video;

[backsassin]

[Oh man, you do not want to see what Zam is doing to his hand to operate his MID right now. It doesn’t hurt because shapeshifting, but it probably looks very disturbing to anyone around him to see his hand with the joints of his fingers all apparently turned inside-out. But hey, when you only have one arm to work with, you do what you gotta do.

Crewmembers will see the face of a young man on their MIDs. He doesn’t look familiar. Unless they squint.]

Hello crewmates. This is Zam Wesell, rank, uh… [He’s really not good with the whole military style ranking system. Or maybe he would be if they had chosen actual words for each of the ranks.] The one that starts with an isk.

Long story short, I lost an arm during the incident on-planet and I’m trying to figure out how to apply for a prosthetic. Apparently it involves using your rank as payment of some sort? [He shakes his head incredulously. He understands paying for medical care, but the process is so much more complex than it needs to be. And whoever heard of using your actual rank as currency?]

Anybody know how it actually works? I’d prefer to figure it out sooner rather than later. [His shapeshifting may help him navigate many of the difficulties that come with losing a limb, but it’s still a major inconvenience. Not to mention, he can't stand how many sympathetic looks he’s getting lately.]

Also, in case my saying "This is Zam Wesell" didn't make it clear enough: yes, it's still me. Different face, same person. [He gives a wry smile.] Please don't make me introduce myself to the entire ship again.

Comments

[backsassin]

Lend a hand? [That actually gets a grin out of him.] That’s horrible.

To be honest, most of it is little stuff and I’m not about to call somebody halfway across the ship to help me open a jar or put on my shoes. [He can usually figure it out on his own anyways, given enough time and ingenuity. It’s less that he can’t do what he could before and more that he has to do it differently. And a lot more slowly.]

Thanks for the offer, though.

[vengeance_driven]

Hey, I had lots of friends lose limbs in the war. It's not an easy job. You do decide it is worth the help, let me know.

Ah...

I do not mean to offend, but do I change pronouns to match what you look like or do I just go with what I meet you as? [This is a lot easier to get around to than it would have been Niko comes from an Old World country where even the slightest leanings of sexuality that deviates from the heteronormative is frowned upon. Even being well traveled now, he trips up. But considering his last CO chose gender pronouns based on whether or not they had produced life it is much simpler to approach.]

[backsassin]

I will. [Assuming he runs into a problem that a good amount of shapeshifting and/or problem solving skills can’t solve.] Hopefully I’ll get a replacement soon enough that it won’t matter either way.

[He doesn’t seem at all bothered by the question.] Use whichever ones look like they fit. [He shrugs.] “They” works if you aren’t sure. [He pulls a look of feigned concern.] But you aren't going to be talking about me behind my back that much, are you?

[vengeance_driven]

I have to prepare for that moment you do something stupid. [He must remain in his state of brat, even in the face of disaster.] But this is good to know.

[backsassin]

[Zam laughs despite everything.] I already tried challenging a giant, raging monster to a shoot-out. I’m not sure it’s possible for even me to top that.

[vengeance_driven]

It takes a pretty big gun or a good suit of armor before you can win a shoot-out with one of those. I guess I know what I will be investing in eventually.

[He does miss his suit of armor from the Nehada, though. It was good to be able to separate his normal guy face from his inner monster.]

Or maybe just a vehicle.

[backsassin]

That thing acted like live blaster bolts were less than bug bites. If we really wanted to kill it, we should’ve left it on the planet. [Too much? He says it flippantly enough, though for all his jokes, he can’t say he doesn’t appreciate the thought of taking down the creature that brought a building down on top of his arm.]

I hear they’ve got that thing locked up in the cargo hold now. No way that could go wrong.

[vengeance_driven]

My girlfriend helped build the cage. I know if she is involved in something, she would do it right. [Boundless faith in Tali, there. He doesn't know that she almost did slip up- it was a difficult situation.]

[backsassin]

With all due respect, that thing destroyed an entire planet. No offense to your girlfriend, but last I checked, a ship is even easier to destroy.

[vengeance_driven]

She could do it. [He has every confidence in her and her abilities.] She had help from other people good at this, too.

And also, it wasn't him. Not entirely. It was this fucking ship that did it. He made a lot of damage, but it was the ship being fucked up that caused the end.

I saw something like this from the ship I was taken onto before.