pregnant pause for a short time as Miranda considered Morinth's words.
"Well I can imagine it was much easier for you to disappoint your parents." Miranda eventually struck back.
"I was a disappointment the day I was born, just took a while before they could realize it." Morinth said, "And don't think leaving my mother was easy for me. That was by far the hardest desicion of my entire life." Morinth looked off to one of the room's coners as she remembered her difficult past. "And yet certainly the best one as well."
"Perhaps our pasts have more in common then." Miranda said.
"Perhaps we do indeed. After all, my mother strived for perfection as defined by some ancient code. She never imagined I might surpass her." Morinth said finally before turning her attention back to Miranda, "Perhaps it would do you some good to disappoint your father, or his replacement."
"That's not going to happen." Miranda added, "I've no reason to want to fail. Certainly not for your benefit."
"Who said anything about failure?" Morinth replied, "I'm talking about succeeding on your own terms. For your own goals. If you really need a reason to strike out on your own just keep your eyes and mind open. And egotistical bastard like Timmy can't help but fuck over his minions eventually."
"Well, I will simply take your words under advicement." Miranda said rising out of her seat and walking towards the door. Morinth was certain that the Cerberus Operative had enough by then and the conversation was over, but at the last moment before reaching the door Miranda stopped, spun around, and leaned back against the still locked doorway.
"One last question." Miranda began again, "Back on Illium, when I had Niket in my sights, I was ready to kill him, but you stopped me. Why?"
"Because you didn't want to kill him." Morinth said.
"I assure you, I most definitely did." Miranda said frowning.
"You might have wanted to in the heat of the moment." Morinth explained, "But part of you didn't really want to kill him. You needed to silence him to protect your sister, but deep down he was still someone you held dear at one point."
"None of which would have stopped me from shooting him." Miranda added, "And I notice you still haven't told me why you took it upon yourself to kill him instead."
"Well it wasn't like Shepard was going to do it." Morinth said, "She is even more intolerant of betrayal. But in her mind it wasn't her place to punish the person that had hurt you."
"And you on the other hand?" Miranda asked deliberately.
"I'm a killer." Morinth replied.
"We're all killers here." Miranda said.
"No, everyone else here can kill." Morinth explained, "But no one else on this ship has the mind of a true killer."
"Are you sure about that?" Miranda asked, "Jack is certainly no stranger to murder. And Grunt can't wait for an opportunity to kill someone in battle."
"Grunt is a warrior," Morinth said, "He cares more about the fight. For him death is merely a way of keeping score; who ever dies first loses. As for Jack, killing is a defense mechanism. She wants to kill anyone who threatens her before they hurt her."
"But you kill people for pleasure." Miranda added.
"I do." Morinth continued, "But even when I'm not killing for pleasure, centuries of practice has made me a master of the art of murder. So when someone like Niket needs to die, you don't have to worry about shouldering that burden. This is something unique I bring to the team."
"That's not all you bring to the team." Miranda smiled. It was such an unexpected smile that Morinth suddenly found herself unsure of how to react.
"What do you mean?" Morinth asked.
"You clearly have a keen mind and an uncanny talent for understanding people around you." Miranda explained calmly, "No doubt a talent you've honed to make it easier to draw your victims in."
"Clearly." Morinth said, "But I'm guessing there's more to it."
"Mainly it means I owe Shepard 20 credits." Miranda smirked, "She insisted that you were valuable to the team for more then just your biotic abilities. She said that your experience as a serial killer, when turned towards a good cause, would become invaluable. I must admit I'm a bit impressed. You're better at reading people then Chambers is."
"Really? Shepard said all this?" Morinth asked, suddenly finding herself off balance by the admition.
"She certainly did." Miranda confirmed, "Honestly I think she likes you. In a purely friendly, non-romatic sort of way, I should clarify."
"So this wasn't some sort of vetting process to see if you'd allow me to stay on the ship." Morinth realized, "You were just curious to see what else I could do."
"More or less correct." Miranda said, "I simply wanted to understand you better, and now I do."
"Just like that?" Morinth asked.
"Not quite." Miranda said, "I still don't trust you. But I trust Shepard, and she's at least willing to give you a shot. I would not recomend disappointing her." She turned around to face the doorway before speaking, "EDI, Please unlock the door now."
"Certainly Ms. Lawson." EDI's voice responded through the comm system as the door opened.
"You've certainly left me with much to think about, Morinth." Miranda said back to the asari as she walked out. "So in exchange I'll leave you with this thought. You may be a monster, but you are in a ship filled with monsters. And the Commander is determined to make to make comrades of us all."