| An Odd Kind of Date |
| Summary: | Bannik asks Rose out on a date that only a cult leader can. |
| Date: | 1 Jul 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | Cylon visitation logs. |
| Players: |
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| Hydroponics — MV Elpis |
| Encompassing most of the port cargo pod, this area has been reconfigured to host a massive hydroponics operation. A latticework of catwalks and narrow ladders, pipes and transparent plastic enclosures, and grow-lighting surrounds rows upon rows of vegetables at varying stages of growth. Evenly-distributed pump machinery rumbles and clatters along, pumping nutrition-enriched water throughout the quietly moving system. A small portion of the hydroponics area deals with the cultivation of seedlings, providing a plastic membrane for the young plants until they have larger root systems. Rows of tanks line the outside wall, apparently some sort of algae growing facility - greens, ambers, and reds all cast a colorful tint. And at the fore area of the pod, many bins and tables and several refrigeration and packaging stations have been set up to handle the processing of vegetables harvested from this constant process.
There are workers here at seemingly all hours, monitoring the machines and the flow of life-giving water to the thousands of plants, transplanting new seedlings, or harvesting and packaging vegetables that have grown to maturity. At all hours, the facility is guarded. A small set of rooms at the fore of the hydroponics bay houses a triage and first aid treatment center. The freighter's sickbay is a minimal affair, containing a few beds and some basic equipment. A front desk is staffed by a corpsman at all times, and there's a small waiting area consisting of plastic chairs and some old magazines. A small office, shared by the doctors and nurses who work here, stands privately off to the side, where patient files are kept under lock and key. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #490 |
Balanced precariously on a short, wobbly folding ladder is a certain scientist, peering at a display one catwalk up from her. Rather than travel the length of the ground level and use the stairs like a normal human being, Rose seems to think it's perfectly safe to balance four feet off the floor and half-entangle oneself in electrical wires, computer cabling, and the occasional drainage tube in order to peer at a particularly well-hidden meter on a gauge. Wobble, wobble wobble. "Almost… there…" She mutters to herself, strain in her voice, craning her torso and neck. It's only a matter of time before she falls and breaks her neck.
Tyr Bannik, if anything else, is a nut about safety. It's one of those things that's bred of having been out of basic and Deck AIT right before the bombs hit. There are certain things that got drilled into you that didn't have time to get slack. So if there's one thing he notices when he gets into the Hydroponics Bay, it's an Unsafe Condition on Deck. He gasps, but doesn't, perhaps wisely, shout Rose's name. Might as well not startle her. Instead, he beelines for the ladder, looking to steady it.
"Ha! Gotcha!" Rose proudly declares, just as the ladder is beginning to wobble just a bit too far off its center of gravity. "Five one three point threeEEEEE!!!" She squeals as Tyr arrives just a hair too late to steady the ladder, but in perfect time to catch a flailing scientist. She manages to avoid tearing down wires and tubes as she falls, but in her effort to avoid said delicate things she careens straight for him, arms and hands desperately clawing at anything she can to avoid hitting the metal catwalk.
"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods." Well, at least Tyr is still using the plural. He scatters, like an outfielder chasing a ball under the lights, until he just holds out his arms to grab her and try to pull her in. Yes, he's going to hit the ground. But hopefully, only bruises will be the result. "Rose!"
Collision in 3… 2.. 1… whump! Fortunately for Tyr, Rose is about fifty kilos or so, soaking wet, but even that probably spells doom for the slight specialist. "Frak me!" Comes the uncharacteristic swear as Rose's white lab coat is thrown over her head, and limbs are a tangle with Bannik's as she tries to right herself. Squirming commences, and finally she manages to right herself enough so that she can flip back her errant coat and see who she's collided with. Blink blink. "Tyr? OhmygodsI'msosorry!!"
Were this a romantic comedy, this would be the perfect segway to Tyr asking Rose out.
Not as if Tyr hasn't thought of it. Thud! Tyr goes down onto the plating of the cargo pod, and while he doesn't have his cranial on — he's just in his greens — he doesn't manage to take too hard a blow. It'll just be sore later.
"Rose! Hey. Uhm. Just glad I'm here to catch you when you fall, huh?" He flashes his best self-deprecating smile, perhaps unsure of what else to do with it. "Are you okay?" He tries not to focus on the fact that he has his disciple quite literally in his arms, in a massive tangle of limbs.
There's always the prospect of getting attacked by a depressed PTSD deck chief and his sledgehammer. "I'm fine, thanks to… well, you! I probably would've broken my neck or something," she says, pushing strands of red hair out of her face. The small bun she wears nowadays has pretty much been flailed apart, so her hair is running amok. There's a brief moment where the social awkardness between the two nerds is palpable, and Rose gulps down a swallow, cheeks reddening a bit. "I should, ah, get up." And that process ends up being uncomfortable for Tyr as well.
Tyr has bright red cheeks like he's been out in the sun for days at all of this. He shifts, but, really, that just makes the whole matter worse. Finally, he keeps himself planted and allows Rose to get on off him. "Yeah. Uhm. So. Other than — that." The fall. "How are you doing? I mean — what's new?" He tries, somehow, to press on through this.
"I'm… fine! Just doing some research, as always, and muddling through everything else like I always do." She goes about pulling her clothes straight, fixing herself the best way she can, twisting her skirt and tugging her blouse down. "It's just me and my plants and my algae. And the machines. Sometimes I talk to them. They don't talk back, but they're good listeners. Uhm…" She sticks a hand out for Tyr, hopefully allowing her to help him to his feet.
One, two, three. Tyr hauls himself to his feet and nods at Rose's explanation. "Same here. Just me and the planes lately." A pause. And then he explains why he's here. "You heard about the arrivals, right? The Two? And the Eleven? And the woman with them?"
"News travels slow, but I did hear, yes," Rose affirms, withdrawing to a 'safe' distance now that Tyr is on his feet. She's desperately trying to put her hair back together, but she's missing a few pins. The bun just flops out indignantly. Sighing with frustration, she offers, "I'd love to hear what they have to say, but… they're probably not going to let just anyone walk in there, are they?"
"You have to sign up for an appointment," explains Tyr. "And, you know, Intel is going to pour over the video tapes. But — I was wondering if you'd go with me, when I went for my appointment." See? He is sort of here to ask her out. But it's a strange sort of date indeed. "You've been my huge support this whole time. It'd be great if you went with me and I could introduce you and all of that." You know, to the holocaust-causing enemy.
"Yes! Gods, yes!" You'd think he asked her if she'd want some of the last chocolate in the universe, or something. "Tyr, really, you'd do that for me? I absolutely gotta know what they have to say. I mean, if everything we've been hoping is true, and they're the emmissaries we've been waiting for… gods, Tyr, they probably hold the truth to everything. Everything."
Bannik just cracks a smile at that. "It's more like whether you would do that for me, Rose." His affection for her is both evident and genuine. "I'm not a very popular man, you know. The number of people who tell me I'm going to get killed teaching what I teach is far greater than those who want to hear what I teach. So — it would mean a lot to have you by my side, figure out what to ask, what it all means." He clasps his hands together. "I hope nothing bad happens to them in jail. I feel like they're here because I failed. Because I couldn't convince others with the message, they had to come."
Rose shakes her head, her not-quite-long hair settling around her face. She looks considerably less impish with her hair down, even if it does appear a little uneven in parts. It hasn't even been a full year since she was rescued, and radiation's a bitch. "The military is going to do what it has to do to keep people safe. I don't fault them - not now, not ever. But eventually, they're going to have to hear the will of the people they protect, and take it under consideration. And I believe, Tyr," she says, a small smile appearing. "I believe that not all of them must be bad. Sure, they have their motives, but don't we all? And if they have news, or truth, or anything… I want to hear it. Good or bad."
Bannik nods his head firmly at that. "I agree with you, Rose. With all of it. I do. I think the Military Police — well. I don't know. But we're going to get to the bottom of this. And they're going to realize the risk of not doing anything, of losing this opportunity, is much greater than the risk that comes from trusting our visitors." His eyes are wild behind those thick glasses of his, like he usually gets when he's preaching or philosophizing. Like he knows all of this is true.
Rose's smile briefly turns into a grin, but she purses her lips, trying to contain her enthusiasm. She bounces on the balls of her feet, a bouncy, giddy gesture that's she's known to do. Rarely these days. "So, um, can I interest you in some vegetables or fruits to take back with you? Pre-processed. You know, the good stuff!"
"Oh! Gosh. No. That's — that's okay. Actually. Maybe." Bannik pauses, turning over his words in his heads. Dare he dare? "How about you hang on to them Rose. Maybe after we go and see the Cylons, we can come back and have some dinner and talk about what it all means and where we go from there?" It's said in an almost hopeful tone. But what a bizarre date this will be.
Completely missing any suggestion in what Tyr has to say, Rose nods enthusiastically. "That'd be great! If you can sneak some MREs or something, we can make a proper meal out of it. Fresh vegetables, reconstituted whatever, and we can crack into my bottle of Aerilonian whiskey. Gods, it's been forever." She blinks, and chews on her lower lip, worrisome. "Oh, man, I'm sorry. I just assumed you'd share some with me. I didn't think that maybe you didn't drink." A beat. "You do, right?"
"Oh. No. No. I do. I do drink. I just don't drink much now because I trade my vouchers for other things that are more important." Such as the recycled paper and ink that Rose used to generate the last batch of the manifesto. Bannik cracks a smile, though. "But it'll be fun. It's a —" He stops himself before he says date. "It's on. Cool." He stops himself before he trips over himself.
Then he has a whole new thought. "A lot of people say I should back off. Stop teaching what I am. Do you think I should? Or like, I should to try to get something else civilians want?" Like, should Tyr sell his convictions for political power? It seems to have been gnawing at him; doubt is all across his voice.
Rose's smile flees. "Oh, Tyr, you can never give up. You can't stop following your calling! The gods laid this out before you, and me, and the others. Trading it away for convenience or a moment's pleasure - " She pauses, considering. "- you know, like chocolate - " Phew. Clarification achieved, uncomfortable pause avoided. "Well, it's just not right. If the gods didn't want us to suffer, we wouldn't be in the position we are now." And it was just under a year ago where Rose sat on the deck of the Cerberus all melancholy because she thought Poseidon, her patron Lord, was dead.
Whatever answer Bannik was looking for, it appears Rose gave it. His smile immediately widens. "Yeah," he says, finally, in agreement. "Yeah. You're right. You're absolutely right. I just —" He pauses. "I just needed to hear that from someone else. I was just afraid I was being too much of an idealist, that's all. But you're totally right."
"You're sweet, Tyr," is all she says, before she closes the distance between them and gives Tyr a peck on the cheek. "Don't give up, no matter what. I'll be there to help you, to the very end. Whichever end that is. Okay?"
Bannik's eyes flutter closed briefly — so briefly that Rose may not even notice it. And then he returns the peck to the cheek. "If I have you by my side and the gods in my heart, Rose, then I know I can do anything." He says it with a certain resolve and solemnity to it. "Thank you."
Rose nods slowly. "Okay, so, um, I need to go back to my research. You're welcome to stay, of course, but… it's probably pretty boring." She shrugs lightly, glancing askance at nothing in particular. "I wouldn't mind the company, though."
"I can — I'm off shift for eight. So, I can stay with you if you want. Maybe fix some things around here that need maintenance?" It's offered up hesitantly, like Tyr is inviting himself into her quarters for the night or something. "It's no trouble."
"Well, I wouldn't want you to work during your off hours. Just… hang around. Talk to me? Even if it's just nerdy computer stuff. I… I don't mind." Rose's smile is hesitant, probably quite aware that she's sounding desperate for social contact.
"Sure. Of course. But really, I can do some work. I promise. You know, like, if it's near where you are. I don't mind at all." Bannik protests. But he does so with an equally dorky smile.