She was cold.
Again.
What is it with these people? Are they all from the arctic or something?
Jade moved to sit up but the motion was arrested suddenly.
What the fuck?
She opened her eyes and looked down at the sturdy, wide, band stretched across her chest. Her wrists and ankles were similarly restrained. She tested the bonds, setting them to creaking with the strain but stopped after only a moment.
Okay, time for a recap. Jade quickly reviewed what memories she had leading up to the current moment. Went for a snack and I was attacked by some kind of Alien/Predator hybrid beasts and now I'm strapped to a gurney like some kind of psycho. What the fuck is going on here? Least I'm still in one piece though. Thought I was a goner for sure.
She began to cautiously try to get a better idea of her surroundings. None of the medical equipment was familiar to her in anything but the vaguest way. She heard a gentle susurration from the other end of the room but there was a piece of equipment blocking her view of its source. The doors on that end of the room swished open.
"Is she awake?" Shepard's voice was the most welcome thing Jade had heard in a very long time. The only response the commander received was more of that gentle hissing. Jade heard footsteps approaching her bed and watched as the commander rounded the corner and gestured someone out of sight to stay where they were.
"Hey there soldier, how are you doing?" Shepard began. "Heard you had kind of a rough night. Want to tell me about it?"
"That depends on whether or not you managed to catch and kill those monsters that got on your ship," Jade replied. "They looked like they could do some serious damage."
"We'll get to that in a moment," the commander said. "For now, just rest assured that you, me, and the rest of the crew are perfectly safe from those 'monsters'. I want to know what happened."
"Well," Jade started, trying to think of where to start the story. "It was a couple of hours after the Doc finally ran Vega off. I'd taken a nap but I woke up hungry as a bear in springtime. I'd gotten a quick and dirty tour earlier so I figured I'd sneak into the mess and grab a snack without bothering anybody. All of a sudden, this … I dunno even how to describe it … this thing was on the other side of the counter growling and snarling at me. So I reacted. Grabbed the knife, started slashing and making my way to the crew quarters, yelling at the top of my lungs just hoping they all weren't dead already.
"Then this other one rounds the corner from Starboard Observation and I figure I'm sunk. They're both snarling and growling and clicking like there's no tomorrow and I'm up against a wall of teeth and claws. The first one's even got his arms spread out wide to keep me from running past him. Anyway I figured if I was going to go down, I was going to go down fighting and take one of 'em with me. So I back up against the Med Bay doors so at least the fuckers can't flank me.
"'Bout that time the doors slide open and the next thing I know I'm strapped to a table like a felon gypped out of his last meal."
Shepard maintained her silence throughout the whole of Jade's story, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"So you never heard any of these creatures speak?" She asked slowly, as though trying to make pieces from different puzzles fit together to make a single image.
"Speak?" Jade asked, incredulous. "No ma'am, though I was a little busy running and fighting for my life to ask them what their preferred spices for Jade Tartare were."
"This is important Harmon," the commander snapped. "Did. You. Hear. Them. Speak."
Jade was chastised by the other woman's tone.
"No ma'am," she said again. "All I heard was growling and snarling and clicking. Except for the last one, the one who came out of the Med Bay he hissed like a pissed off rattler."
"Well Mordin," The commander turned to the other person who was still out of sight. "What do you think?"
Jade heard more of that hissing from before and craned her neck to try to see around the corner just as the source of the sound came into view.
Jade's response was immediate and dramatic. She pulled as far away from the creature as the restraints allowed as it stretched out an orange wreathed hand toward her head and opened her mouth to shout a warning when her thought process was interrupted by a burst of static that seemed to come from inside her head.
"… anslator installed but never calibrated." A high pitched, rapid fire stream of English replaced both the hissing and the static. "Likely never thought she'd wake up. Same model as yours Shepard. Also, took the liberty of activating accelerometers in hands. Should make interfacing with tech more efficient."
The creature looked directly at Jade and blinked ridiculously large eyes. "Can understand me now, yes? Good, maybe now will refrain from attempting surgery with a butcher knife."
At Jade's small nod it turned back to Shepard. "Should be safe to release Ms. Harmon now. Must return to work on genophage. Just about to begin critical test. Will be here if you need me."
The strange being turned and made its way to the other end of the Medical Bay and Shepard looked at Jade.
The wheels in Jade's head may turn slowly at times but they do turn and she'd been thinking since the creature – Mordin, she reminded herself – had begun speaking in a language she could understand.
"That was the Dr. Solus Doctor Chakwas was talking about yesterday, wasn't it?" She asked the commander. "And last night, those weren't monsters who had invaded the ship were they? Fuck, less than one day aboard and I managed to piss off one of your lieutenants, confuse your doctor and attempt to kill two other crewmembers."
"Actually," Shepard replied as she evaluated Jade's new attitude. "Only one of them is a member of my crew, the other was the leader of his race. I only just managed to convince him that you'd undergone some severely traumatic experiences and weren't in your right mind when you threatened to carve him into tiny turian chunks."
Jade went quite pale at this revelation.
Fuck, you've really stepped in it this time Harmon. Now what are you going to do with yourself? You can't even figure out how to work the elevator in this one ship, how do you expect to be able to survive on your own?
"I imagine you're planning on setting me down on the nearest habitable planet after that stunt," Jade said trying to suss out the commander's intentions. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"Not necessarily," the redhead replied. "Garrus said you were pretty talented with that knife, could have taken his eye if you'd been more focused on killing him than running away and Victus said your tactical thinking was sound even though you were clearly panicked. That kind of compliment from a Turian isn't something to be taken lightly.
"You planning on attacking any more of my crew if I let you out?" As Jade's shook her head, Shepard removed the restraints. "I could use someone with that kind of fire and fast thinking on my team. We've got a critical mission and I can use every talent I can get my hands on to defeat the Reapers."
Jade sat up and regarded the other woman steadily, rubbing her wrists reflexively.
"I don't know what these 'Reapers' are, but it's not like I've got anything better to do." She rose and stood at attention. "If you think I might be an asset I'll gladly help you in any way I can."
"Welcome aboard Sergeant Harmon," Shepard returned the salute Jade reflexively rendered and then relaxed her posture. "Now let's see about getting you some clothes that actually fit."