The silence inside the room was deafening as Samara remained motionless above Morinth's body. Everything had fallen deathly still as the blood dripped from Samara's knuckles.

When the Justicar finally stood, the sudden motion was jarring. "I would like to leave this place." Samara whispered.

Kara remained silent, simply nodding in agreement as she moved to leave. Samara followed, and Rocket broke out of his stupor shortly after. He gazed back at Morinth's body, about to ask if they should do… something. Bury her maybe. It was Samara's kid after all. But he bit his tongue. If Kara thought it best to remain silent, he wasn't about to do anything different.

The journey back to the dock was so quiet, Rocket could hear his heartbeat almost the whole way through, before Kara finally spoke. "You two go on ahead, I have something I would like to take care of first. I'll catch up."

"As you wish." Samara said, moving on.

Rocket however, chose to follow Kara for a short distance. "What're you doin'?"

"I'm going to tell Diana we took care of Morinth." Kara said.

"Is that really somethin' you have to do alone?" Rocket asked.

Kara grunted, then spoke. "You have a point, it would probably be best to give Samara some time alone." Kara said, sensing the fact that Rocket didn't want to be alone with Samara at the moment.

They waded through the crowds of Omega as they made their way to Diana's home, and not for the first time, Rocket couldn't help but be reminded of the time he'd spent back on Knowhere. Thankfully, they arrived at their destination before Rocket could slip too far into reminiscence.

Kara knocked lightly on the door, and the middle aged woman quickly answered. Rocket saw her haggard expression brighten somewhat at the sight of them. "Did you…"

Kara gently took the woman's hands in her own. "Yes. We've taken care of the person who murdered Nef."

Diana released her pent up breath, and her head fell, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you… thank you…" She whimpered. Diana hugged the larger woman, before inviting her inside.

Rocket remained outside as Kara followed Diana to talk for a few more minutes. When she came out the door, she knelt, and offered her left hand to Rocket. He climbed onto her palm, and she raised him into a hug against her chest.

He noticed that she held onto him a little tighter than usual. Helping Samara with her daughter had affected the two women more than either of them would let on. The journey back to the Normandy was oppressively quiet. Rocket wanted to say something, but nothing came to him. Once they arrived, Samara shut herself inside her quarters, and Kara took the elevator to the cargo bay without a word.

Rocket ran into Shepard, who looked like she wanted to talk about what happened on Omega to put Samara and Kara, two of the most resolute people on the ship, into such a dour mood, but he simply raised a hand and shook his head. Wisely, Shepard left them alone.

Rocket entered the elevator, and joined Kara in the cargo bay. She was meditating (or looked like she was meditating rather), kneeling in her usual spot, her hands resting on her thighs.

Rocket silently crossed the room, and climbed onto the crate near her. Her expression wasn't the one she usually wore when she meditated. She wasn't relaxed. Her body was still tense, her teeth clenched and her face scrunched up in the characteristic scowl she wore when she was deep in thought. Dark thoughts.


Seeing Diana mourning the loss of her daughter threatened to drown Kara in the memories of her own family. It had been centuries since their deaths, and for the most part, she had made peace with her grief. It was an old, old burden she had long since grown accustomed to carrying. But this latest mission had reopened those old wounds, and her memory was overwhelmed with vivid visions of their lifeless bodies.

She tried to focus on the good memories. Memories of cuddling with Sam and Grace when they'd just been born, Frederick beside her. The sound of their laughter, and the little patter of their feet through the floorboards of her home. The feeling of their tiny little fingers wrapping around her claws. Of teaching her children to read and write, how to paint, of watching them grow strong and wise.

But try as she might, Kara couldn't cling to the good times. Every memory that brought her joy was sullied with the knowledge of how it ended. Frederick, his body fading away, had once been a steadfast companion to her. Strong and healthy. But still mortal. In his last days, he was full of regrets. He hated that he had grown weak and infirm. He hated that he needed his wife to bathe and clean him. To feed and dress him, because he no longer could. He hated the burden he had become.

Samuel, who had been full of curiosity and wonder as a child, had grown angry when he grew old enough to understand the state of his people. It was righteous anger, but even so, it ensured he would never know peace. He enlisted in the Union army as soon as they allowed colored men to enlist, and he died fighting for his brethren. His death wasn't slow like the rest of her family. It was a painful, bloody, and violent death. A warrior's death. A thing no parent wished for their child.

Grace was the last. She grew stronger as she aged, for a time, before it too claimed her. She was proud of who she was, headstrong, the fiercest and smartest of all Kara's family. Because she had to be. As she and her father grew older, and the signs of decay set in, Kara had felt fear and despair dig their hooks into her mind, deeper and deeper as time stole more and more vitality from her loved ones.

Not fear of mortality, but of immortality. Despair of witnessing the end of all those she held dear.

Before Kara could be dragged any further into her melancholic despair, she heard a knocking beside her.

She turned, and saw Rocket resting on the crate beside her. He smiled sadly, not knowing exactly what was going through her mind, just knowing that she needed him. He raised his arms, his hands outstretched towards her. "C'mere." He said softly.

She hesitated for a moment, her head involuntarily twitching forward, before she finally moved. She laid her head on his lap, and his paws gently stroked the fur on her face. She wrapped his body in her hands, and held him close. Her old life may be dead and buried, but she was still here. She had learned to survive.

After Kara had calmed down, she cleared her throat, and stood, gently pushing Rocket away from her. "Are you gonna be okay?" Rocket asked, before she kissed his forehead, then turned to leave.

"I will be." Kara said. "Thank you." She whispered as she moved to the elevator.

She rode it to the third deck, and turned right as she exited the door, headed to Samara's quarters.

She gently knocked on the door, and after a moment of silence, the Asari answered. "I would like to be alone." She said through the door.

"I know. But nobody should go through this alone." Kara responded sadly.

Samara didn't respond, nor did she move. After several seconds of stillness, Kara felt Samara's footsteps approaching the door. When it opened, she saw Samara; she was fighting to keep her expression neutral, but her face bore the signs of tears.

Samara invited Kara inside, and the two reminisced over their former lives, and the people within them.


Rocket sat alone in contemplative silence for several minutes. He was worried about Kara. He'd lost people before. Groot... and... and Lylla. But in the end, he survived, and built a new life. They both did. And they'd be there for each other when they needed it. A rumble in his stomach snapped him out of his thoughts. He let out a sigh as he hopped off the crate, and took the elevator to the third deck. Once he came to a stop and the doors slid open, his nostrils were filled with the tantalizing scent of ramen being served in the mess.

He got his food and took his seat, absentmindedly devouring mouthfuls at a time. His ears swiveled as he heard Tali and Garrus approaching the mess. He could overhear a decent portion of the conversation; the two of them were discussing potential upgrades for the Normandy. When they took their seats, Rocket swallowed another forkful of noodles, then cleared his throat. "So Cerberus skimped out on some stuff for the ship after all?" He said, gazing at Tali.

The Quarian hesitated, surprised Rocket had heard them. "They outfitted the ship with the best they had available at the time." Tali responded. "Garrus was talking about a new weapon the Turians developed using the wreckage from Sovereign."

The Turian nodded. "The Thanix cannon. Should let us handle anything the Collectors could throw at us." He added.

"I've also heard about redundant shielding systems my people are working on from some of my contacts on the Flotilla." Tali continued.

They didn't talk for much longer after that, and Tali and Garrus left to continue their walk. Together. Rocket smirked as he watched them leave, before turning his attention back to his food.


Shepard's eyes skimmed over the report Serina had sent regarding Samara's mission. Everything had gone about as well as it could have. She set the datapad down with a sigh, and took the elevator to the CIC, where she met with Kelly Chambers. After a brief conversation, Kelly informed Shepard that Thane would like to speak with her. Shepard thanked the Yeoman for the info, then took the elevator to the third deck.

She turned left upon exiting the elevator, and entered the atmospheric control center, where Thane had set up.

The Drell turned his head just enough to see Shepard enter the room out of his peripheral vision. "Ah, Shepard. Thank you for coming."

"No problem. Was there something you needed?" Shepard asked politely.

Thane nodded. "Yes." He paused for several seconds before continuing. "As I've told you before, I'm dying. I've come to terms with that… I've made peace with most of my regrets, but I would like your help to make amends for my greatest one."

"Of course. I'll help however I can. Where're we headed?" Shepard said.

Thane dipped his head in gratitude. "The Citadel, to find my son, Kolyat."


Rocket slurped up the last of his noodles when he saw Shepard step out of Thane's quarters, and after sparing a glance at his empty tray, decided to let someone else clean it up as he bolted after Shepard, overhearing her issue an order to EDI. "What's the hurry?" He asked.

"We're headed to the Citadel. Thane thinks his son is somewhere on the station."

Thinks? Rocket thought to himself. "I take it they ain't exactly on the best of terms." Rocket said.

"That's the impression I got, yeah." Shepard responded.

As the elevator came to a stop on the CIC, Rocket thought about Samara and Kara. It'd probably do them some good to have something to do. "Ya wanna bring Kara and Samara along?" Rocket inquired.

Shepard was about to say they probably wouldn't need that much firepower, but then she remembered the report she'd read. And Rocket and Kara were usually joined at the hip, so Kara probably wasn't taking the aftermath any better than Samara. "Sure, we'll see if they're up for it when we get there."


Kara and Samara had been sitting in contemplative silence for nearly two hours when they received a ping from Shepard's comms. "I got a mission for you two if you're up for it."

Kara was the first to respond. "What is it?"

"Thane needs help finding his son, he'll give us more details once we've reached the Citadel."

"Copy. I'm on my way." Kara said, before turning to Samara. "Coming?"

The justicar didn't say anything, she simply stood, and motioned for Kara to lead the way.


The team assembled by the docking umbilical once the Normandy berthed at the assigned hangar. As they waited for the atmospheres to equalize, Thane began to brief them. Somewhat early into his career as an assassin, there was a complication with one of his contracts. Evidently, a Drell woman had somehow spotted him in his perch as he took aim at his target, and planted herself firmly in the line of fire, an act of compassion that rocked Thane to his core.

After that, one thing led to another, and the two of them started a family. Thane tried to ply an honest trade, but he didn't really have many other applicable skills. And so he fell back into old habits, unbeknownst to his wife. Whenever he'd disappear for weeks at a time, he'd simply say there was a project he was needed on.

An obvious lie, one easily exposed, yet she never questioned him. Probably because she didn't want to know what he was really doing. Eventually, the associates of one of his targets learned of his family, and retaliated once Thane left on another contract.

The doors opened, and Thane fell silent, seemingly thankful for the interruption.

The rest of the story, one could piece together themselves. While he was at peace with himself, Thane wasn't exactly proud of the life he'd led. It was clear he hadn't been present for his son after the death of his wife. Otherwise, they wouldn't be on the Citadel looking for him now.

"What's our first move?" Shepard asked as they stepped out onto the docking bay.

"We should check Customs, see if they had any Drell come through recently." Kara said. Looking at the demographics reports of the Citadel population Serina was showing on her HUD, Drell were pretty rare on the station.

"Good Idea. Lead the way Thane." Shepard said.

Rocket watched the civilians and stores pass by him from his perch atop Kara's shoulder as she followed Shepard, not really paying attention to much.

They arrived at C-Sec customs shortly, and Shepard and Thane approached an Asari officer behind a desk. While they spoke to the Asari, Rocket placed a hand on Kara's neck. "How're you two holding up?" He asked, looking at Samara.

Samara nodded to him. "Better now that I have something to do. Thank you for your concern." She said, while Kara placed a hand gently on Rocket's shoulder.

Thane and Shepard rejoined the three of them, and told them that there had indeed been a young male Drell here earlier, though the officer didn't know where he went after leaving customs.

Samara gazed at Thane. "Do you know where he might have gone?"

Thane was silent for a moment, considering what options were available to Kolyat. "I had an old contact named Mouse. Kolyat would meet with him to gain intel on his target."

"Where can we find Mouse?" Kara asked.

"He has many hideouts throughout the Citadel, and we don't have time to search them all." Thane said.

"Does Mouse have a record?" Rocket asked.

"He's had encounters with law enforcement, yes." Thane responded.

"Then we should be able to use C-sec records to run a facial scan to find him, see if any cameras have picked him up recently." Kara commented.

"Good Idea, let's do it." Shepard said. Before the words had even left the Spectre's mouth, Serina "borrowed" Shepard's Spectre credentials, using them to access C-secs files. She brought up Mouse's file, and took note of his most frequent haunts.

Then, Serina tapped into the security systems closest to those locations, hoping one of them had picked him up. And as luck would have it, Mouse was spotted entering The Dark Star Lounge in the Zakera ward ten minutes ago.

"Got him. He's in the Wards, I'll mark his last known position on your HUDs." Serina said, as soon as Shepard stopped talking.

"Good work Serina, let's go find Mouse." Shepard said, hailing a cab.


Kara and Rocket climbed into their own cab, seeing as there wasn't enough room for the both of them to join the rest of the team in the other.

Rocket hopped into the seat beside Kara, placing a hand on her mid-thigh. "How do you think we should find Thane's kid?"

"I think the best way would be to find his target. Keep an eye on them, and Kolyat will come to us." Kara said.

Rocket hummed. That made sense. Better to wait for Kolyat to come to them, then waste time trying to track him down. Even if they could find out where he was, by the time they got there, he could be gone.

Rocket caught the shadow of Kara's arm moving over him, and felt her place her hand on his shoulder, her claws wrapping around the opposite side of his torso.

He gently caressed one of her claws, the deceptively smooth texture feeling particularly satisfying. He sat silently rubbing her "index finger" with his thumb for what felt like an eternity, before he felt the cab decelerate. He opened his eyes as Kara withdrew her hand, and the vehicle came to a stop.

Kara leaned over and opened the door as he hopped out of his seat, letting him out first. Rocket stepped out of the vehicle, spotting Shepard, Samara and Thane out of the corner of his eye.

They regrouped by the mouth of the club, and Shepard turned to Kara. "Are you sure Mouse is still here Serina?" She asked.

"The camera that picked him up never saw him leave." Serina said over the comms, while Kara gestured with her snout towards the aforementioned camera, watching from the ceiling near the club's entrance.

"And I checked to make sure there weren't any other exits. He's definitely still in there." The AI continued.

Shepard nodded, and entered the club, followed shortly by the rest of the team, who were immediately blasted by pulsing synthwave. Rocket put on a headset, complete with a small HUD over his right eye, displaying a picture of Mouse. He climbed up Kara's body to her shoulder, and he began to compare every human in the crowd to the picture in his eye.

His gaze eventually fell on a short Humie sitting at the bar with dark, disheveled hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a week, matching the picture.

Rocket pointed him out to Kara, and she notified the rest of the team. Kara maintained a healthy distance, believing that her presence would just stress Mouse out.

Thane, Shepard, and Samara approached the man, and Thane placed a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, the spark of recognition in the man's eyes confirmed they found their informant.

"Thane?" Mouse asked, shocked to see the Drell.

"Hello Mouse. May we speak somewhere more private?" Thane said evenly.

Mouse cleared his throat. "Sure, sure. I was just headin' out anyway."

Mouse rose from his seat, and followed Thane out of the bar. Rocket and Kara followed a ways behind. When they exited the bar, Kara walked past the rest of the team, coming to a rest near a railing opposite them that stared out across the Citadel.

Rocket didn't pay much attention to what Mouse was telling the rest of the team, instead choosing to join Kara in gazing out on the station. "Enjoyin' the view?" He asked, resting his head against her neck.

"Hmm." Kara hummed. "It is beautiful, I just wish we could enjoy it." She said with a hint of regret.

Rocket silently agreed. He looked forward to the day where he didn't have to live in a galaxy with impending doom hanging over his head. First Thanos, now the Reapers. But, if they could handle a genocidal megalomaniac with reality warping jewelry, they could handle a bunch of insane AI.

He and Kara turned when they felt the rest of the team moving towards them.

"What did Mouse say?" Kara asked.

"He said he handed intel to a young Drell recently." Thane said.

"Your son?" Kara inquired.

Thane nodded. "The description he gave matches."

"D'ya know who the target is?" Rocket interjected.

"No. He was given an envelope and was told not to look inside. But he did tell us the name of his boss, Elias Kelham." Shepard said. "We could have C-sec bring him in for some questions."

Kara nodded. "Let's do that. And quickly, I don't think we have much time."

"Agreed." Thane said.


When they arrived at C-sec, Shepard approached an Asari in uniform manning the reception area.

Kara watched the exchange dispassionately, instead pondering the issue she was having with Cerberus. Her team had been successful in dealing with several cells, but Cerberus's security had grown considerably stronger in light of those successes.

If she wanted to take out anything more than low hanging fruit, she'd have to change strategies. When she felt Shepard approaching them, she turned her attention back to the Human. "They sent a team to pick up Kelham, they want us to wait in the observation room for room 3." Shepard said, gesturing for the others to follow her. Kara crouched to fit through the doorway, joining the rest of the team in the observation room.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long before a decidedly displeased Elias Kelham was ushered into the interrogation room. He was barking threats, promising his lawyer would bring about a swift lawsuit for the injustices he'd suffered.

Kara snorted. "Let's get this over with." She muttered, eager to have the detestable little man be nothing more than a memory as soon as possible.

"Agreed" Shepard said, before entering the interrogation room, followed shortly by the others.

Kelham spun to face the doorway, scowling. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am a Spectre." Shepard said. "So you can forget about your lawyer. I could have my friend here eat you, and there's nothing anybody could do about it; So I suggest you be a good boy and cooperate."

"Bullshit!" Kelham spat.

"Are you willing to bet your life on that, little man?" Kara snarled, baring her fangs

Kelham swallowed uncomfortably, then turned his gaze to Shepard. "Fine, what do you want?"

"You put out a hit on someone, and hired a Drill to carry it out. Who's your target?" Shepard demanded.

"Joram Talid." Kelham spat. Shepard looked at Kara, and Serina immediately ran a search.

"Joram Talid is a candidate running for office on an anti-crime and anti-human platform. He's currently in Zakera ward sucking up to potential voters." Serina said over the comms.

"Alright, let's head out." Shepard said, following Kara out the doorway.


Thanks to Serina tracking Joram through the security cameras scattered throughout the Zakera ward and extra-net posts, Shepard's team found their target fairly quickly. Now all they had to do was wait for Kolyat to make his move.

The plan was for Thane to disappear in the crowd, while Shepard and Samara entered the maintenance walkway above the Ward, getting a better angle on the crowd, while Kara and Rocket maintained their distance, otherwise their presence might scare Kolyat off.

Shepard and Samara scanned the faces in the crowd below through the viewport, looking for Joram, when Samara spotted a Krogan mercenary, sporting Blood pack armor. The Justicar pointed him out to Shepard. And next to him, was Joram, currently preoccupied delivering a long winded speech Shepard was grateful she couldn't hear. "Shepard, are you in position?" Thane asked.

"Affirmative, and I've got eyes on Joram, we'll follow him as best we can from up here."

"Acknowledged… and Shepard, thank you."

"No problem." Shepard said as Joram wrapped up his speech.

She and Samara followed the Turian as best they could from the walkway as he moved through the crowds populating the Zakera Ward, all the while grateful he'd hired a Krogan bodyguard, making it nearly impossible to lose track of him.

The two of them came to a stop as Joram halted outside a small shop, currently being worked by a middle-aged human, and his bodyguard moved to enter. Judging by the Krogan's body language, he wasn't looking to browse wares. Shepard made sure her helmet cam was running, then kept the lens focused on the Krogan as best she could.

She couldn't hear anything being said, but it was clearly a shakedown. She kept the Krogan in focus as he rejoined Joram, and continued to follow the two as they harassed a few more human businesses. Until eventually, they came to a stop.

After a few moments of them standing frozen still, Shepard realized they were gazing at something very intently outside her field of view. Before she could see what they were looking at, Kara opened a channel. "I have Kolyat, sending you my location." Shepard, after a moment of hesitation brought on by thinking the plan was for Kara to keep her distance, moved to regroup.


Kara watched as Shepard and Samara entered the maintenance tunnels, while Thane disappeared into the crowd. The plan was for the Human and Asari to keep an eye on Joram, while Thane would attempt to follow from the ground, while Kara would keep her distance.

The problem with that plan being that if they didn't find and intercept Kolyat before he made his move, things could escalate drastically before any of them could intervene. Shepard and Samara were focusing on Joram, and so wouldn't notice Kolyat, and Thane wouldn't be able to spot him from amongst the crowd.

Seeing as most people in the crowd came up to Kara's hips, she had a good enough angle to identify Kolyat before anyone, and being as eye-catching as she was, she was sure to draw attention from the crowd, including Kolyat's.

While Kara followed Joram from a healthy distance, Rocket scanned the faces of the people moving to and fro, trying to filter out the many Humans and non-drell aliens, as they went about their day. He struggled not to let the tantalizing smell of exotic food wafting from open door cafes and restaurants distract him as he looked for Kolyat.

He caught a glimpse of someone leaning against a far-off corner near where Joram and his bodyguard were. Rocket adjusted his position on Kara's shoulder, focusing. "Hey, I think that's our guy." Rocket whispered, pointing him out to Kara.

The Hunter followed Rocket's finger, and spotted him.

Kolyat wasn't nearly as calm and collected as his father. He was looking around nervously, as if he felt trapped and was looking for the closest escape route. Kara walked towards him briskly, wading through the crowd effortlessly. Fortunately for Kara, Kolyat was too busy watching Joram to notice her approaching. He started to move towards Joram, reaching for his pistol with his right hand, when Kara grabbed him. He spun around, shocked.

Rocket had to stifle a laugh when Kolyat's dumbfounded face looked up, realizing what exactly had ensnared his arm. "You will come with me." She said firmly, before turning around, looking for somewhere private. She saw a nearby alley, and figured that was good enough. Kara opened a channel to the rest of the team. "I have Kolyat, sending you my location." She said, dropping a waypoint on the alley.

Kolyat's efforts to break free from Kara's grip grew stronger when he realized where she was taking him, but seeing as how Kara was closer in size to an elephant than a human, it would be an understatement to say he might as well have been a baby trying to break out of their parents grip. Many people in the crowd were watching, but a combination of the bystander effect, and Kara's particularly predatory appearance dissuaded anyone from intervening.

Kara came to a halt when she reached the mouth of the alley. She turned, and fixed Kolyat with a stern gaze. "I know what you were going to do, and as much as Joram probably deserves what was coming to him, you aren't much of a killer, Kolyat."

"How… how did you know my name?" He asked, shocked.

"Your father told me." Kara replied calmly.

Kolyat was silent for several seconds, his expression changing from surprise to anger. "You know him, huh? Then you know he doesn't deserve to be called a father." He said with an air of anger in his voice.

"If that's how you feel," Kara looked from Kolyat to Thane and Shepard approaching, "then you can tell him that yourself."

Kolyat followed Kara's gaze, and was stunned to see Thane, taking an involuntary step back. "Hello Kolyat…" Thane said with uncertainty. "You've… grown much since I last saw you."

"You mean since before mom died?" Kolyat hissed. Shepard moved as though she were about to say something, but Kara placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"I-" Thane started, before Kolyat cut him off.

"You're what? Sorry? Why would you be sorry? You were never there when she was alive, why would you be there when she died?" The young Drell spat.

Thane shifted uncomfortably, and he was silent for several seconds before he responded. "She died because of me."

"What?"

"She died because of me. After I left on one of my… contracts, someone with an old score to settle saw the opening. They killed her to get to me. And when she died, I…" Thane hesitated, tears forming in his eyes as he gazed at his son. "I abandoned you…"

Kolyat scoffed. "Then why show up now? Were you hoping I'd assuage your guilt or something?"

"No." Thane said sadly. "I… I'm dying, Kolyat. I know what I've done, and I know I don't deserve forgiveness for it. I was just hoping that maybe… maybe I could grant you a measure of peace before I died." He continued.

Kolyat was stunned into silence, and as he leaned against the wall behind him, Kara thought she saw tears forming in the boy's eyes. "I've taken a lot of things out of this world, Kolyat. Some of it good, and some of it bad, but you… You were the only thing I ever added to it." Thane said, a measure of pride in his voice as he placed a hand on Kolyat's shoulder. "I don't want to see you suffer because of my mistakes."

Kara turned to Shepard and Samara, and gestured for them to follow her, intending to give the father and son some space as they continued to talk.