Morinth, and she's dangerous.

Morinth wasn't a bad person. She really believed that about herself. She was simply a woman who didn't come cheap. She offered the most exquisite pleasure any could ever ask for. All it cost them was their lives, but of course, after a night with her, what else was there to live for really? When you really thought about it, she was actually doing a service, giving those with no prospects unforgettable pleasure for a night and taking away all their pain forever. Her mother never understood that, but Shepard did. That's why she was here and Samara was gone.

Well... 'Gone' might not be entirely accurate. When she first agreed to take her mother's place on the ship, Shepard has asked if she had absorbed her mother's powers. She quickly made up the excuse that she was simply a good actor, which she was, but even the best impersonation can't capture all the little quirks and **** habits of an individual, and that's not even getting into the issue of memories. Most people could never pull off what she had.

Then again, most people weren't an Ardat-Yakshi.

Shepard had been on the right track. She had absorbed her mother's powers on Omega. More than that, she had absorbed everything Samara had ever been, drinking it up like a fine wine. It allowed her to pass off as her mother flawlessly, although one or two slip ups in her most private moments may have stirred the suspicions of that cute little devil, Kasumi Goto. She had to respect her tenacity if nothing else; she wondered if that tenacity transferred to the bedroom. Maybe she'd find out soon.

For now, she lay sleeping in bed, although it wasn't quite like normal sleep; it was more of a trance. For in the recesses of her dreaming mind, she was still very much awake, and she was not alone.

"Hello mother," she said, wandering around the room her mind had created for her. They stood on a circular white platform, beyond which was a boundless darkness. They were both naked, and while she could wander about freely, her mother was fixed in place, **** to stand ramrod stiff, straight at attention, arms at her side, head fixed in place. Her eyes couldn't even move, she was just staring forward. She could, however, still speak.

"Why do you do this to me Morinth?" She asked, her voice that of a broken and defeated woman, still and cold. She remembered Shepard's betrayal, she remembered Morinth killing her, she remembered the moment she became a part of her daughter, and she remembered every visit Morinth made here and everything she did to her because she wanted her to remember. She was little more than a distant echo of the woman she had been in life, one that existed at the pleasure of her daughter. Unfortunately for Samara, she doubted that Morinth would ever cease to enjoy her. Outside of this place, she knew her daughter had assumed her life, no doubt tarnishing all Asari Justicars while wearing her name. She would be horrified, if Morinth would allow her that. She no longer felt anything unless Morinth wished it; her question was purely a rational one.

"Because it's so much fun, mother," Morinth admitted, circling behind her mother. "Plus after all those years apart, all the neglect, it's nice to get to spend some time together. I'm learning so much from you mother. You're quite literally like an open book to me; if there's anything I want to know, I just have to flip to the right page." She reached around her mother and started massaging her supple breasts. She placed her head on her mother's shoulder and nuzzled her face. "It's funny. In a way I'm just playing with myself doing this. That's all you are now isn't it? A part of me to play with while I dream."

"Yes Morinth," Samara answered truthfully.

"How the tables have turned... Would you like to know a secret?" Morinth asked, a devious tone in her voice.

"I have **** Morinth."

"I know, but if there's one thing you did teach me, mother, it's etiquette. Anyways, I was digging around some of your private memories, and I found something you'd kept hidden away. Let me tell you what it was." She leaned in and whispered to Samara a few short words. She gave Samara the briefest instance of emotional energy to respond. Samara's eyes simply widened like a deer looking into oncoming traffic.

"No... Morinth, you mustn't..."

"Oh really? That's a shame because I already have been. I've been testing it on you for weeks now, each night. In fact I did it to you tonight." She began circling again. Samara's fear only grew; she suddenly wished Morinth had kept it turned off. She didn't remember Morinth experimenting on her, but of course she wouldn't. Everything she was, that was for Morinth to decide. "I always knew you were full of it when you said the Asari needed to protect the galaxy from us. If the Asari embraced the Ardat-Yakshi, they would rule the galaxy for eternity, but of course that would mean they would have to submit to their betters. That's why they don't like pureblooded children, isn't it? They don't want more of us being born than they can handle. Because sooner or later one of us would find out. If everyone knew what I knew, how many of us do you think it would take to rule the galaxy? A million? A thousand? One?"

"Morinth please don't do this."

"You're about 400 years too late to beg, mother," Morinth proclaimed. "At any rate, it's not any of your concern now. Time for you to start making up for some of that parental neglect."

Morinth put her finger to Samara's temple. Suddenly the Justicar's memories were pulled from her head and were replaced with new ones. Memories of her time as a loving parent. Memories of her doting on her daughters as she raised them to be fine young women in Asari society. Their exploits as Ardat-Yakshi were, of course, covered up. She became a Justicar to make sure of that; her professional responsibilities were secondary to her duties to her daughters. Anyone who knew the truth that couldn't be seduced by the girls would be killed by her. All things were secondary to her daughters. A good mother loves her daughters. A good mother obeys her daughters.

She recalled her daughters using her body when they came of age, playing with her like a living doll. They were careful not to meld their minds with hers, as they didn't want to break their favorite toy, so they just used her the old fashioned way. Those were some of her proudest moments in her entire life, when she fully lived up to her duties as a mother, remembering her daughters' tongues as they probed her willing holes. Her expression slowly shifted into a smile as she slowly receded back into her daughter's mind, left as part of a dream within a dream, unaware of anything resembling reality.

Morinth woke up with a smile on her face.

"No more waiting," she thought aloud, "time to go." She cleared her throat, and then in her mother's stolen voice, spoke. "EDI, please send for Commander Shepard. I need to speak to her about something urgently."

...

Ever since she grew up on Earth, Shepard had lived her life never looking back. From Earth to Torfan to Eden Prime to now, she did not dwell on her decisions, she did not question whether they were right or wrong, and she never ever regretted a choice she had made.

Morinth, however, was pushing it. When Shepard was told by EDI that 'Samara' wanted to speak, she fortified herself. Nothing good came out of interviewing this particular vampire. Still she'd gotten on it immediately, knowing full well what might happen if she ignored Morinth. She walked up to the door to Morinth's room with trepidation, but resolved to press forward. She opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark; were it not for the windows, it would be impossible to see. Everything was just vague silhouettes.

"Morinth?" She asked. "You there?"

There was a creak behind her and Shepard turned around to see Morinth standing mere feet from her, smiling. Shepard, for her part, flinched.

"Hello Shepard," Morinth said. "I'm glad you could make it."

"You did say it was urgent..."

"It is. I want you to take me to my sisters," Morinth proclaimed simply.

"I don't suppose this is so you can turn yourself in?" Morinth's smile didn't waiver, telling Shepard the answer to her question was a firm negative. "Okay. So why?"

"They're family... and I'm lonely."

"Sorry to hear that, but it's not happening."

"I'm sorry," Morinth chuckled. "I wasn't asking." Her eyes turned black. "Look into my eyes Shepard."

"We've done this before Morinth. You know... You can't... control... me..." She trailed off as she saw Morinth's irises turn red. Shepard's own eyes gradually widened, her pupils contracted, and her lips came apart.

"Correction. I couldn't control you, but that was before I added mother to myself. Ironic huh?" Morinth grinned as she stared at Shepard's slack expression. She could feel the grip she had on Shepard's mind. She reached out and pushed a strand of loose hair out of Shepard's eyes; the commander didn't react. She leaned in and stole a kiss from the Commander's open mouth. Again, no reaction. "Mmm... You taste wonderful... As delightful as it would be to finally have you right now, that'll have to wait until I've really gotten the chance to test mother's little secret, and to do that I'll have to pay a visit to Rila and Falere. You'll arrange that for me, won't you?"

"Yes... Morinth..." Shepard replied. "Anything you want..."

"Good girl. If this is to work, for the next few days, you'll have to forget who I really am, my pet." She drew forth her mother's voice again. "As far as you're concerned, I am Samara, and I killed Morinth on Omega. We just had a conversation about my daughters. I believe them to be in danger. You will take me to the monastery where they are being held so that I might investigate. Do you understand?"

"You are Samara... Your daughters are in danger... We will go... Yes..." She swallowed. Morinth noticed Shepard seemed to look uncomfortable, like her brain was overheating from the pressure she was exerting on it. Her subconscious mind may have still been trying to resist, or maybe she was enjoying this. That thought made Morinth grin.

"I will let you go now Shepard, but when I say the phrase "Daughter Knows Best", you'll return to this state with all your real memories intact." She wanted Shepard to know who she was one last time before she finally claimed her.

"Yes... Samara..." Shepard replied, her mind already adjusting to her new reality.

"Go. Do my bidding," Morinth stated, then her eyes reverted to their natural color and she snapped her fingers. Shepard blinked and shook her head.

"Sorry Samara, I was lost in thought," she said. "I'll tell EDI to set course for Lesuss. We'll find out what's going on there."

"Thank you Shepard. I knew I could count on you. Please hurry, the sooner we get there, the better..."