[ thomas looks up from where he's got one foot up on the ledge by the window, leaning on his knee and looking out. his expression is rather serious... for thomas. ]

He's a piece of work. [ he looks back at jack, obviously deciding who's going to tell the story. ] For those unfamiliar with the country, Andres' Isle is a small nation off the coast of France. Tiny, really, and in many ways, seen as impossibly backwards, in that they've long held out against the sprawl of technology that's swept across so much of their part of Europe. Many have said that stepping on the island is a great deal like stepping back in time. They wouldn't be wrong.

But the Isle now is a great deal different than it was years ago. I remember that Andres quite vividly. [ he sounds distantly sound, and it's clear that to him, it feels like only yesterday ]