Mass Effect: Reaper Dreams

Chess Sans Voir

"The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill."

Albert Einstein

May 17th, 2188

Samantha Traynor

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The shuttle flight had lasted nearly fifteen hours. Her legs were cramped, her eyes were tired from trying to read a dreadful novel, and she was famished. Alliance Medical, based in the Arcturus System, was still another hour away. The twenty passengers who'd been crammed into the shuttle were, likewise, restless and agitated. It was truly an unfortunate experience.

Still, they were all quiet as church mice. Two small children, who'd been crying off and on all flight, were finally exhausted enough to sleep. Fortunately, not a soul present possessed the faintest trace of masochism, so, they all sat especially still, suffering in blessed silence. Samantha wondered if it was being over-dramatic to compare a shuttle ride to being a POW. It probably was, but it was difficult to remember an experience as awful as this had been, disqualifying Diana's death of course.

She opened her pad. Each time she did so, her engagement picture popped up on the screen. She read the announcement, as always. It had become a ritual over the last few months.

Dianna Allers, War Correspondent for the Human Alliance News Network, is to be married to Samantha Traynor, Specialist Op in the System's Alliance. Ms. Allers is the daughter of Joseph M. Allers and Sarah D. Murphy Allers of Milgrom, Beckenstein, both presumed deceased. Ms. Traynor is the daughter of Hugh H. Traynor and Faria Gowa of New Carson, Horizon, both presumed to be alive. A June wedding is planned.

Funny, that little addition to announcements that had become customary over the recent year. 'Presumed to be' was a preamble on over half the population of the galaxy these days. Until the relays were all opened, it would remain thus. Diana's parents, presumed dead, her own parents, presumed alive, but as far as Diana, there was no presumption about it. She was simply deceased.

Sometimes life could be beautiful, but just as often it was total rubbish. Her grief was like a hot stone that had been punched into her chest, and was stuck to her heart, slowly burning, burning, and no matter what anyone said, the time and space wasn't making it go away. She didn't know how Liara could stand it.

Aimee had made things better for a while. She was delightful, really. They had become fast friends, and the flirty banter was a welcome diversion in her life, but it couldn't replace what she'd lost, and in fact it often reminded her that EDI was gone. Samantha missed EDI, she missed Diana, and damn it all, she missed Shepard.

The vivid dream she'd had a couple of weeks ago hadn't helped, really, it was like losing Shepard all over again. Samantha shook her head, recalling the imagery. It was strange how the subconscious worked. In her dreams she had relived the memory of taking a shower in Shepard's quarters, only this time it was much more intimate, in that the Commander had joined her in the shower. Shepard washed her hair, they talked, and they hugged. It was the strangest dream, sexual, and yet absent was the act itself.

Strangest of all, were Shepard's last words. 'If I see you again, I'll play for keeps.'

Samantha didn't understand what her subconscious was trying to tell her. It was best to just let it go before it drove her mad. Remembering the reason she turned on her pad, she opened to the book she'd been reading, Dorothy's Moon, which was one of Diana's favorites. It was a historical novel set in the early colonial days of the Alliance. She began to read where she left off.