| Go in My Stead |
| Summary: | Atreus and Damon idly practice Pyramid and an assignment is given. |
| Date: | 7 Mar 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | Tug of War |
| Players: |
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| Pyramid Court - Deck 12 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| In the center of the room is a regulation size Pyramid Court. The large uprights come from the same commercial manufacturer that makes them for the professional league. However, rather than holding team insignia, the Cerberus' Group identification has been painted into the center of each one. Around the outer edge of the room are a set of risers and benches so that hotly contested games can be watched by up to one hundred crewmembers. |
| Condition Level: 2 - Danger Close |
SLAM. Thud, thud. SLAM. This series of sounds repeats itself on infinite loop as Damon walks about the Pyramid court, casually tossing balls at the goal. He doesn't seem to be actually practicing anything beside his throw. He throws one ball, walks over to the next, throws, then to the third, throws, and back to the first. The majority of his shots miss, bouncing off and rolling on the court, but the odd few do go in.
Entering the pyramid court is always a bit of a gamble. Either there is a game going or there isn't. Either you get pummeled by the balls or you don't. Atreus ducks in and quickly closes the hatch. A towel is whisked from his shoulders and tossed to one side before he strides forward to claim one of the balls. Damon's SLAM. Thud. SLAM. is joined by a THUD, slam, Thud SLAM. Then, Atreus calles, "Hey, Damon."
Damon grunts as he throws another ball, this time with a side-arm. Miss. "Hey, Chief," he answers once the ball has stopped rolling. By then, he's already at another ball - but he just tosses it up and down in one hand. "Didn't know you were much of a Pyramid player." A half-hearted throw; it hits the edge of the goal and bounces away. "Then again, I guess it's been a while since I really played," he chuckles, moving aside to pick up another ball.
Atreus says, "I'm not." He throws the ball toward a goal without really aiming. It goes wide, slamming into the backdrop with a thud. Moving to another ball, he picks it up and tosses it up only to catch it again. "I came looking for you. Figured I could do with some exercise. Get out of the cubicle and off the Deck for a while. I think I need the perspective. Mind talking while we toss the ball around? Or are you here to escape?"
"Shop talk during Pyramid?" Damon asks, feigning incredulity. "Only for you, Chief." Toss. Goal! The only sign of elation is a slight tilt of the head before he moves forward to fish the ball out again. "What's up? Still thinking about who's been messin' around with the birds?" He walks backwards toward the far edge of the court, nods to Atreus, and tosses him the ball underhand.
Atreus chuckles at the feigned surprise, then inclines his head at the compliment, "Thanks." He takes a few steps and tosses the ball. No goal for this novice. The ball bounces back and he nabs it. "Actually, not this time. I am leaving that puzzle until the meeting tomorrow. I… rather think it is solved, to tell the truth." Then, he curses softly, "Oh, frak me. I forgot to send a note to Barclay. I'll have to send to Archer or go myself." Shaking his head, he adds, "I want some Marines at our meeting. So we can send for an arrest." He is clearly that confident. "No, this has to do with another side job. I would do it, but I am not allowed. Joy and rapture, but there are times when I hate protocol. No, this one is yours."
"I don't - know how I feel about the Marines right now," Damon says frankly, his words halting at first. He rests the tip of his shoe against a ball on the ground and rolls it about idly, looking down at it. "I know why they shot the civilians in the corridor that day. But it doesn't sit right with me." Shaking his head, he looks back up to Atreus and kicks the ball aside. "Sorry Chief, never mind on that. Get lost in a spiral of my own thoughts sometimes. What's, uh, what's the side project?"
Atreus pauses and is almost brained by a ball he threw too hard. He ducks in time to save himself, but lets the ball stop on its own, "Yeah, I hear you. On the one hand, you and I know better than most what would happen to the ship if that airlock was not closed in time. On the other hand, they are people and we are too few. We are supposed to be protecting them." His tone is quiet, edged in bitterness. Another ball is caught up and he bounces it twice before tossing it casually toward a goal. This time, it hits, "Huh." Leaving it for the moment, he nods, "I do that too. Get lost in thoughts. Uh. Oh. Right. We're going to the site of the battle. Where most of the fleet died. When we can, I want teams to go out on the Raptors for salvage. I've sent a request up the chain. It is one of those frakin' things that the department head can't go on. So, I want you to organize it and take care of it. I trust you. Frak, I'll even take over some of your birds so you have the time."
Damon grabs the ball that nearly hit Atreus and tosses it in right after the previous goal. It goes in and then bounces right back out again. "Aye, aye, Chief," he says quietly as the ball rolls to his feet. He doesn't sound overly enthused about this one, but he doesn't look like he's glum about it, either. "Am I bringing a team with me? Or will I just be accompanying a salvage crew that's already been determined?" He flips the ball up with his foot and punches the thing toward the goal - of course it goes far wide, ending up in the far corner. "I don't know why I keep thinking that's gonna work one of these days. It'd look frakkin' fantastic if I could actually pull that off during a game, just one time."
Atreus says, "You pick the team, Damon. I want our people deciding what to keep and what not to waste space on." He nods thanks for the timely assist, then ducks forward to catch up another ball. "So you play. Would you teach me?" Bouncing the ball a few times, he edges toward a goal, then does not toss it in, "You do not have to do this one if you would rather not. I can ask Teresi and Kerrigan to set up teams. Or, I can set up teams and assign them to the other leads.""
"Can't always pick only the jobs you wanna do, right?" Damon asks with a weak grin. "I'm sure Kerrigan and Teresi'll end up on whatever teams I end up choosing, anyhow. How many teams, how many people? One per Raptor?" He takes a few steps back until he's off the triangular court and grabs a quick drink of water. "Haven't really played in a while now. But sure, I can teach you what I know. Well, I mean - you know how the game's played, right? I imagine you've seen your fair share of Pyramid games, anyway."
Atreus nods, "I'd do this one if I could. I almost want to." Shaking his head, he half laughs, "How fraked is that?" He shifts to the side to try and score a nearby goal. The ball glances off the edge and bounces wild. "One team per raptor. I don't know how many raptors we'll get to use, or even if it will be approved. But, it's a good opportunity to snag parts. One we might not have again for a while. So, enough people to be effective without compromising the space in the bird. As for what to go for? You know as well as I do what we need, what we are low on. But, get anything and everything." Then, catching the ball, he backs off the court, "I've seen 'em played, yeah. So, I have an idea."
"Pretty frakked up, I'd say," Damon replies, though his voice is devoid of discernible judgment. Grabbing the ball he punched into the corner, he brings it back into the center of the court and sets it down. "So, a point is scored when you get a ball into the goal. Obviously. You can only take three steps before you gotta shoot, pass, or bounce. These," he points to certain areas on the court, "are safe zones - can't touch a guy when the ball's placed in there. Other than that, it's full contact…"
((Scene fades.))