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Sneaking through the Normandy with her cloak activated – hell, sneaking through most places with her cloak activated – was a customary part of Kasumi's life. There was little more comforting to the elusive thief than passing through her surroundings undetected, able to enjoy the environment she was in without having to actively participate in it. The choice was freeing; being able to decide when or when not to be perceived granted Kasumi with a feeling of safety that had become paramount in a world that was, as she had often experienced, rife with situations that she wouldn't otherwise have control over.
Kasumi was many things. She was sentimental, a romantic. She was a vessel of almost unrelenting optimism, which tended to take people by surprise. She was empathetic and caring. She was also, through her own careful crafting, completely enigmatic. She aimed to reveal as little about herself as possible, especially after Keiji's death. Since his passing, she couldn't imagine sharing details about her life in the same way with anybody else; only the Commander had come close, having made a point of stopping by for conversations during downtime between missions, but as much as Kasumi enjoyed Shepard's company she couldn't bring herself to let the woman reach beyond the surface of her inner psyche. It would hurt her, open her up to emotions she tried to push through rather than deal with directly. She knew it wasn't the most healthy mindset to have, but she also couldn't deny that it helped to focus on the goings on around her rather than herself.
It was a decision Kasumi had chosen to make. Nobody except Keiji would know it, but she built a layer between herself and the world around her – both physically and mentally – because she needed a sense of control in her life in the face of everything that had been taken from her. Keiji, and before that, her parents, killed by slavers during her childhood. It wouldn't be ideal for her to give in and break down over her losses while the rest of the crew were gearing up to pass through the Omega 4 Relay.
She didn't doubt for even a moment that what they were embarking on was essentially a suicide mission, yet she found herself more concerned over retrieving Keiji's greybox from Hock than the danger that surely laid ahead. The Normandy was en route to the Boltzmann system. From there, they'll be heading to Bekenstein to infiltrate Hock's party. All Kasumi had to do was wait but she was growing restless.
Perhaps part of the reason why she had decided to seek out Samara was precisely that. The justicar did not pry. She had sworn an oath to Shepard that allowed Shepard's orders to override her code and she did not ask questions that would compel her to take action against anybody on the crew once her oath was complete. Kasumi wasn't sure whether the justicar's code would judge any of her past exploits as unjust and she didn't wish to find out, she just knew she was suddenly feeling drawn to Samara's tranquil aura. It was what she needed right now, to have a conversation with somebody so calm, who would not try to pry beyond what Kasumi was willing to reveal.
Samara heard the door woosh open, the gentle thudding of steps stopping just behind her. From the pattern of the footfall and the silence that followed, she could tell that it was not Shepard. The Commander was never so tentative, instead often announcing her presence in a room immediately as she all but crashed in.
Samara turned around to see who was there and saw... nobody. Curious. Must be the ship's mysterious young thief.
“Hello, Kasumi.” Samara called out to the open.
There was movement in the corner of her eye and suddenly, the woman in question appeared, stood maintaining a respectable distance beside her.
“Ah, sorry about that. I probably should've deactivated the cloak before coming in.” Kasumi apologized sheepishly.
Samara powered down her biotic meditation and beckoned Kasumi to take a seat on the floor next to her. Kasumi obliged.
“What brings you here?” Samara asked once the woman was settled comfortably.
“Just needed to get out and about for a while. There's only so much staring at the stars you can do before it gets boring. I figured we haven't really spoken to each other since you came aboard, so here I am.” Kasumi responded. It was the truth, if lacking in detail.
Samara faced Kasumi and gave her slight smile. “That is true. Though I'm sure you know there is little else to do in this room other than gaze at the stars.”
“Boring things can become interesting when you do them with someone else.” Kasumi smiled in return.
“That's an endearing perspective.” Samara glanced back towards the unfathomable expanse of the galaxy, appearing now to be more relaxed in Kasumi's presence. “Shepard tells me we're heading to Bekenstein. She wasn't forthcoming on detail but she mentioned that the two of you were going to be attending a party.”
It was a statement, not a question raised to be answered.
“That's right. It's the reason I signed up for this wild suicide mission.” Kasumi replied.
“She mentioned that you would be retrieving a personal item, though she didn't say what it was.” Samara stated matter-of-factly.
Kasumi made a mental note to thank Shepard later for not revealing those specifics. She wasn't yet aware of what was stored on the greybox that was so dangerous, but she knew that it was nothing the justicar needed to be informed about. Not to mention, greyboxes were illegal, and the memories of her time with Keiji that were also on the greybox were for nobody except herself.
“A man named Donovan Hock stole something that belonged to my old partner and I'm planning on getting it back.” Kasumi explained.
Samara eyed Kasumi with a look of sincerity. “It must be important to you, to be risking your life for it on this mission.”
“Pretty much. It's very personal to me, and Hock killed him for it.”
The way Kasumi's voice lowered almost into a whisper did not go unnoticed by Samara, but she did not comment on it. Instead, she redirected the conversation slightly.
“You aren't the only one whose own goals has led to serving on the Normandy. Zaeed has been quite vocal about getting his revenge on the leader of the Blue Suns.” Samara said.
“What about you?” Kasumi asked before she could stop herself, “I mean, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want but I heard you're here so you can continue your own mission once we're done with the Collectors?” If we survive, Kasumi added in her mind, but she thought best not to give voice to that elephant in the room.
“Yes.” Samara paused for a moment, as if considering how much to reveal, “I was faced with a situation in which my options were to either kill a detective to escape custody, or join Shepard aboard the Normandy to avoid that outcome. The Code dictated that I join Shepard. Once we've completed our mission through the Omega 4 Relay I will continue to pursue the dangerous killer I have been hunting for centuries and stop her before she can inflict more suffering on the galaxy.”
Kasumi noticed the strain in Samara's voice. She seemed weary. “That sounds like a rough decision.”
“It was necessary.” is all Samara offered in response.
Silence fell between them. If Samara was feeling uncomfortable, she didn't show it, but Kasumi was starting to feel awkward. If she were in a group, she'd use this as the opportunity to activate her cloak and sneak away from the conversation but with just Samara here she couldn't very well do that. Plus, she had initiated their interaction by visiting her quarters. It would be rude to just get up and leave now.
“So... biotics, huh? What's that like?” Kasumi said and inwardly cringed. Might as well have said “nice weather we're having today”!
“Very useful, most of the time.” Samara's stoic expression shifted into something more at ease. “One does not go almost a thousand years without learning a trick or two.”
“I can imagine. Not sure I'd want biotics myself though, considering subtle and discreet is sort of my thing and I can't be that and a walking neon blue lady at the same time.” Kasumi joked.
Samara cracked a smile, “I believe you're capable enough without biotic powers. If you were a biotic, however, I'd be happy to assist you in honing your skills.”
Kasumi felt herself blush a little at the compliment and was grateful that Samara couldn't see her face under her the roof of her hood. “I think Shepard might have something to say about that.”
“Shepard allows it. I thought it best to gain her permission before I started instructing Jack.” Samara replied.
Kasumi couldn't hide her surprise. “For real? I didn't think she'd be the sort to want help.”
“Jack is not quick to trust, but after a while she warmed up to the idea. I think revisiting Pragia helped her put some things into perspective. Shepard brought me along as part of the ground team on that mission.” Samara explained, “Since then, she's been less flippant towards me.”
“So you saw first hand what she went through as a child.” Kasumi mused.
When Kasumi heard about what Cerberus had done to Jack she had been horrified. It was so awful that she almost couldn't believe it. Or perhaps, she just didn't want to. She had experienced grief in her own childhood with the loss of her parents but she couldn't imagine the kind of trauma that came from being imprisoned and experimented on like a lab rat in such a brutal way.
The smile fell from Samara's face. “If those scientists were not already dead, they would be once I became free to pursue them.”
Kasumi couldn't argue that they wouldn't deserve it. She decided to try to move the conversation onto something less heavy.
“You use your biotics to meditate, right? That must be cool, being able to to totally zone out from the world like that.”
Samara shook her head. “Not quite. I don't lose complete awareness of my surroundings. Being a justicar makes that dangerous; I have to be able to enter a relaxed state without letting my guard down too much, in case anybody uses it as an opportunity to act against me.”
“That makes sense. How do you do it, though? I've heard it can be hard keeping up biotics for too long.” Kasumi asked.
“It gets easier with practice, which I have had plenty of time for over the past several hundred years. Watch,” Samara created a small biotic orb between her hands, “If you were a biotic, this would be the base point you would need to start with. The key is to focus purely on creating the biotic mass, maintaining its size, and tuning out distractions that could prevent you from keeping the mass consistent. Then, once you've got a comfortable enough grasp of the basics, you would be able to move onto creating a larger, more demanding biotic mass.”
Samara increased the size of the orb, “The larger the mass, the more challenging it becomes to maintain for a long duration of time. It takes a lot of mental energy and you wouldn't be able to do it without your full focus, especially when first starting out. It's best to practice where you won't be disturbed much, at least until you've got more experience.”
“With time, you'd be able to turn your efforts towards finding the balance between maintaining the mass and adjusting your focus level to the right amount for the environment you are in.” Samara continued, “For example, if somebody were alone in their apartment, they would be able to focus their full attention on maintaining the mass. They could almost completely block out the world around themselves without repercussion because there would be nothing happening around them that would require their attention. Alternatively, if somebody – such as myself – spends a lot of time travelling through public spaces, they would need to focus on the mass enough to enter a relaxed state while maintaining enough awareness of the world around them to react to outside activity when necessary.”
“That's... incredible.” Kasumi said, for lack of a better response. “Is that how you know when one of us comes in here even with your back turned to the door?” She asked, awed by glowing blue orb. Apparently it's as relaxing to watch as it is to create.
“I remain aware enough to hear the door open. I can usually identify who is there by the footfall behind me. I couldn't identify your footsteps since this is the first time you've stopped by, but since you are the only member of the crew who cloaks through the the ship I knew that it must be you.” Samara replied, diminishing the biotic mass and returning her full attention to Kasumi.
Kasumi chuckled. “Got to admit, that's some seriously impressive stuff. Now I almost wish I could be a biotic myself.”
“And I've wondered on occasion whether a tactical cloak would be an asset in helping me carry out my justicar duties.” Samara chuckled in return. (Did I actually just make a justicar laugh?, Kasumi thought to herself, I should get some kind of medal for that!)
“Well, what's stopping you?”
“A similar reason as you mentioned earlier. My biotics are my greatest weapon and I can't risk anything that could hamper my ability to use my powers effectively. Besides, the life of a justicar is hectic and I'm afraid I don't have enough time to learn a whole new skill set in between my duties. That's a time I reserve for my meditation whenever possible.” Samara replied.
“Yeah, I guess sneaky infiltration and flashy biotic displays just don't go hand in hand together very well.” Kasumi shrugged.
The pair fell into silence again, but this time Kasumi felt comfortable. She still couldn't describe the justicar as warm, exactly, but there was a friendliness underneath that stoic exterior that surprised Kasumi.
Almost as if reading her mind, Samara spoke, “This has been nice. I don't often get to enjoy the company of others, least of all those who actually choose to seek me out.”
“I know you haven't been here as long as some of the others but surely I'm not the only one who's come to see you? Jack has, and I'm sure Shepard does.” Kasumi responded.
“True, but I think some of the crew are still apprehensive of me. Given the circumstances, they have no reason to fear unless they do something particularly unjust on this mission... Still, I try not to learn about anything that would cause me to act against a member of this crew were I not bound by my oath.”
I've done my fair share of questionable things during my time as a thief, Kasumi thought to herself. Wasn't planning on turning this into a confessional but still, best to be cautious.
“Most of us have never met a justicar before, we didn't exactly know what to expect when you came aboard.” Kasumi said, trying to steer the conversation away from potentially hinting at her own misdeeds.
“That's fair. Regardless, being on the Normandy has so far been a pleasant experience.” Samara replied, and Kasumi was almost sure she detected a hint of affection in her tone.
They sat together for a while longer, quiet engulfing the room once again; gazing out the window, Kasumi watched stars twinkle in the distance and wondered what Keiji would think if he could see her now, sat with a justicar of all things. He wouldn't be happy that she had signed herself up for a suicide mission, she knew that. But she also knew that it would be worth it to get his greybox back from the man who murdered him.
The galaxy could be a very bad place sometimes but despite her own reservations, especially after Keiji's death, she still believed the galaxy was ultimately good overall. The Collectors weren't just a threat to humanity, they were a threat to everybody alive today and they needed to be stopped. How many people had already been abducted? How many children were now left without parents, just like she was years ago, because the Collectors took them away to god knows where? Even though she was on the Normandy primarily for her own purposes, she couldn't deny that she wanted to destroy the Collectors as much as everyone else on the ship. Regardless of whether she survived, she would feel proud to be part of a mission so vital to protecting the galaxy.
Fatigue set in as Kasumi stifled a yawn. Samara appeared to also be tiring, having finished up another meditative session and was now merely resting with her eyes closed. Kasumi decided that it would be a good time to head back to her own quarters and try to get some sleep. It would be another day until the Normandy reached Bekenstein but she needed to make sure she was rested.
Kasumi was glad that she sought out Samara's company. In hindsight, it could have gone wrong in many ways, but the reality was that she was feeling more at peace than she had in days. Sometimes comfort came from unexpected places.
Activating her cloak, she bid farewell to Samara and headed back to the port observation with a contented smile on her face.