01 | video | @lazarus

[benhargreeves]

[ Public speaking is far from Ben's forte, but the good thing about uploading a video like this is that he can do multiple takes. In the frame behind Ben are shelves full of books; he filmed this in that little anteroom of the library that he and Peter had unearthed from the rubble.

He gets right to it; no introductions, no small talk. ]

Can anyone with experience at interpreting maps, handling old and fragile documents, or just anybody who speaks multiple languages please get in contact with me? I found some interesting stuff in the library a while back but I'm not making much progress with it.

[ A pause, and he seems about to terminate the video. Then he adds as an afterthought: ]

Oh, and I guess if anybody is just looking for something good to read to pass the time, I can help out with that. I can check if a particular book is down here, or recommend something.

[ Ben's self-appointed himself as the de facto librarian of the Anchor, because he wants to contribute in some way, and he's always been a bit of a bookworm. ]

Comments

[queenofthegirlscouts]

[ She almost makes a joke about Prothean, but he's not her crew or even probably from her time, so she holds it back.

But if her ability to understand Prothean comes in useful, she'll be very surprised. ]

Hey, if those classes turn out useful, so much the better! Can you text me the directions?

[benhargreeves]

[ Yeah no way Ben would have gotten that joke, smart move.

Ben sends the directions down to the library, wondering if he should brace himself to meet someone who is not human (but who referenced humans language because Ben is speaking one and she could see from the video that he is one). If she's an alien should he ask what she is? Is there ANY way of phrasing that question that doesn't come off as bigoted or weird or nosy or all three? ]

What alien languages did you study?

[ Might as well text while she is on her way and see what information he can get in advance... ]

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Asari lingua franca, Turian ditto - although clarification there. I can understand most of it without the translator, and I can read it, but I can't replicate the sounds. Wrong vocal chords. Not that that'd matter with a map. Can read Salarian.

[ No point in even trying to understand it without the universal translator implant, honestly. They just speak too damn fast for her. ]

Batarian, a couple dialects. I can recognize a few others on sight. Enough to say what they are and call for back up.

[benhargreeves]

[ Okay, that... doesn't really give him much of a clue if the person he's talking to is human or not and he has never heard of any of those languages but Ben just decides to be prepared for whatever will happen. ]

I'm not gonna lie to you, I've never heard of any of those. Humans aren't in contact with any aliens where I'm from. Maybe we'll hit the jackpot, maybe not...

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Yeah, I guess I need to stop assuming everyone's from my time.

[ It's ruefully said, a statement packed with numerous impossibilities. Time-travel? Really?. ]

2157 is when we ran into the turians, or the turians ran into us. Depends on how you view it. But we've all adapted since then. Honestly, if we run into any of those languages, it either means that people never got back. Or they did, but it's all classified.

[ Cheerful thought, either way.

It's on that note that she walks into the library area, a tall, sturdy woman in dark blue fatigues and combat boots, walking the easy gait of someone prepared to keep this up for hours.

Very human. At least, very human-seeming.

She lifts her hand as she comes in. ]

Hey.

[benhargreeves]

[ The library itself is, well... it's less grimy than it was when Ben and Peter had first unearthed the door. The thick layer of dust is gone and a few of the lights have been prepared so it isn't completely dim in there. But the amount of disorder, and the half-done cleaning, makes it clear this place is a work in progress.

On one of the low tables, Ben has laid out the maps and journals and books they had found hidden away in a sealed box. They are a little more intact than many of the books on the shelves, but they don't look new by any means. Ben is sitting by them, halfway through a paperback which he shuts when she walks in. ]

Hey, thanks for coming, um...?

[ Only at that moment does he realize he hadn't actually asked her name earlier. Oops. ]

[queenofthegirlscouts]

Shepard, Commander Shepard of the-

[ She stops herself, sharply, and her mouth briefly flattens. ]

Formerly of the SSV Normandy. It's a long story. So, Shepard's fine. And you're...? Sorry, I forgot to ask your name earlier.

[benhargreeves]

Commander, as in military...?

[ He's also got just about no clue what the SSV is. A ship? A base? A habitation, or nation even? This is the trouble with meeting people from different times, different worlds. Gotta explain all those pesky acronyms it's so easy to forget about. ]

Ben Hargreeves. Formerly of Earth, 2019.

[ She'd mentioned the year she was from, might as well provide that information for himself, too. And then he gives a little wave, because standing up to shake her hand would seem weird and over-formal and awkward. Maybe waving is awkward, too. He's still working on this normal social interaction and small-talk thing. ]

I've got all the stuff here if you wouldn't mind taking a look...