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Video | 001

[The video flicks on to reveal a particularly banged up Commander Shepard still sitting in Medical, her scars cracking and glowing orange-red just a little more than they had been previously. She's got the communicator propped up so she doesn't have to move around too much. Getting it that way had required her to be entirely too patient and she was running thin on that. Being in a bed was by far the one thing she didn't want to do. While she's feeling better, it's clear that getting up is probably not something that's going to be happening for awhile yet. When she speaks, her voice is weary but there's steely determination in there.]

My name is Commander Sarka Shepard of the SSV Normandy SR-2 requesting a sitrep -- any information on our current whereabouts or mission parameters would be particularly helpful. Obviously, this-- [Shepard waves, indicating the ship itself.] --is not at all something I remotely recognize as being any sort of ship or facility design I am familiar with in the least. So, useful details would be appreciated.

[The muscles in her jaw tighten and twitch as she turns away, gingerly reaching for a glass of water. There's a brief flare of her biotics and she pauses to refocus. Nothing was working properly and it didn't help that she was irritated. Getting a hold of the glass, she drains it, and leans painfully to put it back down.]

I'll be Medical, probably for a few more hours, and then I think I'll drag my sorry ass to my quarters.

[She makes a face.]

I could think of better ways to wake up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We're not in your universe anymore, Commander. We're on a colony ship called the Tranquility and only two original crew members, Ward and Resnik, remain -- though they're not much help.

[ Pause. ]

You've also been here before, though you were... blonde. Things like that tend to happen on this ship, and compared to some of the rest of the things that happen, it's almost routine. A man called Zaeed is on board as well; he says he knows you.

[ There's a pause, a little bit of a grimace in Carolyn's expression; Zaeed had tried to hijack a shuttle, after all. She shakes her head, continuing. ]

Carolyn Fry, captain of Hunter-Gratzner, also not of your universe. I can send you the information that's been gathered, if you don't mind some reading.

[Shepard squinted a little, taking the info in with as little skepticism as she could. She was quiet for awhile as she mulled it over -- had she not just been through the events of the last three years, she probably wouldn't have taken it as well.]

Oh that's just great. [She pinches the bridge of her nose and looks up as if telling the universe where it could stuff a Thanix cannon. And then she pauses, her eyebrows arching.]

Zaeed? [She half-laughed loud enough that it hurt and she dropped her hand onto the bed.] Let me guess, ever since he came on board, he's been getting himself up to his eyeballs in trouble.

[She shook her head ruefully, though she did so with care. Despite her implants, the headache wasn't lessening anytime soon.]

I'd be happy to get a chunk of reading. The more familiar I am with whatever the hell is going on here, the better I'll feel. It's good to meet you, Captain. As to another me, I can only hope it was a semi-pleasant experience. The last time I encountered myself, it was as a clone. Let's just say it wasn't exactly pleasant. [She made a face and her expression waxed thoughtful.]

I can't say blonde wouldn't be too bad, though. {her fingers half crept back toward her thick head of bright red hair.]

He and two others tried to hijack a shuttle back to Earth. Considering we have no idea where we are in relation to Earth and it's not anyone's universe, he would've gotten himself killed. Instead they got thrown in the brig after making a mess of the shuttle bay.

[ Her bruises had had bruises for weeks after that... but one of her cats had also sliced into Zaeed's arm a while after, so that was okay. ]

You too -- again, anyway. We didn't get a lot of chances to talk before -- usually under an emergency situation -- but if you're unlucky enough to stick around, maybe that'll change. And no, it wasn't bad.

[ She smiles a little, then attaches the most recent info post. ]

Last jump was a pain in the ass, so I don't think they've had as much time to update everything as they would have liked to.

Heh. Sounds like Zaeed. Nice to see not everything changes. [Shepard offered a smile. It was quick since the split in her bottom lip pulled just enough to smart.]

Mm. Thanks for the info. [Shepard's already pulling the post up while the video continues and the image readjusts as she flicks through the reading material.]

Can't say I wouldn't mind the chance for conversation. Pretty sure nothing can be as bad as the crap at home was. Wars are never pretty. [Her eyebrow twitched a little.] Guess we'll see how long I'm stuck here.

[Shepard's pretty sure going home will result in her own death, at least it would according to the Catalyst. Then again, like she was gonna trust an AI construct? Hell no. She could hope she was going to survive -- for Kaidan, and for The Normandy.]

I don't think he believed what we told him the first time, but let's hope he knows better now. [ She really doesn't want to deal with another hijacking attempt. ]

Of course. [ People making stupid, uninformed decisions is more likely to come back and bite them all in the ass, after all. ]

There have been people here for over a standard Earth year, now -- not counting however much time we spend in the gravity couches each jump. If there's a way to tell, we haven't found it yet.

[ Short of shapeshifters sitting out as insects and counting. ]

He's got a thick skull, so don't hold your breath. [Her lips twist ever so slightly, her expression wry.] Despite that, he's damned decent when he's got your back. It'll take awhile before he trust anything at all, I'm sure.

[No doubt he's found other things to hack in the meantime. Cameras, especially.]

Once to get out of here, I'll. [She shifted and involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut. Yeah. Getting out of here was gonna take some damn time. Maybe her estimate of 'a few hours' was entirely too optimistic.] I'll pay him a visit.

[There wasn't a word in any of the languages she knew that would have come close to describing her situation -- on so very many levels.]

Might be a long haul, here, then. [The attachment had answered a few questions, which let her settle for the time being. There wasn't a damned thing she could do about getting home, now anyway.] I guess I could consider this a vacation.

I think they took his weapons, so maybe we'll at least get a break.

[ She's sure Zaeed isn't happy about that, but oh well. Sucks to be him. ]

Tell him I say hi. [ She smirks -- though it quickly fades, replaced with quiet concern. The commander looks like shit, after all. ]

You could. Maybe it'll even be quiet without creepy messages or science experiments attacking people or getting stuck in random hallways for a while.

Ah. [Shepard shifts again, wishing she could actually settle without her entire body protesting. Them's the breaks when you get slammed around, shot, punched, and hit by all sorts of nasty things all within the same twenty-four hours.] Sure. I'll relay that.

[She made the mistake of trying to roll her shoulder to relieve the tension and immediately stopped.]

Shit. I may be more comfortable here than I thought. [Her voice is pained by dry as a bone.] It's starting to sound like home away from home.

[ Dryly: ] Fun, isn't it?

[ But seriously Shep, you look like shit. ]

Some of the equipment down in medical is automated; it might be able to help some of your less serious injuries.