Samara

"By the code I will serve you Shepard. Your choices are my choices. Your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code."

Samara is a nearly 1000 year old asari justicar, a member of an ancient asari monastic order that operates on a strict code outside of government rule. Her strong conviction to her position is said to stem from a past incident that has left her with a burden of guilt. She is a powerful biotic, distinguished by her graceful movements in combat.

Samara is voiced by Maggie Baird.

Asari Justicar

 * Rank 1
 * Health: +5.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +6.00%
 * Power Recharge Time: -6.00%


 * Rank 2
 * Health: +10.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +12.00%
 * Power Recharge Time: -12.00%


 * Rank 3
 * Health: +15.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +18.00%
 * Power Recharge Time: -18.00%


 * Rank 4 Unlocks choice between Sapiens Justicar or Caedo Justicar
 * Sapiens Justicar: Samara's biotic abilities now rival those of an asari Matriarch, further reducing the recharge time of her powers.
 * Health: +20.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +18.00%
 * Power Recharge Time: -25.00%
 * Caedo Justicar: Samara's time is spent honing her lethal skills, increasing her weapon damage.
 * Health: +20.00%
 * Weapon Damage: +25.00%
 * Power Recharge Time: -18.00%

Dossier
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard heads to Illium in search of Samara, believing that her skills as a justicar and biotic will assist the Commander's mission to stop the Collectors' galaxy-wide abduction of humans. Once on Illium, Shepard speaks to an asari police officer, who points them in the direction of a local mercenary hideout. Shepard's team head to the hideout and arrive to find Samara brutally interrogating a mercenary. The interrogation goes bad and Samara ends up killing the mercenary and is subsequently arrested by the asari police, but before being taken away Shepard manages to get a moment to talk to her. She tells Shepard's team to find more information on the mercenary group and to track down a ship owned by the mercenary's allies that had just escaped with Samara's target prior to their arrival. Completing the mission reveals Samara's target escaped offworld on the AML Demeter.

If Shepard speaks to Samara in between missions she reveals bits and pieces of her life. When she was younger, she ran with a merc gang. This lasted up until she led a transport mission and discovered the cargo was not weaponry or machinery, but slaves that were being sold to the Collectors. Samara admits that she tried to have the ship turned around but was met with resistance from her team. She killed them all just as the Collectors ship arrived and managed to be close enough to a Mass Relay for her to escape. Once safe, she gave the slaves a speech about self-defense and passed out the money, weapons, and armor her fallen team had, then left them all at the Citadel. She left the life of being a merc after that and slowed down, eventually finding stability in the idea of starting a family. Samara has three daughters, which are all Ardat-Yakshi. Two chose to live their lives in isolation and comfort. Her third daughter, Morinth, whom Samara described as the "smartest and bravest" of the three, fought the idea of being kept away from civilization. Recognizing her daughter's addiction to stealing lifeforce, Samara gave up her worldly possessions and became a justicar. Her primary mission and motivation has been chasing down Morinth and ending her existence.

Samara admits to Shepard that she is a pureblood, and expresses her belief that the stigma against them lies in their increased probability of giving birth to Ardat-Yakshi daughters.

Samara reveals that living as a justicar has granted her the chance to explore areas of space that no one really knows of. If Shepard asks for a story, Samara will admit that she once fought a Spectre named Nihlus 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 around in the forest. Eventually, Shepard learns that Samara had to let him escape because he put her in a situation where she had to choose to let him go or let another innocent die. Despite having lost to him, she was impressed that he had learned how to manipulate her code so quickly.

Loyalty: Ardat-Yakshi
Samara's loyalty quest concerns her daughter Morinth. Morinth is an Ardat-Yakshi, meaning she possesses a genetic mutation that causes her to kill her mates. Samara has sworn to kill her, and has learned that Morinth has just murdered again on Omega. After Samara and Shepard investigate the victims apartment on Omega, Shepard enters the VIP room of Afterlife in order to gain Morinth's attention and lure her away to her apartment, where Samara can kill her. At the apartment, if Shepard has a high enough paragon/renegade, Shepard will have the option of siding with Morinth. If Shepard does so, Samara is killed and Morinth joins the team. Otherwise, Samara kills Morinth, and unlocks her Reave ability.

Trivia

 * Samara's armor and jewelry were created with feminine lines and ornate detailing meant to capture her archetypal description of "mystic warrior".
 * Through conversations, Shepard has the option to show a romantic interest in Samara. She dismisses the advance, but notes that she appreciates the interest nonetheless. This rejection is not due to the Code, which does not forbid such things, but by her own choice.
 * 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.
 * If Shepard chooses to destroy the Collector base, Samara tells Shepard that it was the right decision, saying that the Illusive Man lacks the wisdom to properly use it.
 * Samara's name is appropriate for her role as a justicar, in Hebrew and Arabic it translates as 'guardian' or 'protected by god'.