The My Fair D.A.M.E. Project

Chapter 3

author's note: So who thinks Dana and Company didn't get a fair fight? Well guess what? They didn't. You'll see why. Also, spoilers for Wynne's side story in here if you haven't done that in game.

Edit 2/23/10: Formatting updated for quotation grammar errors.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is for amusement only.

------------------

Dana Cousland moaned and tried to sit up from where she'd been laying. A pair of firm but gentle hands took her by the shoulders and guided her into a sitting position. Dana blinked and looked into the concerned face of Leliana. She gave her a grim smile and then looked around the room. It was a medium sized cell made of yet more strange metal. One wall was absent but a veil of strange energy appeared to hover forbiddingly in its place. She found there were several bunks bolted to the walls and not much else. On one bunk, Morrigan and Wynne sat side by side with a three inch space between them, almost commiserating but not. Dana then noticed their attire. All of their gear had been taken from them and they had been dressed in loose fitting pants and shirts of some strange thick white material.

Dana turned back to Leliana and pursed her lips briefly before speaking. "What happened?" Leliana's mouth quirked into what could have almost been a sarcastic smirk before recapping the fight.

Dana frowned as she listened. "Things went downhill way too fast," Leliana stated softly, "It was over before we really knew what happened. They were organized and used to working together. What's more… something's wrong with our mages. They can't access their magic. And Wynne… she's sick. Says she can barely feel her demon. For some reason their connection to the fade is strained. In the end… I think that's what made the difference. We were really down two of our number in addition to the disorientation of the ah… travel."

Dana nodded squeezed Leliana's hand. "I see. Thank you. And where are our men? Where's Alistair?" she asked next.

Leliana nodded to the hallway beyond the energy veil. "Another cell, down the hall. I could hear Oghren yelling earlier. A guard walked by and told him to shut up. It's been silent since. I'm certain everyone's alive though. The leader of that force. He was barking orders to not kill anyone." A breath that Dana hadn't realized she was holding released slowly from her as she came to the conclusion that everyone was at the very least alive.

She stood up and went over to check on her catatonic mages. "Wynne? Morrigan? Speak to me." she said softly. Morrigan's eyes flashed angrily at Dana before turning away and staring at the wall. Wynne looked up and managed the briefest of smiles.

"We're… fine," she murmurs, "Just tired and confused. I think some rest will help. My demon's trying to keep contact with me but it's hard. It doesn't know what's going on either." Dana nodded and patted Wynne's hand, "Just rest, my friend."

Dana stood in time to see the energy veil disappear and a strange looking… man, for it certainly couldn't be female, enter the cell. He was covered in scales and had blue painted markings on his mandibled face. He pointed at Dana, "Maam, come with me." he orders. Dana frowns and waves a placating hand at the other women before following the guard out of the cell.

His three fingered hand took her by the upper arm firmly and marched her down the hallway. She caught a brief glimpse of all of the men in another cell identical to her as they passed by. She saw Alistair jump up and run up to their energy veil. She heard him shout her name and then nothing more as she was whisked through a door that slid shut behind her. Dana pursed her lips and did her best to keep up with the 'guard' as he marched her past other cells and finally down a hall way with several numbered doors.

One door slid open as they approached it. The guard pulled Dana in and placed her next to an empty chair in front of the table and then left. It was then that she noticed the two sitting across the table from her.

John Shepard nodded briefly at the guard who left the human woman by her chair. And they knew for certain now that she was human thanks to the medical exam they performed before putting her in the cell. She, strangely enough, had none of the antibodies, immunities or signs of the numerous vaccinations and medical treatments that one received as a child to prevent diseases and disorders. It was as if she'd never been to see a doctor before.

John smiled warmly and gestured at the chair. "Please sit." he states. Garrus, who sat to his right, snorted as though such pleasantries were pointless. John inwardly laughed as he knew Garrus was enjoying the chance to be back in action.

The woman looked at them warily, confusion evident in her hesitancy. She finally pulled out the chair and sat down. She put on a scowl and crossed her arms. Her body language screamed that she knew she wouldn't make it out the door if she ran, but she wasn't going to admit it either. John simply smiled again and pushed a cup of water across the table to her.

"My name is John Shepard. Please, call me John. My associate is Detective Garrus Vakarian. What's your name, miss?" he asked pleasantly.

The woman's scowl deepened for a moment and then she sighed, "Lady Dana Cousland, Grey Warden from the Teyrnir Highever." she stated perfunctorily.

Garrus snorted, "What is that? Some kind of claim to royalty?"

She stared and answered back acidly, "Of course not. It's nobility, not royalty."

John waved his hand between them, "Ah hah… good to know the difference. Although, I must say, maam. I am not familiar with Highever. Is that the name of your planet or a region of one?"

At this, the woman blinked at him in confusion, "Planet? You mean like those things in the sky that glow like stars, but Astrologers say aren't really stars?"

John exchanged a look with Garrus before turning back to the woman with a smile. "Um… yes."

The woman's eyes darted back and forth between the two. Her lips were pursed as she appeared to be deciding on something. She finally nodded to herself and pegged John with an intense look, "Highever's a small region of Ferelden which is a country of the land called Thedas. I have never seen a place such as this anywhere, so it's easy for me to assume that I'm not anywhere near home anymore. I do not know what you mean by this talk of planets. The artifact transported us away from where we were. That's all I know."

Garrus leaned forward with a frown, "What artifact?"

The woman scowled at him again. "The big, round, silver one with the pointy end." she stated, some of the earlier acidity coming back.

John smiled again and pulled Garrus back by the shoulder, "Ah.. you mean the mass relay."

The woman blinked at him, again confused, "The what?"

"The mass relay."

"What's a mass relay?"

"It's the device that you described. It's a means of travel great distances in a short period of time."

"Oh kay… So, you people use this mass relay as a means of travel?"

"Yes."

"Then why was there one in Ostagar? I've never seen people like you anywhere in Ferelden before."

"Ostagar? Ah… well, no, you wouldn't have. We didn't create the mass relays. We just use them."

"Uh huh."

Garrus snorted again and looked at John before turning back to the woman, "Miss Cousland, you mean to tell us, that you just found a mass relay on your planet? And you'd never seen it before? I don't believe that. These things are beyond large. They are many miles wide and even more in length. It should've been very easy to spot."

Dana shook her head at Garrus. "No no no. The artifact we found was nowhere near as large. It was maybe thirty or so feet tall and less than half as wide. As for why we'd never seen it before. It had been magically sealed in a room in the catacombs below Ostagar. No one's been that way for generations."

Garrus balked, "Whoa.. wait? Magic? Are you serious? Shepard, we can't take this seriously. Magic?"

Dana scowled at Garrus, "Oh well excuse me if your people found some way to block my mages access to the fade! You nearly killed Wynne with that stunt, thank you very much!" she sniped back, clearly incensed.

John watched while Garrus and the woman argued back and forth about the validity of her claims before he interrupted with his hand on Garrus' shoulder again. "Maam, tell me. What's the fastest method of travel for your people?"

Garrus stared at John like he'd lost his marbles, but subsided, trusting his commander's intuition. Dana also appeared to be questioning his sanity but answered anyway. "By horse," she stated simply.

"And what do you use for lighting?"

"Oil lamps and candles usually. Some places have nice chandeliers," she snarked at him.

John looked over at Garrus, who was now examining the woman carefully. John then pushed a small green button on the table. "Thank you for your patience, Miss Cousland. Your escort will take you back to your cell now."

John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as she was escorted out once again. Garrus glared at John, "Will you explain now? What was that last line of questioning all about?"

John grinned and tapped the table with his fingers, "She didn't know what a mass relay was. They showed up wearing and wielding antique armor and weaponry by our standards, all well used by the way. She mentioned magic as though it were real. If you think about it… say you'd never seen nor even heard of biotics before. Had no clue the stuff they do could even be possible. Wouldn't you also think of it as magic?"

Garrus frowned and then nodded before motioning for John to continue with his explanation. "Okay. I can see that."

John nodded, smiling more. "So, considering what we know about the miniature mass relays, who's to say that there aren't more out there? That maybe the small ones were intended to be planet level transportation for use without a ship? We made the jaunt from Ilos to the Citadel on the mako. Who says it can't be done on foot? And who's to say that this woman's civilization isn't several centuries behind us in technology and just accidentally happened upon the relay?"

Garrus nodded. "That seems to be the case. We should try and confirm this with the other prisoners. See if we can find a conflict in the story." John nodded and called out for the next interviewee.

John looked up and smiled as the guard brought in the raven haired woman next. His smile faltered as he saw just the state of the woman's uniform. The legs of the pants had been ripped off to make very short shorts out of them. And the shirt had been creatively torn so that it was pulled around the neck, crossed in front and then tied in back. Strips of the remainder had been used to tie up her hair and also braided into bracelets and anklets that she now wore. John noticed Garrus gaping openly and reached over to close his mouth, internally checking to make sure his own was closed as well.

He should have known things would only go down from there. The interview was short as the woman was extremely combative and proceeded to insult Garrus and himself rather thoroughly. Dr. Chakwas interrupted, saying that while the woman was still early in her pregnancy, she didn't want to cause any undue issues with upsetting her. John signed, knowing that Chakwas had determined that the child was unusual. He nodded and allowed 'Morrigan' to be returned to the cell.

A red haired woman was next. She identified herself as Leliana and that she was a bard. She talked incessantly about everything they asked and then plenty they didn't want to know about. Like how many dresses an Orlesian bard really needed for a show. John thanked her and sighed in relief once she was gone.

Next was the elder woman, who appeared even more pale as she was brought in. She was much more informative about what they called magic and this place she referred to as the fade. Unfortunately, she was completely mum about the strange energy readings Dr. Chakwas had discovered during 'Wynne's' medical scan. She merely said that because of how far they were from Thedas, her connection to the fade was tenuous at best and that it endangered her health.

John compared notes with Garrus and then nodded for the guards to start bringing the males. Hopefully their story would make sense soon.

First in was the human male. Alistair, as he identified himself, snarked back and forth with Garrus throughout the interrogation. Yes, he was engaged to Dana Cousland. No it wasn't any of their business and they couldn't come to the wedding either. And what in the maker's name was Garrus anyway? Some kind of new demon from the fade?

After that was the very tall male, Sten. John began to think this one could give Wrex competition in the department for one word answers. He was silent, did not respond to goading or politeness and left with the guard as though everything were exactly as he expected it.

The guard then manhandled the short one into the room next. He yelled, shouted, and generally caused a ruckus before being seated in his chair. Once the interrogation finally started, Oghren then treated them to a verbal treatise on the finer points of dwarven ale and dwarven women. Garrus was merely reduced to a quiet stupor at this point.

Finally they brought in the effeminate male, who apparently was an elf. Zevran, painted lurid pictures with his words, twisting every question into some horrid innuendo that left Shepard and Garrus blinking in embarrassment. Zevran finally leaned forward and leered at Garrus, "So… tell me, Mr. Vakarian. Have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?"

Garrus replied with a dumbfounded, "Huh?"

Zevran frowned. "That's odd. It worked so well when Alistair tried that on Dana," he mumbled.

John finally dismissed the last prisoner and let his head thunk down on the table. "Well… they're all crazy," he muttered in consolation to Garrus.

Garrus nodded, from where he was uncharacteristically slumped in his seat, "Indeed. Crazy.. and all telling the same story. Where ever they're from, it's not anywhere around here."

John laughed bitterly into the tabletop and then sighed as he started to consider his next options.