[right][img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/masseffect/images/c/c4/Arrae_-_Ex-Cerberus_Scientists.png/revision/latest?cb=20140519112226[/img][/right] [hr] [i]“Do you remember what happened, Desmarais?”[/i] The woman in the bed let out a hiss through clenched teeth - bringing her palm to her face.“Omega. I was stationed. A mission, I’m Tsillah Cell.” [i]“That explains why there’s no records to find for you… The injuries sustained were severe, you’re lucky to be alive. The gunshot was easy enough but your landing was rough.”[/i] “I don’t understand…” [i]“You fell, and hit a ledge before you fell further, Desmarais. Fractured your ribs, dislocated your shoulder, and you had an open head injury too.”[/i] “I..” [i]“You shouldn’t try to speak, just rest. We’ve done all that we can, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a few things hurt for a while. Try not to laugh, for instance.”[/i] “I don’t make a habit of it, anyway.” For the first time in what had felt like her whole life, Odette had been pushed back by her own body. She felt the ache on either side of her chest, the dull throbbing in her shoulder and the screaming hot noise in the back of her head. The thought alone of even trying to get out of the bed amplified every sensation. Her body was her work. Her ability to move, to climb, to dance across a location was [i]everything[/i]. Now she had been told to stop. All she could do was glance around the white walls of the cell, locked in by her own skin and bones. Still, as she tilted her head to look at her wounded shoulder, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride towards Callan, and that feeling invoked enough instant warmth to conjure a smile onto her face. [hr] A day later, and more rest, Odette felt better. She felt well enough to move around outside of her bed. There was nothing right about the way her body felt, but it was less disconcerting now. There was movement in her core, and she continued to pace around the pristine room, flexing and stretching - despite advice against it. The Cerberus agent wanted to be out. There had to be a way to contact Callan, to let him know she’d survived… Or was that best left? She sighed while staring off into the middle distance of the room. She [i]had[/i] to leave him. That was the whole reason for this. Walking back to Omega to find him would be too dangerous for them both. She contemplated it some more. All she had was silence, and the thoughts that occupied her mind. [hr] It had been three days since Odette’s extraction. For the most part, the Cerberus facility had been quiet until today. It had been the sound of a piercing scream, followed by thuds and shattering that woke the woman. She was a light sleeper at the best of times, but that chaos would have been enough to wake the absolute dead. [right][i]”I’LL KILL YOU”[/i][/right] Such a vicious and absolutely sincere sound. Even her heart started to race, and it was just a simple hand that she placed on the cabinet by her bed that was the indicator that she was readying herself for something if need be. But then the noise stopped. The noise stopped, and after that, a bed was wheeled through and into her room. A sleeping, beaten and bruised adolescent lay sprawled out upon it. Forced into sleep no doubt. The staff kept moving the man through until they reached the end. Odette made out the distinct shape of his biotic implant, and her mind instantly took her back to something that Callan had told her. About what Cerberus had been doing to him. She’d denied and rebuked his argument then, but his fear and his anger had been left in traces on her skin. For the first time in a long time, Odette’s face cracked and she showed, in a single glance, sadness for the boy. Was her old colleague right? Was this really why he had abandoned them? As the staff passed through, Odette was out of her bed and at the nearest terminal she could find. She was masterful at encrypting her messages, they’d never know - especially as it wasn’t even Callan the message was going to… But she knew he’d receive it. She needed his help.