tushanshu | Video 001

[Amelia is sitting straight up, looking directly at the screen. Hands folded in front of her, the very pose exudes authority; this is a woman who knows she is of rank.]

I am Captain Amelia of the Terran Royal Navy, lately returned from an expedition to locate the lost trove of the infamous pirate Nathaniel Flint, and more recently rather unceremoniously drenched in a tub of water and informed that I am to be engaging in a conflict against a malevolent entity of which I have not heard until today.

[A measured pause. Her tone indicates she is more irritated by the idea of fighting someone else’s war, rather than the prospect of combat itself. Or perhaps it is the drenching she is cross about.]

I do not care for being brought here against my will, especially if I do not know the how of it. These kedan are maddeningly unhelpful when questioned on such topics. They tell me that time has been stopped in my universe, which, if true - highly doubtful, of course - is of some relief. But if I am to stay here for an extended tenure, there are important questions that I must have answered. This…

[and here she pauses for a moment to pick her words. Amelia is not given to superstitions regarding the summoning of a monstrous being simply by speaking his name, but the kedan were very adamant about not saying it, and this has been a rather strange day. Best to not risk it, then.]

...M-fellow. I'd like to know more about him. If I have indeed been brought here to fight a war, then it is imperative that I know what I shall be dealing with. In addition, is it true we are riding on the back of a giant turtle?

[This last question is accompanied by nearly palpable disbelief.]

[The next pause is not one of calculation or thought, but of expectancy. Amelia’s waiting for her answers, and it’s only after the silence has gone on for a few seconds that she realizes replies will not be instantaneous.]

That’ll do, for the moment, so as not to overwhelm you.

[It’s a save, but she says it like it was always planned that way. She nods her head once at the screen, just ever so slightly.]

That is all.

[end transmission]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

['Terran' suggests Earth to Shepard, but this woman? Is definitely not human. So that immediately piques her interest.]

Captain. My name is Commander Jane Shepard, Earth Systems Alliance Navy.

There's not a lot we can tell you about this enemy we're supposed to be fighting. We know he's some kind of... evil spirit, who may have the power to drag souls into some kind of other realm of his own making. And he definitely has the power to make the turtle sick, which would kill everyone living here.

Beyond that, I suspect it's part of our job to figure it out.

Well met, Commander, although I can’t say I’ve heard of the Earth Systems Alliance. Though I suppose that’s to be expected, if we are all brought from different universes.

[Amelia frowns thoughtfully as she listens. An evil spirit is something she has not dealt with before.]

If it is our duty to learn more, then we must do so. I do not fancy fighting an unknown enemy.

You'll - well, you sort of get used to it. Some universes seem to have quite a bit in common with each other, and others... don't. [She waves a hand vaguely.]

We've been working on it - it's kind of piecemeal, but we know he can use the network, and that saying his name has the power to, well - call him, I guess. It's not just superstition, it's actually happened.

I can assure you our universes already share a common point in your species, so that much is familiar. [Amelia is assuming you're human. You look human, and for now that's good enough.]

A good thing I did not speak his name, then. A right disaster that would have been, calling a great villainous sort the moment I made myself known. Good that there is already an effort in place to gather more information. I shall keep an eye and an ear out for any other word of him.

Humans seem to be one of the more common elements in most of the universes, yeah. [Which Shepard sees as kind of weird, but she's mostly taken to shrugging it off as just another quirk of the turtle.]

If you're interested, or you want something to do with your time, I've got a couple of small teams working on emergency preparedness plans, evacuation strategies, self-defense, medical triage, that kind of thing. We meet every couple of weeks - the radio broadcast advertises when and where.

So I have noticed. [It's unusual to have such a large ratio of humans to other species responding to her.]

I think I may take you up on your offer, Commander. I assume the broadcasts will come in over this console? [Your universe has spaceflight but no radios, Amelia. What a weird place.]

No, you need to buy a radio. A bunch of Foreigner-run businesses sell them, they're really cheap. There's only one station, Clark Kent runs it. It's slightly safer than the network for sharing information.

Then I shall look into acquiring one immediately. I am in the Fire sector, I believe. Have you any advice on the nearest store that might stock one?

I don't know too much about the Fire sector - I'm in Earth, myself. You could always try asking your neighbors? They probably know what's close by.

Of course. I will ask about.

[Talking to Shepard has been rather nice, and clearly they won’t be getting into serious topics while on this network where they would be easily spied upon.]

Perhaps we could meet in person, Commander? We could discuss subjects at length without fear of being overheard by our wicked spirit friend. Maybe over a cup of tea, if you'd like, assuming they have that here. [If not that is a travesty and Amelia wants nothing more to do with this turtle.]

I'd be happy to meet in person for a chat, actually. I love learning about other cultures. And there are actually some good tea shops around here, or at least what passes for tea on the turtle. Kedan-run or Foreigner-run.

[She considers a moment.] There's a good one that's actually just this side of the line between Fire and Earth sector, it'd be about the same distance for both of us to get there. What about tomorrow afternoon?

Tomorrow afternoon would be a delight. And it is good to know this place has a sense of proper taste. I will meet you there. [She'll ask the kedan about finding it; surely they won't be so resistant to giving directions.]

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