PHD #116: Close Frakking Attention
Close Frakking Attention
Summary: Constin confronts Coll about the Chaplain. Coll doesn't get mad. No, she gets pissed-off and motivated.
Date: 22 June 2041
Related Logs: Just after "Way Outside the Box"
Players:
Coll Constin 
Hangar Deck - Port
The single largest rooms on the Cerberus are the hangar decks. Each flight pod consists of two stacked landing bays with adjoined decks and hangars, which along with computer-assisted landings results in a faster Viper recovery rate. Mirror images of each other, these two huge areas are located on the flight pods. The inboard sides of the deck, closest to the ship's main hull, are lined with parking and maintenance bays for Vipers and Raptors based aboard the battlestar. The outboard side of the deck contains the launch tubes used by the Vipers for standard deployment. Huge blast doors seal the deck into four sections, each one containing an elevator that leads up to the flight deck directly overhead. The fore-most section contains an elevator system that leads towards Aerospace Fabrication.
Post-Holocaust Day: #116

Hobbling: Its what Coll is trying to do across the hangar deck. She knows damned well she isn't supposed to be down here but here she is. She's using an alumium cane to try and get around, putting a ton of weight onto it. Lauren's just too proud to stay in sickbay even if she maybe should be. After a move directly for a structural brace, the Crewman leans against it gently to catch her breath. That notebook is in her other hand, held tightly.

It's late, but the card game in the Rec Room left Constin with a puzzle. And MP's can't stand puzzles. Thus it is that the big marine has made his way down to the Flight Deck, Right arm still held immobile at his side with the hand slung across his stomach. Spotting his subject, the marine moves toward Lauren, pace slowed only slightly by his lingering limp. "So, you one-upped me, Coll," he drawls in greeting.

Lauren is finishing out some of the heavier huffing. She probably hiked her ass quite a ways. The sweat is even beaded on her brow. But at Constin's voice, she sighs. "Look, Const. I'm sorry. I know what JAG said but this is about that damned.." She takes a moment to catch her breath finally. Those eyes lift to his again. "I came down here for the project." One last hard breath. "Its not official business yet. But it will be. I'm following the spirit of the order. I swear."

Constin grins at the protest. "Not what ah meant," the marine returns, knowingly. "But that's good to hear. Damned good to hear," he repeats to the news that it will be official soon, before returning to the puzzle that drew him here. "Meant that AH've never made a priest blush. *You* apparently did."

<FS3> Coll rolls Social-50: Terrible Failure.

Coll seems to breath once more, this one at relief. "Thank the Gods. If you arrested me, we'd be hiking stairs all night or you were gonna carry me." She sinks into the support with her shoulder and watches Constin as he rolls out the rest. She loses her grip on the cane and nearly falls over as she grapples for one of the ledge on the structure. Her eyes are like saucers, that doe caught in the headlights of the Mack Truck. "Wh-No. ..What? Did you..? She..?"

Constin starts forward a bit as Coll's cool takes a direct hit. As she catches herself, he relaxes a bit, before reaching his only mobile arm down to scoop the aluminum cane back up. "She horned in on a card game. Once the others pulled up stakes, she started talking at me about you. Didn't tell me anything, but no shit- she went and blushed." Brows raised, awaiting blank-filling-in.

Coll looks too terrified to even reach for the cane. The hand that reaches out for it is like that of someone trying to take something from in front of a snarling dog - even if he isn't a dog. Or snarling. Its a slow movement that is eventually completed before she says anything else, her hand still clinging to the beam. "What did she say?" Apparently isn't going to be replying to his question just yet.

"Not much. Said it was in confidence, but what she wouldn't say has mah curiosity itching," Constin returns, eyeing Coll's continued terror. "There something you wanna tell me?"

"I..uh." Coll has noplace to run. She can't even run, literally. Its like being cornered. The woman looks around and back to him, nearly pleading when she speaks. "I'm not crazy, Const. I swear it. Please don't think I'm damaged or something. I just needed to talk to..someone. Please. It wasn't anything like..really chapel-ey."

Constin shrugs with the one shoulder he is able to shrug. "What's the big scare? You talked to a priest. Damnation, Lauren- Cad talks to Artemis *out loud*." He'd normally cross his arms, but settles for narrowing his eyes in regard of Coll. "That all this was? Unloading the mind a bit to a priest?"

"You said people who are religious are crazy. I'm not. I just didn't want you to know. I'm sorry." Coll looks a little shamed as she puts her weight back onto the cane. There's a whispered 'thanks' as she looks to the aluminum assist. "I dunno why she blushed. I don't know what you asked her. I asked her for help, though. All those dead bodies..I wasn- I'm still not coping all that well. Talking to her helped a little bit. Thought maybe she could help more. Sorry."

"What for?" Constin asks back at that last apology. A snort and shake of his head. "Coll- Frak's sake, girl, ah jumped out of a frakking raptor without any kind of plan to get back and SWEAR ah can't wait to do it again. You really think ah'm a clear slate when it comes to crazy?" He draws a breath and lets it out before offering, "Listen, if talking to her helps, do it. Whatever it takes to wade through this shit, yeah?"

"I- Just from all our conversations I just thought you were.. I guess, that you were just really against the idea of the Gods of the people that believed in that stuff." Coll blinks a few times, trying to focus on anything except him so she settles on the bandaged hand on the wall next to her. "Thanks. I just didn't want to let you down. Your trust means a lot to me and I didn't want to have my talking to her.. 'color' that." Lauren readjusts her cane on the floor, leaning to it again. "Doesn't change anything, right?" She finally looks back to him, hopefully.

"Sure it does. Now that ah know you're a raving crackpot, and all," Constin returns- initially straight, before cracking a broad grin by the end. "No shit Coll: what's said stands. Now if you're done climbing the walls, can you get back to telling me what this project of yours is, and what kinda clearance you need so ah don't have to detain your ass again when ah'm on duty?"

There's another initially terrified look from Coll, like she might actually fall over this time, but he stalls that with his grin. "Asshole," she sighs. Lauren looks like she's about all she can handle and its not even 0700. The Deck crews just came on duty, too, though nobody seems to even be looking at her or Constin. There's no response to his question right away, either. Its a long, painful stoop to the deck to pick up her precious notebook. A few more heaved breaths and she swallows. "Uhm. You can blow up the JAG's office and make it all go away?" she offers weakly. "But JAG said I'm not allowed to touch ordnance until my trust had been regained-" That's probably the single most painful part of that ruling for her. "Nor can I be on this deck without permission from the Chief without explicit permission. I- Frak my rank, you know? I just wanna work again, Const. I can't do this with those restrictions. I can't even get parts listings or serial numbers."

Constin nods to the last. "Well, that's one point in favor of getting this project official, yeah? Until then, it wouldn't hurt to get some kinda word from one of your pilot buddies that you're following up on inquiries from them. Ain't an MP on the boat likely to give you flak for that. Don't hurt that it's true, either." He watches Coll retrieve the notebook before asking, "How bad you hurting?"

Coll shrugs. "I recruited another one while I was down here this morning. I'm not going to dance around this though, Const. Bust me if they want and let it happen. I ain't manipulating the system. I'm following the spirit of the order. I know what you think about the word, but I have my own opinions." She finally looks back at him as if daring him to challenge her. The determination in her eyes only flicks away when he asks the last. "Like you. I'm fine."

"Well you keep the spirit and let me have the word, then," Constin answers back to her determination. "It's no loophole, it's covering your bases." Her last claim causes a crack in the expressions of dueling determination, as Constin grins tightly. "Yeah, ah bet you are."

"Think of it however you want. I'm doing this whether or not it gets me arrested. I'm tired of getting shit on. I know who I am and what I can do. I'm not going to let some frakking bitch who drives a godsdamned desk and a set of books tell me I don't have any honor or reliability. That I'm negligent. Or 'passable'." Coll nearly spits the last word. "Somebody wants to frakking stop me? Frakking shoot me." Apparently something he said really set her off because that pent-up pain from her wounds seems to have found an outlet through anger. Coll stares at him a moment longer before moving to plant her cane and try to get around him.

"They'd need to reload before you stopped," Constin returns in that short moment between the stop of Coll's words and her effort to move around him. The corporal makes the process simpler, by stepping out of her path and turning to reverse the route he'd taken to get here.

Coll stops just on the other side of him and looks a little to the side so she can catch his outline in her vision. "I ain't been much to look at the past month or so, Const." Her voice is still bitter and angry. "But you wanna see why my CAG wanted to have me take his same track? You pay close frakking attention. You've never seen me angry like I am now." With that, she pops the cane out and puts it hard down to the deck as she moves off towards the staircase.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License