outer_divide | 012 ⌥ VIDEO. re-entry.

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012 ⌥ VIDEO. re-entry.

[ The camera switches on, turning left and right briefly--she's looking the device over, because if she remembers right, she left hers in the dome and fuck if she'd ever get that back--then it focuses on a face. She looks... like she's seen better days, let's say. Shepard may have left her injuries on the Crucible, but she sure as hell feels like she came out on the wrong end of this one. ]

This is Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy SR-2. [ But it's flat, a forced formality.

This is the part where she asks if anyone reads her, asks for a status update, asks someone to put her the fuck back in that pod so at least she knows how it ends... No. None of that's going to happen. She settles for a slightly (just slightly) more emphatic: ] Somebody tell me how long I've been out.

[ Because somebody has to recognize her. ....Right?

Some of those who don't might at least recognize the distinct OA-fashioned collar around her neck. Y'know, from back when they were the things that go bump in the night.

Shepard doesn't wait around long after the camera's turned off, though. She's heading for the mouth of the ship to see if that'll give her a good reading... ]

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[Mordin gives her a curious look. He was vaguely aware of this because of Shepard and Alenko's courtship nonsense, but seeing visible evidence was another matter entirely.]

Shepard. Fascinating.

[ That voice. She's immediately back on camera, peering for a second (is it really-...), then she's cracking a brief and weary half-grin. She can't help it. He's supposed to be dead. ]

Mordin. [ It's a decently warm greeting, all things considered. ] You're a sight for sore eyes.

Unexpected development.

[This is the first he'd heard of more than one version of the same person showing up]

[ Is it? That'll be one of many surprises for her, considering she's seen three Charles Xaviers standing in one room with a Jocelyn Xavier in a wheelchair nearby, not to mention Five and Lyall, near identical as they were.

Shepard swallows the urge to ask about a few of those names while she's at it--they were allies of hers, after all--but one thing at a time. ]

Is there a problem, Solus? [ Not to sound conceited, but she'd think he'd be a little happier to see her. ]

Thought already here.

[He looks her over]

Hair is different.

I'm not sure I follow. [ Whoops, looks like Kaidan and other!Shepard haven't gotten to her yet, so she's still in the dark on that one. ]

Commander Shepard already awake.

[He continues considering her]

Blonde.

[ This is going to be incredibly vague until our lovely mod reports in with deets, but!

Within the first fifteen minutes of her arrival, there appears to be a ruckus on the edge of the Old City. You see, the Outer Authorities? They weren't so friendly, last she was here. And now they're in the place she remembers calling 'home', swarming all around. Nope, nope, nope.

She doesn't have most of her weapons, nor her armor--just a hoodie and cargo pants, terrible as that may be for protecting her vitals. That and a simple Carnifex, which may have taken down plenty of mercs in her time, but now she's rusty from months in that pod and downright exhausted from the war back home. So the fact that she's facing off a good half-dozen of the OA, her pistol by her side but her finger conspicuously resting on the trigger, is probably a Very Bad Idea. ]

Hell, you'd think the guys who put this thing in my neck would have a little more to say than 'stand down'.

[ The tone's light, but not light enough. It's dangerous, plain and simple. If she had her gear, she'd have put a few holes in each of them by now, but Shepard remembers all too well how strong they were. She sure as hell isn't going to back down, but she's not stupid, either. ]

Edited 2013-09-20 02:40 (UTC)

[See what happens when Kaidan stops to take a lengthy lunch break for the sheer enjoyment of company as well as sandwiches? His communicator's off to one side, which means that he's late in hearing this Shepard's hail. Late enough, in fact, that she's already headed off to go see things for herself by the time he can answer her. It's only a few minutes' delay, but it's enough.]

Oh hell. I, ah, can probably manage to talk her down, she should remember me, but...

[The 'halp, backup plz' is naked in his expression as he shares it with the Jane Shepard he'd been having that lunch with, over his shoulder before double-timing it to the way out of the ship.

He arrives to a skidding stop to find a stand-off of sorts in progress. At least this time, there's no Udina involved. Right?]

Shepard! Stand down, c'mon, I know this looks a little suspicious, but I can explain.

Edited 2013-09-20 02:54 (UTC)

[The man taking point is late thirties, or thereabouts, exact age difficult to pin down in a way that speaks to good genes, and a lifetime of activity.

And possibly gene mods, but that's neither here nor there.

His gun isn't up, but his colleagues' are, a suggestion that whatever this confrontation is, it hasn't just begun.]

Drop the weapon, ma'am, and we'll sort this out.

[It's emphatic, with a slight undercurrent of irritation, and the latter sharpens as his gaze flicks briefly towards Kaidan, trusting to the men and women he works with to cover his back as he assesses this new development.]

She one of yours?

[Meaning from the ship - or, more likely, as that much is obvious, one of the people claiming to be from a reality where alliances were, in a word, shifted.

(In two more words, fucked up.)]

[ Kaidan. Exactly who Shepard didn't realize she was looking for. He was pretty much her right hand the first time around (and that's in the entirely non-dirty sense), so who better to brief her now?

His arrival, however, confuses her a bit. Her eyes narrow. She glances from Kaidan to the Authorities and back to Kaidan, trying to put together exactly why he's not being shot on sight. Why they're not wearing masks.

How long was she in that goddamn pod?

'Drop the weapon, ma'am, and we'll sort this out.' No. No, she'll be doing no such thing. Sorry, boys. Even her closest allies know better than to tell her to drop her weapon, so really, that part's nothing personal. To their question, though it wasn't meant for her, she corrects: ]

He's one of mine. [ Or was, at one point. At multiple points, really. It's complicated.

By now, she's decided where to focus, her eyes sharp on the man who addressed her even though her words are clearly directed to Kaidan off to the side. ]

I'm listening. [ It's tense but not hostile, not even quite as sharp as the tone she used on the OA. She's listening, Kaidan, but it'd better be damn good or someone's leaving this spot in a bag today. ]

Yeah -- she's from the Ship, but it's... complicated. It's OK, I got this.

[It's Kaidan, but the tone he's taking as he addresses the Authorities, directly, is definitely off from what she's remember. No shouted defiance here, more a tense sort of trust that they will hear him.

Of course, the glimmers of blue light spooling at his fingertips are always a useful way to indicate you plan to be taken seriously. He turns to Shepard, but doesn't take his eyes off the scene as a whole.]

You were in the pods for around eight months, subjective time, but all this [A wave of one hand takes in both the unmasked authorities and the absence of a certain gigantic blue dome.] didn't happen just because of the time passed. Salvation pulled everyone from her back -- and forward -- to different points in Verdana's history, and I don't know if it was a malfunction, sabotage or a cry for help, but the long and short of it is that science fiction is proved right once again, and changing the past changes the future.

[And now he has to hope that a living dead woman who's seen the advance of xenocidal sentient machines and then been pulled to another corner of the multiverse has a little bit more room in her to believe in the impossible.]

Complicated.

[There's a wealth of no shit in the man's tone, but he gestures Kaidan to be about his business. It serves, apparently, as a signal to the others - two armoured figures pull off, leaving only three remaining. Aside from the spokesperson, they don't put their guns up. Shepard's still armed, still potentially unstable - still, in a word, a threat.

That's nothing personal, either.]

[ And they're listening to him. Not completely, but that's a hell of a lot more than she's used to.

So she's listening to him, too. And fuck if he isn't talking about honest-to-god time travel, which would have Shepard skeptical on the best of days. But even with all of that to wrap her head around, she can't help but go back to 'eight months'. Eight months... Hell, between this last stretch of the war and her time under lock and key, eight months sounds about right. Is that why it pulled her back in? So she could... what? Finish the fight? Or just remember a fight that's already finished?

No. No, nope, that's too much to think about right now. She's got god-knows-how-many enemy guns much too close to distract herself with existential time-space bullshit.

So instead, she addresses Kaidan's existential time-space bullshit. ]

They killed innocent civilians, [ she insists. ] They put this in my neck. [Her tone's low and mutinous, but he knows her too well. Mutinous means he's won. He's won, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. ]

This is bullshit, [ Is her verdict, but she's jamming her pistol down the waist of the back of her pants. Shepard holds her hands up, palm-out, exhaling a slow and exasperated sigh through her nose. ]

Well, the Outer Authorities did, but, ah... different 'they'. [It's a small point of fact, but a rather critical one all things considered.

His expression crimps as he gets a better look at the collar she's still wearing, grimly mapping it against his eight months' memory and finding that it's one bit of damage that Salvation's pods apparently can't heal.]

I'm thinking we can do better in terms of removing that, now. Mordin Solus is here, and another guy who's got to be some kind of medical genius to make up for his personality. But in the interests of getting all the existential bullshit dealt with all at once... there's someone you should really meet.

[He remembers the Xaviers Three, so at least there's a little past experience to help straighten things out, but even aside from the world of difference between a Charles and a Jocelyn that two female Shepards just won't share, it's proving exceedingly different when it's personal. His hand drops low in the sort of silent signal that's all too familiar from the field, signalling for a friendly to advance into a cleared zone. He's trusting in that stashed pistol being a good sign.]

[Shepard was keeping her distance, letting Kaidan do his thing, because if she'd run up with him she honestly figures it would've just complicated matters even more.

All the same, she's got her gun in hand while she watches the scene unfold, until he signals for her to advance. She moves out into the open, walking up to join Kaidan, sliding her gun back into its holster at her side. She's not in armor--today is one of very few days off-- but she's distinguishable enough as Shepard herself, the same walk, and even the same hoodie, though she's wearing a pair of jeans acquired from one of the local shops, rather than her uniform underneath.

She regards the other Shepard with slightly narrowed eyes, more studying than critical. She's been aware of the 'other' Shepard since her arrival here, but never actually expected to meet her. After a moment she raises her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side]

Commander Shepard? Nice to finally meet you.

[ Different 'they', Kaidan says. ] 'Different's pretty relative these days. [ So, so skeptical of all of this, but she's still got her hands up to show that she's not shooting anyone ~~for now~~, so she's really just bitching.

Meanwhile, Shepard's hopefully doing Kaidan proud by not explaining exactly how much the ability to take off the collar doesn't get them off the hook for putting it on her to start with. It's not even just the collar, really. Besides beating her all to hell and back, they tore through her mind like Jack with the Cerberus files. Putting shit in, taking shit out... File that under 'bullshit'.

But before she can say much either way, there's a new player on the field. She's stepping out of the ship at Kaidan's beckoning, confident and postured. The woman's wearing a hoodie like Shepard's, but that in itself isn't terribly strange--she's an ally of Kaidan's after all, Kaidan's as familiar with N7 stripes as any self-respecting marine. There's something unsettling about her, though. An uncomfortable familiarity that Shepard can't quite place.

She turns to the new woman now (turning her back on the OA, another small yield for Kaidan's sake), her own scrutiny slightly more masked. At the greeting, she offers a nod of acknowledgement, then asks: ]

Were you with Alliance?

[ Because she's trying to place the feeling she's getting, and nobody ever knew Shepard to beat around the bush. ]

[Well, expecting instant recognition probably would've been a bit much, since even with the vast and epic shenanigans revolving around the cloned Shepard, these two don't look nearly enough alike for that to make the assumption automatic.

Kaidan's would-be relaxation at seeing the dark haired Shepard turn her back on the Authorities is disrupted by the sort of steeling usually seen in a man having to peel off dried medi-gel from a former leg wound: one way or another, you're going to be losing hair, so it's best to do it quickly.]

Commander Shepard? Meet... Commander Shepard. This isn't like that clone on the Citadel, I swear.

Something like that.

[She smiles a little wryly at the other Shepard's question, before Kaidan elaborates on the situation. It's probably better coming from him. She does give him a bit of a look for bringing up the clone, but doesn't say anything, turning her attention back to the brunette Shepard]

You were here before, right? So you should be familiar with how the ship could potentially have people from several different versions of the same universe.

I am. [ Outwardly, she's unshaken by this revelation. Inwardly? It threw her for a hell of a loop. Because really, shit like this is always a lot different when it's happening to you.

It's this Shepard's turn to tilt her head, just barely. ] The other doubles were near identical. [ Which explains how she didn't pick up on it right away. Not gonna lie, she's definitely scrutinizing this blonde Shepard that much harder now, though she isn't making a show of it.

It makes sense, though. All of it. Kaidan probably survived Virmire, in that Shepard's world. The puzzle pieces are coming together, even if they are pointing strongly to the fact that the piece known as Shepard (this Shepard) was mixed into the wrong box. ]

You're both of you different from my universe's Shepard. She's earthborn, for one, and she's not a biotic for another. Infiltrator, actually.

[Because adding yet more proof of how varied their bit of the multiverse is is... supposed to help? Somehow? Kaidan scrubs his hand at the back of his neck.]

The mutants and the group that Stark's part of seem to be another case of similar-but-different, from what I've seen. The weird thing is that, for us, it seems like the Shepards are the only thing that changes. I mean, you both seem to know me, and Dr. Solus. Liara, Tali, Ash... everyone who's cycled through has been pretty much the same. So, ah, I guess Commander Shepard continues to be unique.

[Shepard frowns slightly as Kaidan points that out. She honestly hadn't thought of it like that, before. But then, she also hadn't realized how different she'd look from the other Shepard. Beyond the hair, at least, which had been pointed out to her several times, now.]

So we're both Shepard, not imitations or substitutions. Or, as the case may be, imposters. [Because there was enough of that in their own universes, already.]

[ This Shepard, however, isn't as bothered by Kaidan's declaration. She didn't realize quite how different his own Shepard is, but she always did know it wasn't her.

What gets to her is the list of names. Tali, Ash... ]

Tali and Ash were here?

[ Missing the point? Maybe. But Shepard has priorities, and around here, her squadmates are always at the top of that list. ]

Tali, I never really saw. It was... brief, and the timelines were messed up. Shepard-- Jane Sheperd[The amendment is hurried, as he tries to differentiate between the pair of first human spectres.] --would probably know more than me. Ash was here for a few months, though.

[He falls silent to mull over that, before running ashoal of the fact that there's really not much you can say when someone's gone back to the pods.

Kaidan changes the subject instead.]

So, ah, nobody really uses the Old City much any more, except the Outer Authorities who use it as staging space for patrolling the quarantine line. The Flop's still around, but it's in Poseidon, which you'd remember as rubble and is not a pretty decent little port town.

[Shepard nods her head a little at Kaidan's affirmations about Tali and Ashley]

Tali woke up while time was messed up, myself and several others were in the future of this place, and she joined us. She was gone shortly after time fixed itself again. Ash... not long after that.

[She doesn't rest easy with either of those losses, though Ashley's stings a little more. Getting a second chance with someone you lost in the line of duty was a gift, and losing them a second time wasn't easy.

At Kaidan's subject change she nods a little.]

As you saw the Authorities are a very different creature from what they were. They're more interested in working with us, rather than against us. There's also a local sheriff, and I work with her, so do several other people from the ship. Bandits are still a problem.

[The voice is similar, so's the name. Kerra can't help but ask...]

Wait, there's more than one of you now?

[ Shepard doesn't recognize the face, but clearly this person recognizes Shepard. By name, anyway. This is definitely going to take some getting used to. ]

Looks like it. [ The reply's a little dry, but it's not unfriendly. However she feels about her blonde counterpart, she's not going to take it out on the civvies, or whoever the hell this is. ]

[Kerra snorts, but her expression is pretty friendly.]

Kriff, I thought this place was weird enough with all you Earthlings, but now other versions.

Anyway. Guess you've come back from a pod, from before when I showed? I'm Kerra. Kerra Holt, Jedi Knight and...I guess here I'm a commercial pilot.

Jedi. [ Shepard echoes, then: ] Not sure I'm familiar. [ At least 'commercial pilot' is pretty universal. ]

Peacekeepers and guardians where I come from. We use a power called the Force to do things similar to biotics but a lot more potent if what I've seen from Kaidan is the case.

[Kerra's smile is friendly, easygoing, and best described as roguish.]

Should I just call you Shepard 2.0 or...?

[ If Shepard were the 'look on the bright side' sort, she'd say it's kind of handy not to have to explain a dozen or two times what biotics are.

Unfortunately, she's not. Not currently, anyway. So (to the question at the end) she's letting out a dry huff-like chuckle, shaking her head a little. ]

Hell if I know. [ She wasn't expecting to need an alias. Shepard isn't exactly a common name, in places like this. ] Guess I'll get back to you on that.

Got a first name?

[She chuckles, easily shrugging off the sarcasm.]

Does she?

[ She's half serious, too. Her first name's a bit of a messy issue.

But Shepard concedes a little. ]

How's an initial work for you?

I dunno. I just called her Shepard. She's kinda stuffy for me.

[Another shrug]

Whatever works for you.

N. [ It's the closest she's given anyone to her real name in nearly two decades, but times like this call for some kind of measures, even if not desperate ones. ] N Shepard.

[ Or blondie can be 'Shepard' and Shepard'll be 'Commander'. Or hell, blondie can be Blondie, for all Shepard cares. ]

Or even just 'Red'. [ Though her armor doesn't fit until she gets the collar off, she's holding up one of the gauntlets into view of the camera. It's a deep red in color, much like the rest of the armor sitting off-screen. ]

Edited 2013-09-24 05:20 (UTC)

[Kerra grins at that.]

Red. I like it, it's snappy. Goes good on you.

[Honestly, she doesn't talk to the other Shepard much. Blondes aren't her type, and she's just too much a soldier for a scoundrel like Kerra]

[ Jeez, Kerra's in for a surprise if she's not a fan of soldiers. Shepard may not be nearly as straight-laced, but she's about as 'soldier' as it gets.

...Although Blondie did seem a little worse on that one, she has to admit. ]

Glad you think so.

[ Since she'll probably be using it an awful lot, around here. ]

[It's the straight laced bit that gets her. It's not like Kerra isn't a soldier herself. Just...unconventional.]

Anywho. I guess you're up to speed on the Authorities thing, then? And the time travel stuff?

[ In that case, you came to the right Shepard. Unconventional's a good way to describe it. ]

More or less. [ She glances off to the side, not quite distractedly, then back at the screen. ] If it's all the same, I should probably go. [ Nothing against Kerra. Shepard's just... got some shit to figure out. ]

Yep. If you need help with something, let me know.

[Kerra shrugs, knowing that feeling pretty well. And then closes out the feed.]

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012 ⌥ VIDEO. re-entry.

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ACTION for kaidan and anyone else who wants to get involved

Re: ACTION for kaidan and anyone else who wants to get involved

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[Video]

[Video] wow, this didn't submit ether. assuming this happens after the action thread

Video] s'ok

[video forever]

[video forever]

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pretend the icon doesn't directly contradict my tag, whoops

haha

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