| It Goes to Eleven |
| Summary: | Sofia asks about Eleven's Art and visiting Eleven. Also, setting in motion terrible party plans for the CAG. And Sofia realizes some terrible truths. |
| Date: | 20 Jun 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | Eleven logs, Eleven's sketchbook. |
| Players: |
  |
| Security Hub |
| More than just an office for the Marines and their XO, this room has remote surveillance views of the Brigs as well as a state of the art communications center built into the far bulkhead. A locked and heavily armored door to the aft leads into another room, the white lettering on it reading 'ARMORY.' There are a few desks scattered around the room for getting necessary paperwork done and the Commandant's picture hangs on the wall next to one of the President. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #479 |
Into the afternoon, Vandenberg has been at her desk for several hours. The door to the armory is left open with one of her Sergeants standing outside with a clipboard while she takes several notes down on a piece of paper. There's a stack of file folders on both sides of her - all appearing to me munitions counts. There's some purpose to the movement, too.
Sofia is on the hunt. Sort of. She looks purposeful but not fierce. Although it melts as she enters the hub at last. It's Marine Country. She can't stop here. But stop she does. She bites her lower lip and offers quietly, "Sir?" to Vandenberg.
"Jenkins, I need you to run down to Damon's office and grab a copy of their entire munitions storage list." The geeky Private balks at the Captain. "Seriously, sir?" he moans nasally. "Now. And make sure it includes salvage or items in disrepair. If he isn't sure, visually confirm all of it." The guy's eyes bug out of his head before he skulks past Vandenberg and the Captain rises from her seat and looks to Sofia. "Mister Wolfe. What can I do for you?" There's a glance to the stacks of paper before she settles her eyes back on the knuckledragger.
A pause. Whoops. Sofia turns red. "Sorry, ma'am." She looks duly apologetic. "Um. I had an odd question or two if you're available at the moment," She watched the exchange between the Private and Captain after all. "One is about Eleven and the other is less duty related," She offers. At least she seems honest, if cautious.
Vandenberg lifts a smoke from the ashtray and takes a pull on it. She lowers it in a suddenly and strikingly feminine gesture with her hand primly extended. It might even look funny on a woman wearing combat blacks and a combat vest. "Its fine. Speak your mind. This is going to take a day or two anyway. I can take a few. What's up?" She smokes and ashes this time but its nothing like the same move before.
Sofia smiles a bit at that, perhaps noticing the contrast. She fidgets a moment. "I was wondering if you'd shown Eleven's sisters the art we had here. I never got to ask her what she meant by them. Especially that building. If not, um." She furrows her eyebrows. "I know it's a sensitive subject and all. But it felt important." She glances down. "On the other hand, I don't want people to get hurt because of my questions. I already had my locker torched /once/ and I'm glad I was sober that night."
Vandenberg stick the smoke back between her lips and it bounces as she speaks. "I haven't shown the Eleven the artwork yet but I was going to." She looks like she is about to go on when she stops herself short and aims a finger at her. "You're friends with that frakshit Bannik, aren't you?" She gives a dry sound like a chuckle and shakes her head and thinks better of what she was going to say next. "Look darlin, you had your locker torched once because you associated with someone who may or may not have been a Cylon. You've picked your side with Bannik. If things don't turn out exactly like he says or this turns out to be a trap, what exactly do you think a few thousand trained members of the military are going to do to him and his friends? Here's a hint: There aren't enough Marines in the fleet to stop them."
Sofia nods, looking pained at this. "I know. And thank you. I was friends with Bannik even before he met Eleven and the others. I don't think I could in good heart throw away a friend who's done nothing to wrong me," She frowns. She takes a deep breath. "I know. But I prefer to judge people and … others by what they /do/ rather than their origins. Like, Five can take a flying leap for all I care." She shakes her head. "I'd like to believe not everyone in the universe is a backstabber. But. Maybe I am wrong and I'll be airlocked for it. At best. I guess that's alright too." She seems troubled by the idea, but oddly accepting. "Most of us have no way of telling who is a skinjob or not unless we had the fortune to run into one who revealed itself," She notes. "Ultimately, I'm always going to help the Fleet - I run lots of errands for Gunny and them when they ask me to find stuff. I keep it mum," Sofia nods. She's remarkably sincere. "But. I'd also like better for the people here. So y'know. It's kind of weird feeling somewhere in the middle. Is that odd?"
"I believe that a person is the sum total of their actions. Empty words and origins don't mean between shit and a fiddle to me." She plucks the smoke from her mouth and ashes it. "Bannik has done a lot of good work for this fleet I'm told but when you start crowing like he has about open alliances and thinking the Gemenon just sounds like the hunkiest thing since space travel, you just crossed a line. He and yourself might not think that's big, but Wolfe? They admit to it. They nuked the colonies and they frakking did it coldly surgical. Only recently have they decided they made a booboo and are super duper sorry they did it. Bannik wants to enter into this stuff lightly. Its very seriously saying 'forgive and forget' with the people who murdered your parents. That might be cool for you and Tyr, but the five thousand other people in this fleet aren't the most comfortable. So no, I'd say its not odd to feel someplace in the middle. Its probably not someplace you want to be."
Sofia listens, tilting her head. "That's true. I suppose it depends on if you believe there are crimes for which there is no forgiveness. I'm still both sad and angry my home colony, family, everything is gone. I never said I blamed anyone for feeling otherwise." She takes a deep breath. "I haven't been crowing, though I feel like a coward for not being open either way." She takes a deep breath. "I don't know. I'd like to believe their good intentions and find a new home. I mean, I don't think we'll /ever/ want to land on Aquaria again." Unless of course, one wishes to impersonate a cheese stick in a microwave. "But on the other hand. Maybe I am naive and just tired of it. Still. We'll find out one way or another. At least you haven't thrown a shoe at me," Sofia seems … optomistic. She might be warming up to Vandenberg a bit. "I mean, Eleven's given us a lot. She stopped at least one swarm of Raiders and things like that. Seems a bit weird but- oh well. We really could go in circles." She is uncertain for a moment, intensely green eyes cast down. "Um. Thanks for listening though."
"Damned right I believe there are crimes where there is no forgiveness. Rape and murder of children ranks pretty high on my list of 'Shit You Are Not Going To Live With' once I get them alone in a room. Genocide of a race to the point of near extinction? Yep, that'll do it in general. Kids fall in there pretty easily. That's not even getting into what I saw when I was infantry." Vandenberg takes a hard pull on the smoke. There's a long breath that leaves her and just as if she looks like she might make like a bull in a china shop, she relents and gives a long sigh. "Look, I know a lot more than I'm letting on. I've been in deep with Cylon intentions for a long time. Fact is, I'm looking for ways for us to come out of this war on top. Maybe that includes trusting that not all the Cylons are genocidal fraktarts with a hate-on for humans. Maybe not. The point is that the truth of that does not matter one bit when the known fact stands that they did what they did. Ignoring that can works for some people, but one can't pretend everyone else is crazy, stupid, or heartless because they don't agree. That is why I think Bannik is a dead man. But just a private citizen's opinion, right there." She gives a humorless smile that flashes quickly. "So no, I'm not throwing shoes. You're not a monster Wolfe. But someone aren't going to care at some point. Known associates get caught up in gang warfare all the time. So you gotta be careful."
Sofia frowns a bit. "I know. We've all seen things like that," She shakes her head. "I'd like to /stop/ seeing things like that. I'd like to stop them from happening," She takes a deep breath. "I don't think anyone can ignore what they /did/." She considers. "I hope no one kills Bannik." She looks pained by this conversation. "I'd like for us to have a new home, and even new allies." She's seen a lot after all, for a snipe. "Or at least neighbors or - I don't know." She shrugs. "I'm not a soothsayer. Maybe I feel differently because of that weird dream," She looks /really/ pained. "And that I can't throw people who're kind to me under a Raptor." Sigh. She's uncertain. "I guess we just go in circles until they prove one way or another. Still." She /wants/ to believe that /someone/ out there wants to help out or make it up to them. Who knows? "Um. That's that. There's one more thing. That seems odd after this conversation."
"I think that if Bannik doesn't throttle back, someone will. I'm really shocked nobody has done it yet. I guess when humanity is down to its last few people, tolerances for someone who gets his jollies endangering his friends and race go up." Natalie shrugs. "Plenty of people had those dreams, Sofia. A lot of them don't think Bannik is more than ten cups shy of a baker's dozen. I'm trying to prove we can trust them but his blatherin diatribes are only making that harder." She sighs. "Okay, I'm not even sure I remember what the first part was about initially. But.. okay? Second?"
"I suspect you're right. He's so passionate," Sofia sighs and closes her eyes. "We'll see. I'll just watch out for him," She just lets that go. "I appreciate your efforts though," Nod. "I think it's a more gradual process than he'd like." Deep breath. "I asked about showing one of the first Elevens' sister's here - how do we even sort them - her artwork. It might offer some clues," Nod. "Um. The CAG's birthday is in a couple of months I think… I dunno if we wanna do Carrier stuff again … so it'd be cool if you had advice or would just like to pop in."
"Remember whose side you're on, Sofia. And trust me, this is all going to come down to whose side you are on. You can be friends with a guy who will very likely get you killed for fanatical religious beliefs.. or you can side with the voice of moderation." The side willing to kill, likely. Ohhh the hypocrisy isn't missed by Van. She smirks with it. "Funny how that works." She settles back into her chair and ashes the smoke. "Ah yeah, the eleven's artwork. I was going to show her that but I'll tell you what. I know you have a gooey spot for these things." She eyes the Snipe. "I will let you show her that stuff and you can talk all day long.. but if you in any way communicate to Tyr Bannik what was said between you and the Eleven, I'll file charges because its going to take a confidentiality agreement. Those drawings, while they might be yours and the eleven's, are important to my investigation and they need to be kept the hell away from him. Look.. something to chew on and then we can consider the matter closed.." She crosses her legs, bouncing one. "My team and I jumped on Gemenon. The mission was highly classified before it came off. If it had come out to Bannik that we'd be going, he would have broadcast it. Then the whole mission would have been negated and we'd never be able to trust them ever again. Not only that, but if he had done that the Cylons could have hunt down my team and I and slaughtered us like pigs. He doesn't care about other people when it comes to his little church or whatever it is." As for the party, Van quirks a brow. "No idea. I'm afraid I don't know the CAG that well. Might be good times to get her a stripper. One of the better looking guys over on Elpis, yeah."
Sofia closes her eyes. "I dunno, I'm worried about the people who would hurt Bannik. It's a careful balancing act," She admits. She takes a deep breath. "Um. Well, you might have questions too," She offers. She takes a deep breath. She looks pained, and nods. "Of course, sir." She is being torn more and more apart. "I can't say I know one way or the other," She again, seems to be happily pulling to her middle path like a turtle in a rut. It's a disturbing line of thought, neither side coming out entirely roses. It definitely shows in her expression and eyes. "Yeah. That's another weird thing. I have a knack for getting people and Cylon's last words," There's some sadness. "I don't know if that is a blessing or a curse," She wrinkles her nose. "Maybe both." A half smile. She takes another slow breath. Then she grins and giggles. "That might be interesting. But I don't know if she prefers men or women," Sofia admits. "And asking seems like a good way to get smacked. Rightfully so honestly but …" Or a Raptor parked on her at an inopportune moment. "I definitely was hoping for a cake or pie. Maybe some fruit. Dunno about booze."
"I have a lot of questions for both of the Cylons, the sketches are among them, yes." Then she see's Sofia middling again and actually looks angry. "I swear to the Gods, Wolfe. Grow a frakking spine or stop trying to talk to the Cylons. Either you get defined opinions down or people are going to think you are bedding them." The Captain doesn't sound like she is joking. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were. You defend them, you want to be buddies with the elevens, you hang with Bannik, you never take a stand on an issue and try to dodge around so you don't piss people off?" Its obviously pissing Vandenberg off. "Stop it. You might think it works to help you muddle through but rather than piss nobody off it makes a lot of people suspicious - and rightfully so. One day that's not going to cut it anymore. If it hasn't happened already, I'm shocked - but someone is going to put a gun there and tell you to make a choice." The Marine's voice is hard and cold. "As for the CAG? No idea. I don't do parties much unless they are at bars."
A blink. Sofia looks startled and winces. "I suppose," She frowns. "I'm … afraid of things, that's all," Her gaze is distant. She /is/ a coward in some ways. "We shall see what it comes down to. I can honestly see both sides' point," She admits. "And that's alright. I just - thought I'd offer and ask. I don't know if you're one of her close friends or not," She adds. "That was it mostly."
"Fine, you can see both sides' points. But when you can't tell dusk from dawn, that's a serious problem. Make a choice on this stuff soon, Wolfe, or you had better believe someone will make it for you." Vandenberg's smile leaves a lot of warmth to be desired. Maybe she's hinting that she already has somehow. "No, I'm not close with the CAG. I spoken to her a few times but its all been official business."
That smile makes Sofia uneasy. "Of course." /Really/ uneasy. "But I suspect most people make that call on just hearing positive support for one side or the other," She's not entirely dense at least. Well, she's dug her hole. She sighs. "I see. No worries, sir. I just wanted to be sure. I'd hate to leave someone out," She waves a hand. "Um. Thanks for your time."
Vandenberg nods her head once. "I'll have that form ready for you, Wolfe. You can sign it before you go in." Its probably not an option. She stubs out the smoke and looks to the Sergeant at the locker. "Why does it say we have two-hundred fifty-two grenades when I know damned well we have more?" she growls.
"Thank you sir," Sofia likely figured as such. "Be well." She waves. Then she pauses, trying not to giggle at the grenade dilemma. Instead, she hides a smile and scampers back off to the Engineer Cave.