A/N - Hope everyone is enjoying my revitalized work. Please continue to leave feedback if you want to keep getting more! Nothing more encouraging to a writer then to see what people think of their writing.
I hope you enjoy this next chapter just as much and know that I have some crazy things planned ahead for which I am eager to push this story forward as much as possible. Emphasis on crazy. Hopefully you'll all love it just as much as I do. In the meantime enjoy the next chapter and beyond.
p.s. also I'm looking for some great artists that do commissions, or fans of my story who want to donate work, so I can add some visuals to some of my upcoming ideas. :)
"Wait so you killed him!?" Kelly exclaimed.
"Well let's see." Garrus deadpanned from his seat across from the yeoman in the mess hall, "I specifically tracked Sidonis halfway across the galaxy with the sole purpose of pulling a bullet in his head. And thanks to Shepard I get the chance to do exactly that, laid before me on a silver platter. Why it seemed down right rude not to take advantage of the moment. So yeah, I killed him." his sub-harmonics absolutely dripping with his trademark sarcasm, "Honestly considering how things normally turn out for us I'm surprised we managed to kill one person without even more explosions."
"It just … seems a bit excessive, don't you think?" Kelly offered.
"That man betrayed me and got my team killed." Despite keeping his voice calm it was obvious Garrus was a lot more passionate about what he was saying. "Ten good people died because of his direct actions. He just got a quick clean bullet to the head. So no, I don't think it was excessive at all. If anything I'd say he got off easy." Garrus sighed trying to let go of the lingering rage, it was over now, he had no reason to hold onto anything more. He could just focus on the Collectors now. "Really I don't know why you're so upset about it. I had an issue, I shot it in the head, I got closure. Done and done, problem solved."
"Are you sure about that?" Kelly persisted, "I mean you never even considered his side of things. Maybe there was a better way to resolve things. Maybe there was a reason he felt he had to betray you, maybe he felt guilty because of it."
"Maybe he can he can ram all those maybes right up his Turian ass." Shepard interrupted Kelly's psychiatric speech from the far corner table where she had been enjoying a cup of coffee while looking over a datapad. "We can spend all day waxing poetic about the shitstain but that's nothing less than a total waste of breath. Whether through greed or cowardice, it doesn't matter what reasons he had, or how badly he might have felt afterward. Doesn't change the fact that he proved he was someone that would betray the very people who depended on him most. Actions have consequences, and fuckers like that deserve to die as far as I'm concerned."
There was a moment of heavy silence which Shepard either didn't notice, or more likely simply chose to ignore. While everyone stared unsure of how to react to the situation, Shepard simply kept on drinking casually not the least bit concerned with the awkwardness she had just induced. Thankfully it was soon broken by Garrus's deep laughter which broke through the silence much to everyone's relief, "See this is why I like hanging out with you, Shepard, you always know how to cut through the heart of any situation. It's nice to know your Infiltrator sensibilities are alive and well."
"Glad to hear it Garrus." Shepard simply chuckled back.
"Hey Shepard, we just finished receiving the last of the deliveries from our supply runs." Jacob's voice rang out through the internal comms moments later, "We should be ready to leave the Citadel as soon as you're ready."
"Thanks Jacob." Shepard responded, "Let Joker know we'll want to make a jump within the hour."
"You got it, Commander," The Cerberus soldier called back, "Also there's a package here for you among the deliveries, no idea what you ordered but it's here if you want me to bring it up to you."
That's strange, Shepard thought, don't remember ordering anything for myself, "Don't bother, Jacob, I'll head down there now and check it out."
She barely offered a shrug and a polite nod of dismissal to the others in the mess hall as she stood and made her way to the elevator. One slow lift ride later she found herself in the Hangar bay. It didn't take her long to find Jacob, taking inventory of the deliveries he had mentioned earlier along with some of the rest of the Normandy crew. He was certainly eager to get his hands on the latest weapon mods they had ordered.
"So where's the goods Jacob?" Shepard asked as she approached, catching the attention of the dark skinned human.
"Hey Shepard, it's right here waiting for you." He reached over to a nearby stack of crates, picking up a relatively small and heavily battered box. "Looks like this thing's been in transit for a long ass time."
"Well, better take it back to my cabin and open it right away." Shepard commented as she picked up the box in her hand. Though she remained casual about the whole thing she was in fact very concerned about this mystery box. Getting random unexpected packages delivered to you was never a good sign when you had as many enemies as she did these days. At the same time she didn't want to worry the crew in case it ended up being nothing.
Thus she made her way back to the elevator, and another slow ride later, moved into her own cabin. Setting the box down on her desk she made her way to her armory closet. Quickly she activated her Omni-Tool, sending out a few key commands with skilled fingers. Seconds later EDI's holographic interface popped up in the corner of the room.
"Did you need something Commander?" EDI's electronic voice asked. She almost seemed giddy at the sudden reestablished link into the cabin.
"I need you to keep this room completely quarantined. All air circulation as well as all network traffic. But don't raise any alarm, and for God's sake don't inform anyone else." Shepard ordered.
"Confirmed. Your cabin has been contained and quarantined as ordered" EDI continued, "Do you suspect the package you received may be a Trojan horse?"
"I don't know. Could be a bomb, or could be a biological agent." Shepard shrugged as she scanned the package with her Omni-Tool, she traced back the tracking numbers and discovered its point of origin was Omega station of all places. This only further fueled her suspicions though she continued joking, "Or it could be Aria sending us cookies."
"From a purely statistical analysis that seems most unlikely." EDI offered, "A bomb from a vindictive party is the highest probable outcome at the moment."
"To be fair, that would be a whole of a lot less dangerous to deal with then getting cookies from Aria." Shepard chuckled as she placed a simple re-breather over her mouth to offer some protection over any possible airborne agents. She slowly began opening the package, being careful to continuously scan the box as she progressed. Fortunately there were no indicators of anything dangerous and she could find no signs of any sort of trigger devices to indicate otherwise.
"Alright looks safe enough." Shepard said once she was satisfied. Even so she kept an eye out for possible traps as she opened the box fully to investigate its contents. It took no time to discover the true secret of this package. Shepard was faced with hard asteroid rock, finely and expertly shaped. Worse yet, she recognized it.
"EDI, Cancel the quarantine. This thing is safe. More or less." Shepard said grimly. Before EDI could respond she reactivated her counter surveillance programs leaving her in privacy once again. In that time she could only glare at the box. Whether with rage or annoyance she wasn't certain yet. Rather than waste time trying to decide she closed the box, carrying it with her as she walked out of her cabin.
"EDI, where is Morinth located." Shepard commanded as soon as she was outside her cabin, calling for the elevator once again. Fortunately the lift had not been called anywhere else and was ready and waiting for the Commander.
"Morinth is presently in the woman's washroom on the crew level." EDI informed Shepard, "Shall I inform her that you wish to speak with her?"
"Don't bother." Shepard growled as she slammed the elevator control to take her to the crew level.
Morinth was indeed in the women's bathroom on the crew level, as Shepard discovered after using her command overrides to force the door open. Specifically Morinth was actually in the middle of a shower.
"What the hell is the meaning of this?!" Shepard demanded.
"It's a shower." Morinth replied calmly, clearly none too flustered by Shepard's interruption. "And what is with the officers of this ship interrupting my showers? If you want to see me naked you need only ask, Shepard." Clearly Morinth had no qualms about being seen naked by the Commander. On the contrary she seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to tease Shepard as she shifted her hips slightly to under the light stream of water to accent and display her every erotic curve.
"Cute, but I meant this." Shepard showed the Asari the box.
"It's a box?" Morinth offered. "Unless that box has an array of toys we can play with in here I truly have no idea of its significance."
Shepard just sighed in response. There was no doubt Morith was insanely erotically hot right now. What's more the whole effect was quite deliberate. The way the water flowed around her body, dripping along the smooth curve of her breasts, down the length of her tight midsection.
Still Shepard refused to let her mind linger on such thoughts for two major reasons. First, and by far most importantly, Morinth literally kills with her sex appeal. Even if she can be sure that Morinth would not try anything that could compromise the mission, Shepard was not nearly stupid enough to deliberately put herself in Morinth's clutches. Secondly, when it came to naked Asari bodies, they all ultimately would remind her of the one Asari she most wanted to have naked next to her. Hell even just having Liara near her at all would be preferable.
"Look we can play this game later, but right now you and I need to talk." Shepard said, making it clear to Morinth she was not going to fall for the bait. "Your room. Don't keep me waiting." She turned around but could already feel Morinth about to say something, so decided on interrupting the Asari before she could speak, "Whatever sex joke you're about to say, can it. I'm not in the mood." The door to the restroom closed swiftly behind her immediately after.
To her credit, Morinth did not in fact keep the Commander waiting long. She walked into her room with nothing but a towel and quickly set about getting dressed. Normally she might have tried to play with Shepard some more but it was obvious there would be no point right now.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Morith asked, "I'm guessing it has to do with that box so perhaps you can show me what it is."
Shepard didn't respond directly, she simply opened the lip of the box wide open, letting Morinth see its contents for herself. Even though she was barely half dressed Morinth paused to take a look at what was causing this whole messy scenario. Her questions were quickly answered as a light of recognition crossed her eyes the moment she laid eyes on what the box contained.
"Oh good, it made it!" Morinth said, clearly pleased. She reached into the box, carefully swiping away various random bits of packing material, most of which was improvised from the materials available to the poorer residents of Omega. Eventually she pulled out the sculpture that the box contained. Originally made from a broken chunk of the raw asteroid that Omega Station had been built into, it's lines and curves were masterfully done giving the abstract form a sense of fluidity and motion that only drew you in further.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Morinth asked as she gazed upon it with her eyes bright.
"Oh it is, absolutely fucking gorgeous." Shepard replied, "And very unique, which is why I remember the first time I saw it. That's Nef's sculpture."
Morinth turned to face Shepard as soon as she heard the name. It wasn't surprising really, it explained the commander's actions perfectly after all.
"Does that mean you don't like it then?" Morinth asked. There was something about the way she asked that made Shepard realize this might be an actual concern for her.
"What the hell is this Morinth?" Shepard insisted, "Is this meant to be your trophy? A record of your kill?"
"Goddess, no. You've been watching too many crime dramas Shepard." Morinth rolled her eyes.
"Are you sure, cause I remember plenty of trophies back in your apartment." Shepard accused her.
"Yes I picked up things along the way, and yes some of it was from the people I killed." Morinth huffed as she placed the statue down carefully, "It wasn't some psychosis that made me do it. It was simply a matter of keeping the things I like, just like anyone else. I rarely can hold on to anything for more than a century before circumstances cause me to lose it, or replace it. It would be impossible for me to keep a trophy of my every kill, much less any significant portion. Not to mention impractical, stupid, and downright creepy."
"That's a little hard to believe with Nef's last statue standing before you." Shepard claimed.
"Oh I see, it's not the possible trophy that bothers you, it's the reminder of what I am." Morinth stated.
Shepard wanted to argue the point and rage in great detail about everything that was wrong about this situation. But in that moment, even as she stared at the last sculpture of that young human she never met but somehow got to know so well, she realized it would be unfair to avoid the truth.
"You're right. It bothers me." Shepard sighed, "Nef was the last innocent person you killed before we caught up with you."
"Nef wasn't that innocent." Morinth smiled, but quickly returned to a neutral glace when she noticed the glare Shepard was giving her, "But I see you point. Nef was definitely a sweet kid."
"Strange hearing that from the person who killed her." Shepard shot back.
"I'm not going to insult your intelligence by pretending any sort of morality here." Morinth responded without breaking her stride, "Yes I killed her, yes I enjoyed it. If you couldn't handle someone like me being around the ship you would have shot me in the head and dumped my corpse on whatever rock happened to be nearby. Hell for all I know you still might do that. But we already decided that there's no point in me trying to pretend I'm something I'm not. I won't make any excuses for it, but neither will I apologize for it."
"You're right about that." Shepard said determined, "The only way this crew works, the only way I work, is if everyone on board is being completely honest about themselves. The last thing I want right now is to give you any cause to think otherwise."
"But part of you still has trouble coping with what I am." Morinth added.
"Now you're being over-dramatic." Shepard replied, she took a deep breath then, "Still you have a point, but right now that's my problem, not yours. What I want to know from you is why this?" She motioned to the sculpture as she continued, "Why send this to me? I need to know what this Nef meant to you, what we all mean to you. And as frustrating as you might find it, I have to know that none of us will end up as one of your trophies."
"Like I said, I don't do trophies." Morinth said, this time much more somberly. She was staring at the sculpture intently, clearly with a lot on her mind. "You know I was with Nef when she made this." She paused for a moment as she considered what she was about to say, "I know this is going to sound creepy but bare with me. I got to know her pretty well, I enjoyed it, seeing her creativity flow like that. I know what it must sound like to you but I cared about Nef. I cared about what she was doing. And the truth was I was the only one in that entire station that actually encouraged her to sculpt."
"Her friends thought she was wasting her time," Morinth continued, "Her mother tried to be supportive, but she also secretly wished that Nef would focus more of her energies on making credits. It was a struggle for them just to put food on the table. There were nights that I insisted buying Nef dinner just because her stomach was so distracting." Morinth smiled at the fond memory, it was an odd experience for Shepard to watch. "But it was always worth it to watch her sculpt, she was never so happy as when she was making something so beautiful."
"If you cared about her so much why'd you kill her?" This time Shepard's question was not an accusation, or judgement of any sort. This time her question was one of genuine curiosity.
"I meld with people when I kill them," Morinth explained, "If anything you could argue that it was because I cared about her that I killed her. But really that's just a hollow excuse. The truth of it has never changed; I did it because I enjoyed it. I don't think there's nothing I could say that could make you see things the way I do, I don't think there's anyway you could understand why I do what I do." She looked up at Shepard at that moment, staring with an almost sublime look in her eye, "And honestly I don't want you to. I don't want you or anyone else to be like me. You don't need to understand me, but you do need to trust me. And that is a huge important hurdle to overcome. Which is why I'm willing to do whatever I have to until you're satisfied."
Shepard sensed there was a lot more significance to Morinth's admission then the words alone would imply. "Alright, fine, then let me start with the obvious question, did you think Nef deserved to die?"
"No." Morinth replied simply, Shepard was not expecting the answer to come so quickly and certainly, "It's was never about who did and did not deserve to die. Most of the time who lives and dies is never so justified." Morinth paused for a moment before she added, "I will say this. Nef was a beautiful rose growing amongst a massive pile of crap. The sad truth is she had nothing going for her other then her art, and that was never going to get her out of the dump she was in. If I had not been there she most likely would have had a horribly depressing life, struggling to survive until she died either by old age or, far more likely, some dumb thug's bullet. That rose would have simply wilted and died as part of the same pile of crap she was growing on. Instead she got to truly live, and truly love, and she was able to truly blossom her creativity with someone that truly appreciated it. I'm the one who plucked that rose and breathed in her fragrance. Yes I killed her, but I celebrated her as well."
"You realize that just sounds crazy." Shepard shot back.
"I'm a psychopath, Shepard." Mornith replied without missing a beat, "I never claimed to be normal."
"Hold on, what about her art then?" Shepard asked, "She was getting traction, had some gallery offering to buy her sculptures."
"Oh? And did you happen to catch the name of that gallery?" Morinth asked in return, smirking. "I'll save you the trouble, that gallery never actually existed. Or are you really so naive as to believe that any serious gallery would waste their time even looking at a rock sculpture of some gutter rat from Omega."
"That was you!" Shepard said after a moments thought of Morinth's words, "You were the one who gave her mother that offer for her artwork."
"You're smart, Shepard, that's part of why I like you." Morinth smiled with an almost odd hint of pride in her voice.
"Why? Why offer to buy this from Nef's mother?" Shepard insisted.
"Beyond the obvious reasons we already covered?" Morinth added, "Nef gave me so much when I was with her, I felt I at least owed her mother something in exchange."
"But she said she would never sell her daughter's work." Shepard countered.
"I have no doubt she meant every word." Morinth agreed, "Of course at the time her daughter's death was still fresh in her mind. Those wounds take time to heal. What's more, no matter her intentions eventually the struggle continues. She still had rent to cover, and food to buy. In then end I only had to keep raising my price, and be patient. And as you know, we Asari are known for our patience."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're just waiting for the right time to get inside my head." Shepard snarked, "The last time we talked about it you were laying it on thick."
"In hindsight I suppose it was." Morinth shrugged, "Normally that 'greatest pleasure' line works more often than you might expect. Though I certainly didn't expect you to laugh in my face about it."
"I mourn the sad fools who fall for such an obvious play." Shepard laughed, "I didn't mean to be rude. Actually no, that's not true, I totally meant to be rude. But I didn't know you as well, and I don't react well when I think people are trying to kill me."
"No that's fair." Morinth sighed, "You were right. You are, after all, still the most irresistible morsel on this ship." Shepard popped her head up, suddenly looking at Morinth with a questioning look. Her words held a number of questions beyond the obvious but most of them would probably wait for another time. The really important one Morinth picked up on immediately, "And that's why you want assurances that I won't give into my temptations, at least more of them. Not just for yourself, but for everyone on board." Shepard didn't bother to respond, there was no need to, she simply listened intently to Morinth as she continued, "Alright then here it is. Because I promised not to. That simple."
"You expect me to sleep at night on your word alone?" Shepard asked with an incredulous eyebrow arched.
"I can't make you trust me Shepard, that's up to you, but perhaps this will help." Morinth explained, "The only time I ever broke a promise was to escape from my mother. Without her I have no reason to break my promise to you. But if that's not enough then let me add this. The Collectors are a huge threat, their Reaper masters are a far, far bigger threat as well. Right now this crew are the only ones doing anything about either. It would be flat out stupid of me to do anything to jeopardize that. Helping you and your friends means that I get to live a great deal longer. That's worth far more then one more juicy mind fuck."
"Ok, I admit it, that's pretty good." Shepard nodded. "Look I know you've said this before, it feels stupid going over all this again. But I had to know."
"I can't fault your caution, Shepard." Morinth smiled, sitting down on the couch opposite her Commander, "How about I tell you something new then. Strange as it might seem, strange for me to even admit this, but I like the crew here. Well some of them are still horribly closed minded, but most of the ground team have been surprisingly fun to hang out with. It's because of you that I have a place where I can be honest about myself without fear. What's more, with all the trouble you get into constantly I've had no trouble fulfilling any murderous desire I might have had. I've killed more people in the last month alone then the previous decade combined. If anything I suppose I should thank you for all you've done for me. Breaking my promise now would just be ..." She scrunched her nose in an oddly charming version of disgust, "Just terribly rude." After a pause she nodded back to Nef's last sculpture, "Perhaps that's part of why I wanted you to have that."
"Well, that was certainly a nice … thought I guess." Shepard sighed, "But if it's all the same, you're welcome to keep it. I would just find it, well, creepy to be honest."
"I'm perfectly happy with that actually." Morinth smiled, "It's a very beautiful piece after all."
Shepard simply nodded in agreement. For now at least she was satisfied enough to trust this monster a bit longer. Though she couldn't help but think of the centuries of terrors she could be responsible for.
"Actually." Shepard spoke up after the quiet thoughtful moment passed, "Since we're talking about it, do you mind if I ask you about another of your past … incidents?"
"Normally I might be insulted, but when you ask like that I can't help but be curious." Morinth said, though it was obvious to Shepard she was not the sort to ever feel insulted by such a question. Not anymore at least.
"Alright well I heard, … from somewhere." Shepard began cautiously.
"You mean my mother." Morinth stated flatly.
"Ok yes, from Samara." Shepard admitted, "She told be about a village that you once took over. Manipulated them all into worshiping you, offering up their daughters as sacrifices to your …."
Shepard's voice trailed off as Morinth's loud, mirth-filled laughter completely filled the room, making any further comment meaningless. She had to wait several moments before the Asari finally calmed down long enough to say anything.
"Oh Goddess, I'm sorry." Morinth started between laughs, "Mother certainly did have quite the imagination when it came to my illicit activities. But I swear, she must have stolen that one from a vid somewhere. Either that or she was far more depraved than I ever was was in her stoic repressed little mind. Which is saying a lot!"
"Right." Shepard deadpanned, "So not true then."
"Well there was a village." Morinth said, "A colony actually, a small one on the edge of Asari space. She makes it sound like some backwards out of touch ancient tribe with no link to the outside world. I guess she didn't think much of you if she thought you'd fall for that one."
"Ok, I'll bite, why is that?" Shepard asked.
"There not a single Asari settlement that would be so far off the grid." Morith chuckled as the absurdity of it all, "Our whole political and social structure, our whole e-democracy, means that the Asari government always ensures that any Asari citizen must have extranet access. If I really managed to manipulate an entire settlement into worshiping me it would be plastered all over some social extranet site or another. It would be a huge red flag that would practically be begging for a Justicar's attention."
"So what really happened then?" Shepard groaned for her to continue.
"Dumb luck mainly." Morinth shrugged, "I had arrived at that colony intending only to spend a few nights there at most before moving on. There wasn't anyone there interesting enough to play with as far as I was concerned at the time. But before I got the chance to leave the colony got attacked by slavers. I have a thing against slavers."
"So you killed them all." Shepard deduced.
"I wasn't nearly as experienced at the time, so it was actually a big challenge for me." Morinth recalled, "I actually got pretty beat up over it. But the colonists were very grateful for my help. Even after they found out what I was from the bodies of their attackers. They were on their own out there, after all, and I had just single handedly saved then from a life of slavery." Morinth turned quiet for a long time as she stare into the corner of the room thoughtfully, "They happily offered room and board after that. It was … nice while it lasted. But it didn't last. Mother eventually caught up to me and I took off as soon as I caught wind of her. The colonists promised that they wouldn't help her, that they owed me that much. I told them they would be stupid to try to help me against her. But I wasn't going to bother trying to convince them otherwise, I had to leave or risk dying at my own mother's hands. Weeks later I heard about how a Justicar had wiped out the village completely."
Shepard knew there was more to this story. There was something about the way Morinth spoke. It was something she was not saying, something deeply personal. She wanted to discuss it with her right there but it was at that moment that EDI's holographic interface popped up to interrupt them.
"Excuse me Commander." EDI's voice intoned, "There is a matter which requires your immediate attention."
"What is it EDI." Shepard demanded.
"Tali received a message from the Quarian Flotilla." EDI explained, "I recommend you speak with her regarding the nature of the message right away."
Shepard was about to growl out an order but immediately stopped herself as a flood of possibilities ran through her mind. EDI was even in the best of times incredibly observant. For the AI to contact her like this was likely no coincidence.
"Has Tali read this message, EDI?" Shepard asked, though she was already certain of the answer.
"Yes." EDI answered simply, "And she is quite distressed as a result."
Shepard didn't wait to hear another word. She was already out the door of Morinth's room. Had she been in a better mood she would have chided herself for not having the presence of mind to at least excuse herself properly. But at that moment she didn't much care. As she made her way to the elevator her only concern was that one of her people needed her.