Samara

Samara is a nearly thousand-year-old asari justicar, a member of an ancient monastic order following a strict honor code. Though she is skilled with weapons, Samara usually relies on her powerful biotic abilities. Justicars rarely leave asari space, but Samara's pursuit of justice has brought her to Illium.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Submachine Guns
 * Assault Rifles

Dossier
Like many asari, Samara's Maiden phase of life was marked by adventure and excitement. At one point she ran with a mercenary gang and discovered her talent for combat. Her membership in the gang came to an end when she led a transport mission and discovered the cargo was not weaponry or machinery, but slaves intended for sale to the Collectors.

Samara tried to have the ship turned around, but met with resistance from her team and was forced to kill them. The Collector ship arrived just as the battle ended; fortunately, the ship was close enough to a mass relay for her to escape. Once safe, Samara gave the slaves a speech about self-defense and passed out the credits, weapons, and armor that had belonged to her mercenary comrades, then left them all at the Citadel.

Samara left her mercenary career after that and slowed down, eventually finding stability with an asari mate and raising a family. Samara had three daughters, but discovered, to her horror, they were all Ardat-Yakshi, suffering a genetic condition that made them kill their mates during melding. As Samara explains later, she herself is a pureblood; she believes that the stigma against them lies partially in their increased probability of giving birth to Ardat-Yakshi daughters.

Two of Samara's daughters, Falere and Rila, chose to live their lives in isolation and comfort. Her third daughter, Morinth, whom Samara described as the "smartest and bravest" of the three, refused to go into seclusion and fled, beginning a spree of murder and violence. Recognizing her daughter's growing addiction to killing her mates, Samara gave up her worldly possessions, swore herself to the Code, and became a justicar.

Samara hunted her daughter across the galaxy for centuries. At one time, Samara had discovered Morinth had perverted an entire village, making them worship her and bringing her young asari as sacrifices. When Samara arrived, Morinth fled, throwing waves of her minions at her and buying herself time to escape with their lives. When Samara was done only small children remained, who she left in the care of the authorities and continued her pursuit.

At another time, Samara crossed paths with Nihlus Kryik after she witnessed him murder an unarmed civilian. She had no choice but to engage him. They fought for days on the planet, chasing each other in the wilderness. Eventually, Nihlus manipulated Samara by putting her in a situation where she had to let an innocent die or let him escape. Despite having lost to him, she was impressed that he had learned how to turn the Code against her and adapt.

By 2185, Samara has hunted Morinth out of asari space to Illium. Following a lead that Eclipse mercenaries have helped Morinth escape off world, Samara hunts them down and interrogates one of the mercenaries for the name of the ship Morinth was travelling on. When the merc refuses to answer, Samara kills her only to meet Commander Shepard, who has come to Illium in the hope of recruiting Samara. She expresses interest in Shepard's mission, but is required to go into Detective Anaya's custody for a time.

Samara asks Shepard's help in finding the name of the ship—a task made all the more urgent by the fact that, after a day in custody, the Justicar Code would oblige Samara to escape, possibly killing many police officers in the process. When Shepard returns with the ship's name &mdash; the AML Demeter — Samara swears the Third Oath of Subsumation, binding herself to Shepard's morals, and vowing to fight the Collectors. However, her hunt for Morinth remains utmost in her mind.

Loyalty
Samara's loyalty mission concerns her hunt for her daughter, Morinth. Thanks to Shepard's help in discovering the ship's name, Samara tracks Morinth to Omega and learns that Morinth has just killed another victim. Samara and Shepard investigate the victim's apartment on Omega, and on doing so Samara offers a suggestion: Shepard will act as bait for Morinth and lure her into a trap.

After discovering the password to Afterlife Club's VIP area from the victim's effects, they head there and Shepard goes inside alone. Shepard wanders about the club interacting with its patrons in the hope of attracting Morinth's attention, and the plan seems to have worked.

Morinth comes over to Shepard and she invites the Commander to a private table where Shepard seemingly shares "common interests" with her. When she is fully interested in Shepard, she brings the Commander to her apartment. Shepard continues to sound interested in Morinth by talking to her about the things in her apartment. Finally, when Morinth attempts to mate with Shepard, Samara rushes in and a battle between Samara and Morinth ensues. Eventually, their battle gets stuck in a deadlock, thus Shepard must choose to either assist Morinth or Samara.

When Shepard chooses to assist Samara, Morinth is killed and Shepard gains Samara's loyalty. However if Shepard chooses otherwise, Morinth kills Samara instead and takes her place in disguise. Regardless of the choice, the mission is complete.

Romance
Through conversations, Shepard can show a romantic interest in Samara. However, due to Samara's commitment to the Code, she chooses to serve the code over romantic pursuit, which the code does not forbid, thus rejecting Shepard's advances. Nonetheless, she notes that she appreciates the interest.

Shepard may continue to push for a romantic relationship, which causes Samara to almost give in to Shepard's advances and share a kiss, but she stops Shepard at the last moment and asks for some time alone. After that moment, she goes to the Crew Quarters and observes the drive core. If Shepard tries to speak to her, she simply replies with "Please." She later returns to the Starboard Observation Deck when Shepard leaves.

If Shepard committed numerous questionable deeds in the past, however, Samara instead says that she does not feel the same connection and that she has seen Shepard do too many things that would compel her to violence were she not under oath.

Mass Effect 3
Samara returns to fight the Reapers, provided she survived Shepard's attack on the Collector base. Her name will be posted on the Normandy's Memorial Wall otherwise.

Samara reunites with Shepard on Lesuss, where Reaper forces are assaulting an Ardat-Yakshi monastery, looking to convert the sterile asari into Banshees. Samara is able to rescue her youngest daughter Falere, but Rila—who was in the process of being converted—chooses to stay behind, sacrificing herself to destroy the other Banshees by detonating a bomb left by an asari commando unit.

With the monastery destroyed, Samara explains that the justicar code would compel her to kill the last of her daughters, because Falere, as an Ardat-Yakshi, cannot live outside the monastery.

Unwilling to do it, she attempts to commit suicide, to her daughter's mixed grief and horror. Shepard can choose to restrain her, or passively let Samara fulfill her own code.

If Shepard lets Samara kill herself, then the Commander can either leave or murder her remaining daughter. Samara's name is engraved on the Memorial Wall afterwards, another casualty of the war.

If Shepard chooses to stop her, however, Samara is made to see reason. Falere promises to stay to rebuild the monastery, which Samara's code permits. Mother and daughter share a moment before going their separate ways to do what needed to be done: Samara joins the fight against the Reapers.

Shepard and Samara can later meet on the Citadel, where Samara thanks Shepard for preventing her death, promising her aid in the final battle. If Shepard tried to romance her before and nearly shared a kiss, at the end of their meeting on the Citadel Samara takes Shepard's hand with both her hands and adds, "Your time is precious. Spend it wisely. And with those who care for you."

Shepard can talk to Samara one last time via hologram during the final assault on Earth. Samara declares that it's past time she joined Shepard's battle. If Shepard is renegade, Samara remarks that the Commander's gift for inspiring confidence is needed more than ever. When Shepard asks if that gift would work against the many factions fighting the war she's of the opinion most would have deemed an alliance between disparate peoples impossible. If Shepard is of a paragon disposition, Samara instead reminds the Commander how she helped her at the monastery. Shepard expresses gratitude at her returning the favor, and she advises that may the Commander choose actions well since it is all that will be remembered.

If both Samara and Falere survive the Lesuss mission, they will be seen on an urban asari cityscape if Shepard chooses to use the Crucible at all. Falere seems happy and Samara is finally at peace. Alternatively, Samara will be shown fighting injustice, resuming her life as a justicar if she failed to follow up on Morinth back in 2185.

Weapon proficiencies

 * Assault Rifles
 * Submachine Guns

Dossier
Samara's presence depends on her being alive after the Lesuss incident.

Sometime after Shepard retakes the Normandy, Samara messages her former Commander saying that she is currently at the Citadel and asks if she can be of any assistance. Samara can then be invited to the apartment where they have just have a chat on their accomplishments, how the news portray them, and how they feel about it. Provided that a Paragon Shepard is not currently romancing anyone, and an attempt was made to romance Samara previously, Shepard can try to start a relationship with her again. The attempt is more successful, and Samara allows Shepard to hold her and they share a kiss.

Samara can assist Shepard in the Armax Arsenal Arena, provided the license to team up with her is acquired.

If Shepard accepts Kolyat's request for a memorial service, Samara is present along with Thane's other crewmates from his time on the Normandy. During her turn to speak, she reflects that while Thane's last stand was important, they must also remember why he left the Normandy: to keep his son away from a life of crime. Such deeds do not go unnoticed by the universe. They echo in all who hear them, and that is why Samara chose to attend.

Samara is an optional invite to Shepard's big party. At the party's first phase, she's hanging out with Liara and Traynor by the kitchen. If the party is set to energetic, she shares that she sometimes misses her younger days: centuries upon centuries of carefree sex. If the party is quiet, she simply tells the others to enjoy the diversions of youth while they last.

When Samantha coaxes the guests for recollections involving their histories with Shepard, Samara replies that working with the Commander reminded her of her younger days: working with mercenaries, blowing stuff up with mercenaries, and occasionally sleeping with mercenaries.

At the second phase of the party, if the mood was set to energetic, if Shepard and Samara are just friends and Zaeed Massani is around he will attempt to flirt with her by the wall painting in the kitchen area. Samara gives up analyzing the painting after saying she likes the way the colors blend because she has no idea what she's saying and remarks she's not sure what it is, but Zaeed had poetic ideas about it instead, causing her to remark he's a complicated man. Zaeed brings up the topic of his "Jessie", and Samara misinterprets it as his former lover. Soon enough she gets clarification, and gently rebuffs Zaeed for the last time by stating there's nothing wrong with silence between friends.

If Zaeed is absent, Samara meditates under the stairs near the apartment's entrance.

In a quiet setting, Samara meditates upstairs near the couches, soaking up the enjoyment of others because she finds it calming. She apparently found the corner after a quick break from the restroom, and has been sitting there since. She's quick to point out she recognizes Shepard's footfalls when the Commander comes around. Shepard remarks that meditating isn't usually party behavior, and Samara replies she hasn't really been to many parties.

At the third phase of the party, if everyone is invited to dance, Samara joins the dancing Cortez and Traynor by the kitchen. If the mood is set to quiet, Samara hangs out with Joker and Cortez along with most of the gang Shepard has worked with over the years by the upstairs couches.

Trivia

 * Samara's face is modeled after model Rana McAnear, who often cosplays as Samara.
 * In Hebrew the anglicized name samara translates as guard or guardian.
 * Samara's armor and jewelry were created with feminine lines and ornate detailing meant to capture her archetypal description of "mystic warrior".
 * Interestingly, the holo-projector on level 28 of Zakera Ward that mentions a potential love interest by name if they are present is capable of saying "Justicar Samara", despite her not actually being a full-fledged romance option.
 * If Shepard is mostly Renegade, Samara comments that if she wasn't bound to Shepard by the oath, their meeting would have ended in violence. Otherwise she simply says that if Shepard makes her do something that goes against her Code, she will kill the Commander after their mission is over.


 * As with all squad members, Samara has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.
 * The Shadow Broker has files on Samara which can be accessed aboard his ship.

Samara