An older woman stood by a large window, hopelessly looking out at the methodical slaughter of her people. As long and as hard as they had fought this was it, this was the end. She had given into despair and simply waited for the end. It wasn't too long until the swarm came and she was helplessly dragged into a stasis pod. She thought of her son as her consciousness began to slowly fade. His face was the last thing she saw before everything went dark.
Shepard's eyes fluttered open, her first instinct was to grab the nearest pillow. She needed to hold something that was real, something that brought her back from the dream- no the memory. Why now? It had been months since she last dreamt of the beacon and this dream; it was more vivid than any of the others. Shepard still felt the lingering touch of that woman's despair. It wasn't a feeling she was comfortable with, she was a fighter and the day she stopped fighting was the day she died.
The next thing Shepard knew she was getting out of bed and heading towards the elevator. I need a walk. She went down to deck 3to see if she could scavenge anything from the mess hall. Samara was sitting at the table with Rupert's latest dish half eaten in front of her. Shepard grabbed a bottle of water and sat across from her.
"If I'm not mistaken, you normally sleep at this time," Samara said, her voice was calm as always. It was one of the things Shepard liked about talking to Samara, she never felt obligated to say more than she wanted, never felt like anything was expected of her, she felt at ease.
"I do, but..." Shepard paused she didn't like concerning others with her problems but, the dream it felt so real, she had to tell someone. As good as her friends were they would want her to see the doc and Chakwas didn't need to be bothered by this.
Samara seemed to sense how Shepard felt, "Would you like to continue discussing this elsewhere?" she asked. Shepard simply nodded and followed Samara to the observation deck. When the doors closed behind them, they assumed their normal sitting positions; Samara with her legs crossed and palms out, Shepard with her knees up and arms lying across them. Shepard told Samara about her dream, about the memory she shouldn't have, about her need to fight. When she finished there was a pause and Samara looked as though she had come to a decision. "I remember having a similar feeling when I decided to dedicate my life to the code. Morinth had just run away and I felt responsible for her victims. There is a biotic exercise that helped ease my mind, I could teach you if you'd like, Commander."
Shepard wasn't sure at first, it sounded like meditation, something she'd never brought herself to do, but she trusted Samara. "I am up for anything you think might work," she admitted.
Samara smiled, "Alright then, assume my position and face me," Shepard did as Samara instructed sat so her knees were touching Samara's. Samara held Shepard's hands, "Now focus on focus on that feeling in your dream, do not hold back, let it fill you," Shepard smiled faintly feeling silly and thinking of the vids she saw when she was younger. Okay Samara is trying to help me; I can take this seriously for 2 minutes. She took a deep breath and thought about the moment right before she woke up, thought about her son's fleeting face, thought about her paralysis, thought about the destruction out her window, thought abo- "Good, pour that feeling into a small singularity." Had Samara's voice not been so soft, she probably would have lost concentration. It was difficult at first, Shepard's biotics were normally widespread and caused chaos, this was more precision, less power. Having Samara's hands there helped her resist the urge to clench her fists and somewhat relaxed her. It didn't last too long however, she wasn't used to holding it in this long and the little singularity collapsed. Shepard sighed as she felt some of the despair returning. "I didn't expect you to get it on your first time. It all has to do with your state of mind, once you can hold it long enough, you can dissipate it," Samara finished.
Despite having failed her initial attempt to meditate, Shepard felt better than she did before; maybe it was the meditating, maybe it was Samara's aura of calm, or maybe it was the relief of talking to someone. It didn't matter at least not at that moment; she could finally have peace of mind.
"Thank you for teaching me this, Samara. I'm sure it will come in handy again but for now I should try to sleep again," Shepard stood up "we have an important mission to see through."
"I understand, go on and rest. I will be here if you need me," Samara began her own meditation as Shepard left.
Soon she was back in her bed, staring at a tiny singularity floating in her hand, until it flickered out and she fell back asleep.