| Mirror, Mirror |
| Summary: | A salvage team. Mr. Potato Head. A museum heist. |
| Date: | 19 Dec 2041 AE backscened to 16 Dec 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
      |
| Wreath-of-Roses - Unnamed Estate |
|---|
| It's Wreath-of-Roses. It's in the set. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #293 |
Wreath-of-Roses was aptly named, in its day. Though very little plant life could thrive on the surface of the planet Tauron itself, its moon proved very well receptive to horticulture, and in its heyday it was sewn with so many fields of seasonal blossoms that patches of it appeared in different colors from the viewpoint of the world below in accordance with the varying seasons. But that was with the aid of considerable funds and a great deal of manpower, and so, even though this moon was left more or less intact by the Cylon forces, it has been untended since the attacks, and the new bulbs were not planted, and the shrubs not hewn back into proper order, and those plants which required careful watering are dying and the ones that required careful trimming have run rampant. But still, the place having been abandoned less than a year, it still presents itself with a grandeur and richness without much comparison. All of the grand estates of the moon have, as a matter of course, their own airports, and so there's a natural enough place to set down the Raptor, a short distance behind the main estate house of one of the larger settlements. The grasses are leaning onto the edges of the pavement, but have not yet begun to devour it. And the Bunny's up front, keeping his eyes assiduously on the readouts along his console. "And we're touched down in three… two…. one. We're down," he lets them know, so that they can know it's safe to unstrap.
Quinn is practically buzzing at the fact that they LET her out of the HOUSE! It's been so damn long. Since they were poppy picking, and as pregnant as she is now? THat feels like it was years ago. Still, exercise was recommend, Maggie's hands and arms are still fully functional, and everything has been safely quiet as of late so somewhere, somehow, she's been given permission to go. She's in a pair of borrowed BDU's from some poor, oversized Marine who agreed to lend them out for the length of Maggie's pregnancy. The cuffs have been rolled up and buttoned so she's as close to presentiable and uniform as possible. She's also big as a house, over seven months at this point and there's no way in hell she can hide that. Her red hair is in braided, frizzy pig tails. She watches everything with wide, hopeful eyes.
Samuel pauses for a little bit as he listens to what's being said. Checking his equipment a bit carefully once more. As it's announced that they have touched down, he starts to unstrap himself from the seat, looking between the others a bit carefully.
McManus looks somewhat less thrilled than Quinn at the prospect of being let out of the house, adjusting the rifle on his shoulder as he jostles to the exit of the Raptor. A brief nod towards Samuel, and a hand goes out to hold Quinn back, at least for a moment.
And just behind Bunny's raptor, comes the one piloted by Sweet Pea. These salvage missions seem to be a two-ship operations these days. One to carry personnel, mostly, and the other to be loaded down with whatever has been recovered. And so, once Big Bertha touches down, there are far fewer people offloading from Harrier-307 than the one full up with marines and the overgrown LSO. Still, off comes Leyla, her obligatory Marine or two and her ECO all moving up to join the fray. Or at least to clear the immediate area (that would be the mariney thing to do) before the whole team gets together.
And Wade is around too! The man has voiced a couple times that he indeed, was in need of some supplies. Clothes, to be precise, because he has no civvie clothes, at all. He jumped in Leyla's Raptor, wearing his full pilot suit plus his regulation weapon. The man, for the most part, has been silent. From time to time, he stood up, walked towards Leyla and looked over her shoulder, apparently curious about the Raptor. But, when the thing landed and the door was open, he jumped outside with the rest of the group. With him, he is carrying a large bag, he is on a mission.
Evandreus is in no particular hurry to disembark, himself, making certain that the Raptor's in a state to be able to be brought back up to full power in a moment or two if need be, fiddling around with the settings so many times that it might, to a keen eye, be construed as stalling. He turns, and, once everyone else is safely up and in queue for the hatch, he finally unstraps himself from his seat and stands, pausing, there, for a moment, as his eyebeams finally slice directly through the fore windows of the craft and to the estate beyond. But no matter. He turns and craws out of the cockpit, waiting there for the others to clear out before he'll follow them out onto the moon's surface.
Quinn has known Bunny for both their last assignments. He's the closest thing she has to a son. Hell, they even tried to get the adoption paper work through, so she -knows- when something is wrong, especially now. Maggie frowns, unbuckling from her seat and letting a few of the other, more svelte crewmembers past her before she steps up to Bunny's side and the edge of the ramp. Her fingertips rest against the base of his spine for just a heartbeat or two, a silent touch of reassurance, before she nods that they should all keep walking. "Sooner we get out there, sooner we get to work, Bunny." She mutters gently, but then she's heading down the ramp in her familiar, waddling walk, a large, empty pack across her back.
Jumpy doesn't begin to cover it. While most of the passengers are content to wander out onto the moon, McManus hangs back in the cover of the Raptor, rifle ready at a moment's notice and scanning the horizon with a frown of sheer concentration. He drops to a crouch, even as people start to move out in front of him, only very slowly beginning to move when he decides it's all clear for now.
"If we find any guitar strings, they're mine," Samuel comments a bit quietly as he steps out of the Raptor. Like the others, he's carrying an empty backpack. Looking around rather carefully, although he pauses to look at McManus, offering a grin.
Evandreus unfastens the helmet of his flightsuit, leaving it in the cockpit as if to save his seat 'til he gets back. Quinn's reassurances draw a crooked smile from the Raptorbunny, and he leans close to her, resting his hand on her back in a reciprocative touch, touching her cheek with a filial smooch. "Yes, mum," he tells her. She's his real family, after all. But he guides her along to the hatch, then waits there for the last of the Marines to move out, looking to McManus with a warm but tired smile, then back into the boat to make sure nobody's hiding out behind him. Once he's satisfied he's alone on board, he disembarks, himself.
"She's not going to bite you, Wade," was Leyla comment to the viper pilot, as he watched Bertha maneuver her way through the debris field and down onto the moon. "In fact, you should give it a try one of these days. Might do you some good to get out of a viper cockpit." But that was then, and this is now. And now, Leyla is heading over towards the other group, Bertha happily waiting behind to be called into service at need. Flight suit, check. Big old duffel, check. Sidearm, check. "Well, we made it. What's the first move? We go in together or we split up into teams?" That, in Jugs, the ranking Marine and Bunny's direction. Leyla might be taurian, but she's certainly never been here, so she defers to her senior officers and the marines in charge of the ground op.
"Oh I know she is not going to bite me, I'm not too certain that her pilot won't" says Wade, winking at Leyla after that. "True enough, it is in my plans to, at some point, seek dual qualification." To this, he nods and then takes a deep breath. He joins the rest of the group as well, and for the time being, he is happy to let the ranking officers decide what they want to do next. "Guitar strings for you, sure" says Wade to Samuel with a bit of a shrug. The man looks around with evident curiosity and adds "I have a long list of stuff to pick up here"
Quinn checks her own weapon, but she's the LSO. She might be the ranking -officer-, but she's so not in charge here. She looks back to the Marine herself, "Teams would probably cover more area, but…" She bows her head to the Marine, indicating she's going to let him lead the charge. A faint, respectful smile crosses her freckled features for him too.
McManus gives Evandreus an almost embarrassed nod, forcing himself to straighten up, although he still picks his steps carefully from cover to cover and can't help but keep scanning behind him, hand remaining on the stock of his rifle, almost as a comfort. When he does speak, his tone is low, "Didn't know you played, Corp. Where are we headed?"
Evandreus watches everyone sort of wibble about where to go and how to go about getting there, then, looking over toward Lala, by whom the question was first posed, "The maps show a small town twenty or so miles south of here, probably for estate laborers. One of the buildings looked like it was a hospital, if some of us wanted to head out that way and look around. But there's probably a clinic or something in the house, too." House being rather an understatement for the size of the building in discussion, which could likely as not easily house the population of the entire extant fleet.
The Sergeant leading the Marines nods to Evandreus, "Two teams, we'll clear the area first, and the rest of you go in and get what we came for. Medical supplies have the priority, of course. You, you, you, you, and you, head to the estate, we'll take the town." The you's being Samuel, Wade, Quinn, Leyla, Bunny and McManus, plus sundry.
Quinn nods curtly towards the Marine. "Sounds good." And she smiles in approval of the groups, considering the team she's on is definitely one she's worked with before. And she doesn't quite know if she'd be up to the walk. She sections off from some of the other people to settle into her designated group.
"I'll taxi the second team down to the town, save us some time." Leyla did bring her raptor and all, so it's not as if either of the teams will be stranded. She does keep her bag though, as she heads back towards the raptor, to prep off loading some of the crates she brought with her so the ground team for the estate can load up what they need.
McManus gives a wary nod, eyeing the house ahead for likely sniper positions, probably. His eyes narrow and his jaw sets. "Sir," he notes quietly towards Quinn, "I don't want you first into any room, are we clear?" He adjusts his grip on his rifle, taking a deep breath. "Evac point back here?" he asks, an eyebrow raised.
Samuel looks round a little bit, nodding as he hears the Sergeant. "Good plan, sir," he offers, before he studies the house a bit carefully now. Nodding a bit at McManus when the man speaks to Quinn, but he doesn't say anything at the moment.
Quinn looks over towards McManus, a small, faint smile crossing her pale features again. She nods curtly, "Understood. I'm sticking to the middle. Strictly here to be another set of arms and a strong… mostly strong back." She flickers a green eyed look in Samuel's direction, nodding in reassurance to him also.
The rest of the marines move out, to clear the embarkation area, giving the go ahead to the Corporal, who is now the ranking marine in the search party, at least the one heading to the estate proper. Once the raptor is off-loaded, his team will get back aboard for the ride down to the town.
Evandreus gives McManus a friendly, if brief, look of thanks for his being sure to take care of mum and his little sister, then pulls off from the rest of the group, headed to meet up with Lala by her boat. "I'll take 'em down there, eh? You head inside and I'll catch up with you," he tells her, resting a genial hand on her arm.
"Yes, Medical supplies…" repeats Wade, still looking around. Cloooothes, he also wants clothes. And baby clothes too, he has a nephew, yo. "Awesome" says the man to the group and then walks more towards them. He takes the safety off his gun holster and places one hand there, just in case. "You know, I can recommend a very good Pediatrician…for the baby I mean" says Wade to Quinn, sporting a warm smile.
"No, Bunny. You stay with Quinn. If anything were to happen, and you weren't here to take care of her, that would be unforgivable." Certainly, Leyla doesn't know anything about Bunny's history with the moon, so perhaps she can be forgiven for being callous, if indeed she is. "You go on. We won't be long."
McManus looks over the group, then moves up a little to the front, taking point. He lifts his chin towards Samuel, noting, "I don't see anything. Moving out, Corporal? You see any other entrances?"
Quinn looks over to Wade, just a hint surprised as he mentions a pediatrician. "Really? I didn't realize we had any in the fleet. Doctors, yes, but… no one so specialized. YOu'll have to give me the run down when this is over." She admits, a hint relieved at the news. And then she hears Leyla and Bunny's brief exchange and her frown deepens. "I'll be fine, Sweet Pea. I'm still a trained soldier, you know?" But she's not getting into the debate otherwise. Hell, there's probably a pilot on the other team too, even if he didn't fly them down.
"Everyone ready, then?" Samuel says, looking between the others, pausing as he looks at the two Raptor drivers. Looking back towards the house now, then to McManus, "Haven't noticed any other ones so far…"
Evandreus doesn't push the issue further, just tightening his lips into a terse smile and ticcing his chin downward with a brisk, "'Kay." "Catch us on zeta frequency when you get back, I'll let you know where we've got to," he tells Sweet Pea, and then turns, upping his pace to a lanky sort of half-jog to return to his mum's side. "Set here," he tells Samuel.
"She is at the Civvie ship" informs Wade to Quinn, smiling at her "And yes, certainly" Heck, if he can help with anything, he will, even if it's just by bringing good news. Wade looks at Samuel now and nods "Yeah, ready to go" His attention moves to the others in the group to see what they say and then, at the entry point being discussed.
"I know you are, Jugs. But you can't fault us for trying to be careful. I've got Boots riding me enough as it is, I don't need it for that too." A flash of a smile, to Bunny, and to the LSO, before Leyla hops back up into her raptor to ferry the away team…away. "As soon as I get back."
Quinn nods curtly towards Leyla, her eyes quiet and a bit thankful, especially as Bunny comes back to her side. She's not -planning- on going into labour on the surface but, hell… Stranger things have happened. So, she's glad he's here. She nods to Evan as he comes to her side and then begins to step down into the group so they can start their search.
Evandreus takes his mum's arm, giving her a bright smile of reassurance, as if the pair of them were just out for a stroll in the gardens of this grand estate. He laces his fingers into hers and rests his forearm against hers up to the elbow, looking on ahead to the estate in the wake of the marines making certain the way is clear.
Samuel nods a little bit as he looks between the others, "Okay, time to go see what we can find, then? Marines in front, then follow when we're sure it's safe." And with that, he starts leading the way towards the entrance, looking around carefully.
McManus takes a deep breath, jogging up to take up a spot beside the main entrance with the marine contingent. Once satisfied the general vicinity is safe, one of the marines gives the nod and the door is battered in with a satisfying crunch. Security system, meet marines. Rifles immediately swing to cover the interior, and the call of 'clear' goes up.
At this point, Wade just waits for the Marines to do their thing and follows when everything is clear. The pilot keeps looking around, curious about the place in general since this is his first trip here. He stays close to Bunny and Quinn, letting Samuel and McManus walk ahead. "I need to get some clothes" idly says Wade, just to make some chatter "Only have Military stuff and it gets kinda boring" to this, he smiles and adds "Plus, whatever I can find that picks my attention"
The marines going down to town don't take terribly long to onload, and Bertha is soon back in the air, oving out to deliver her complement of salvagers to the nearby town. A little wiggle of her wings, before she's off and away, soon to return, if all goes well.
Quinn lets the Marines sweep in through the room, checking every last corner. "Yes, but priorities are medical supplies, first and foremost. But grab anything that looks useful and if your pack gets full, we can trade up as we go." Maggie calls as she delves deeper into the mansion, studying the whole place with wide eyes.
The security alarms, like most of the other household systems, gave out with the power, and so no nasty screeching noises accompany the break-in. Evan keeps hold of his mum's hand and walks her with prime filial affection up to the grand doors of the estate house and into the foyer, the ceiling of which must reach up to at least the third story, with grand marble stairwells coiling up to this side and that like the twisted horns of Apollo's very lyre. Evan's eyes narrow briefly, and he looks off down a corridor heading down toward the northern arm of the building.
"Medical supplies," McManus agrees firmly, rifle finally lifting to a 'safe' position instead of out and ready in front of him. He glances down each side of him as he enters, then suddenly stops dead, eyes wide, a marine bumping into him from behind. "Holy shit," he swears under his breath.
"You got it, Red" says Wade to Quinn, smiling at her as they walk. A smile is also offered to Evan as well of course. He keeps walking with the rest of the group, idly looking around now and goes to a full stop when McManus says that last "What, what happened?" asks Wade now.
"Nice place…" Samuel remarks as he looks around the foyer a bit carefully. "Any ideas about where to start going through this place?" Looking towards that corridor that Evan's looking at, for a few moments. Looking back to McManus now, but not asking the question as it seems it was asked already.
Quinn stops dead in her tracks as she hears the young McManus ahead of she and Bunny. Her hand tighten's on Bunny's palm for a heartbeat or two before she asks flatly, respectfully, "What do you see, Corpsman?" She tries to put the strength of command into her voice, not letting any fear show through.
McManus clears his throat with some embarrassment, moving aside. He shakes his head, then tilts it to a painting on the wall. "That's a Fournier," he replies, tone somewhat awed. "If it's genuine, you're looking at about three million cubits worth of art right there." A pause as he reddens. "My mother is in art," he explains awkwardly. "Sorry. Carry on. Nothing dangerous."
"Ah" says Wade at what McManus says "Well, take it with you if it's not too big" Yeah, he is not really into art. With that said, he just resumes his walk, moving forward, seeking for the Medical Supplies, and the clothes. He looks around at the corridors, trying to spot something of interest.
Meanwhile, back in the air, Bertha is making her merry way down to the town in question, scanning to make certain that the area is indeed clear, before she'll think anything close to touching down and offloading her compliment of searchers. Can't be too careful and all that.
Evandreus loiters to a rather softer halt than the one his mum came to, tethered closely by their linked arms. "If it's genuine?" he can't help but ask, something about the protasis tickling his funnybone. "When you own a significant portion of a planetary hemisphere, what's another three million cubit painting?" he points out. In any case, he hardly seems impressed. If anything, maybe a little disdainful of all the conspicious consumption, as though he were -above- that sort of thing. "Though I suspect you'd be hard pressed to find it appraised for that much, these days," he feels compelled to add that little jab on top of his other comments on the artwork. He's not generally this much of a bitch, though the marines may easily not know the difference. He must be off sports or something at the moment.
Quinn exhales a breath she didn't even think she was holding at the news that there's not a pile of bodies in the room or Cylons with guns on them or sometihng. She rests her free hand momentarily on her chest where heart gallops and steps forward again, giving Evan's hand one last squeeze at his snarkiness before she lets him go so she can start moving through and looking for things to actually pick up that aren't art. "If there's time on the way back to pick it up we'll take it then."
Samuel shakes his head a little bit as he hears McManus, then nods a bit at Wade's words. "If there's room for it…" he adds, before he looks back towards the others. Starting to move a little towards one of the hallways, and looking down it rather carefully.
"That's not just another painting," McManus argues fervently, eyes fixed on the painting. "That's a /Fournier/. I… just… That should be in a museum," he mumbles, then clears his throat again. He finally drags his attention from it, frowning deeply and shifting his rifle in his hands, as though that'll help remind him why he's there. "Medical supplies. Right."
"Not if the owners paid more than what a museum was willing to offer" idly says Wade, walking past the painting, just looking at it for a brief second. Not that it really matters now. His fingers rest over his gun, tapping on it. The safety is on of course, so no danger there. "Anyway, has anyone seen this Colonial Pete's bar? Is it any good? I have to say I haven't been able to visit yet"
Evandreus declines to discuss the Fournier any further. His hand let loose from its safe spot within mum's hand, he draws away from her and heads for the corridor he'd been eyeing before. Not with any particular haste, but that's where his internal DRADIS seems to be drawing him. On what grounds? Who knows?
Quinn isn't really letting Evandreus out of her sight with him acting this strangely, so as he heads down towards the corridor that he was eyeing, Maggie trails behind him. She's a quiet, protective presence, her free hand now pulling out her flash light so she can easier see into every corner, even searching for things that were dropped. Weapons, or set booby traps. Rich people were eccentric, right? Or so she heard.
Samuel moves along with Evandreus and quinn down the corridor, keeping in the background for now. Once in a while, if he finds something he might see as useful, he'll pick it up in his backpack.
McManus hunches his shoulders, tramping along towards the north wing, with just the occasional admiring glance at the paintings, the vases and the sculptures. Like a puppy faced with a bowl of food behind a plate of glass. No art. Bad puppy. At one door, however, he pauses, nodding inside and reporting, "Got a bathroom here, sir. Worth checking out for supplies?"
Evandreus seems to have unintentionally taken up the lead in this little expedition. He doesn't quite seem to know exactly where he is, going down the corridor like one blind or lost, looking now here, now there, as if his mind were groping about for some handhold from which to align his bearings. "Bathroom? I'm sure the teep's extraordinary cushy," he offers by way of commentary, but… he's not actually in command, so there are no yeas or nays from his direction.
Wade keeps following the group, looking inside the rooms as they go down that hallway. Finally, there is something that makes him slow down inside a room. He peeks inside and after seeing that the coast is clear, he announces "Gonna check something real quick" He disappears for a few seconds and when he returns, he is carrying a leather jacket with him "Score" He has a bright smile on his lips "I know, I know, Meds first" But one cannot let this opportunity go like that. So, into the bag, the jacket goes.
"Bathroom might be good for small stuff, yes. Master bedroom. But if they had a small infirmary in a place this big, that could work too. Or a vault. Which would probably also been in the master bedroom or the study. So… up stairs, I'd say?" Maggie seems to realize that, while Evandreus seems to have taken the lead, he's going so damn slow. The other team could have been back by now, so she does what she can to prompt things, moving a bit faster herself down the hall
Indeed, the team could have been back, but at the moment, they're not quite. The hospital facility has indeed been located, and the marines and sundry are in the midst of salvaging whatever they can, stacking and packing it into the raptor. Never know what might come in handy, so the pharmacy and dispensery are being thoroughly raided.
Evandreus manages to stop dawdling when his Very Pregnant Mother makes a point of lapping him. Clearing his throat, "I'd think that upstairs would mostly be living quarters. The north arm looked pretty big from the recon photos, so… maybe the kitchen's down here, or, yah, a clinic or something," he muses aloud, moving on ahead to where the corridor ends at an intersection with another corridor, a large set of double doors straight ahead which make the Bunny's brows furrow in consideration of them for a moment before he goes ahead to push one of them open, testing to see whether it's open.
Quinn pulls up along side Evan as they continue down the hall, her voice falling to a rather lower level so she's, hopefully, speaking for just Evan and herself. "Bunny, dear… I don't know what's going on in your mind, but you seem to have some idea of the lay out better than the rest of us, so you need to wake up and push on." She pauses a heartbeat longer, studying his eyes. "…What's wrong, dear?" She knows him too, too well.
If there's one thing you can say about Marines, is they are efficient. The raptor down at the hospital is soon loaded up, and ready to head back to the estate. There's still more room for supplies, so going back to Cerberus isn't really an option just yet. But true to her word, Leyla radios back on the way back, "Bunny, Sweet Pea, we're on our way back to your location. ETA in five. Can you give me your approximate location?"
"It's nothing, mum," Evan tells her, "It's just— it hardly seems fair, does it? So many people's lives were completely uprooted, destroyed in seconds. And somehow those who had… everything… in life. Still had everything after the world was over. Probably all left in their personal fleets," Evan shakes his head as he sets his jaw, shoving his way into the next room— which is, unlike the rest of the compound, a complete wreck. It looks like a herd of elephants came through here, this tall, arched collonade, which seemed, at one point, to serve as a sort of museum. Except that all the glass cases have been shattered, and their contents scattered around haphazardly. "… Uh," he finally gets his brain together enough to reply over the comms, "Sweet Pea, Bunny. We're at the end of the corridor leading north from the foyer. We found… um. Something."
Quinn blinks at the mess of the room, suddenly beginning to tread just a bit lighter. "Frak…looks like centaurians came through here at some point, or something else large. Hopefully the whole place isn't raided." Her brows furrow at Evan's comment otherwise, "…Yes, have everything but their lives. We're here. They're not. Remember that." SHe reassures him gently, then falls quiet so he can speak to Leyla.
"We'll be in shortly, Bunny. Guns blazing, if need be, you stay put." Indeed, the marines that came with her are out the door and on their way to the radioed location at a run, once Leyla relays the message back to them. The pilot and her ECO following slightly behind, guns not drawn, but still wary. It won't be long before they've blazed a trail to Jugs, Bunny's and team one's location.
Evandreus's eyes grow dim for a moment, but he snort out something that might be a laugh, no less. "Yah, there's that, too," he chuckles aside to Quinn, then holds out his hand for hers as he crunches in over the threshold with boots on broken glass. "What could they have wanted in -here,-" he wonders, starting to look over the placards that let onlookers know the identity of that upon which they were looking. Religious relics, most of them, reported to have found their way here one how or other from Kobol. "There's nobody here anymore," Evan points out to Lala and her team as they come in after them. "They've just left a mess, that's all." He lets go of mum's hand, going to crouch down and pick out a length of old, frayed rope from the broken glass, setting it back onto the pedestal from which it had been tossed. "Heh. Like that bit of string would last two thousand years," he scoffs. "What a bunch of nonsense."
Quinn looks around quietly, a slight bit of a shiver going through her as she realizes what was supposed to be in this room. Evan might not believe, but after some long, long nights with Cidra and strange memories, Maggie's having issues -not- believing. So seeing everything blasphemed like this still chills her to the bone, her breath catching slightly in her throat. "…They must have thought something was important here… whether you believe or not… Someone did." She whispers, beginning to pick more so through glass, flashing her light across each shattered case, searching for anything else that has been left other than the rope. She looks back and nods to Sweet Pea and team as they arrive. "I think we're fine… just a mess in here, Sweet Pea."
Leyla allows the Marines in first, as if the small woman could do anything different. Once they're in and all seems secure, she moves to approach Quinn and Bunny. "A museum for religious relics?" Now, to be clear, Leyla is not a religious sort, but it's not like most of the fleet shares her sentiments, "If there's nothing left here, either they didn't know what they wanted, or they figured they should take everything just in case. Which means we should record whatever it was was supposed to be in here see what we can find out about them." But she, like Quinn, will begin searching through the wreckage, as team two splits back off to go and raid medical supplies from wherever they might be in the house.
Evandreus watches the other team go off in search of the clinic with a faintly dismayed expression. He'd rather hoped on getting there first to surreptitiously supplement his supply of happy pills. But here he is picking relics out of broken glass, getting little cuts on his fingers as he sifts through it. "Looks like they just wanted to hold everything once and then throw it away," he gives a faintly sourly-voiced opinion and then sucks on a bloodied finger. "I guess we could pick everything back up and put it away, see if there's anything missing," he suggests, muffled, around the finger in his mouth, dragging up some sort of tattered, ancient woman's garment, dyed a mottled red, and shaking it gently to dislodge the glass from it. "Where did this one go?" he wonders aloud.
Quinn looks over to the garment, studying it quietly, her mind flashing back to memories of stories she was told in her youth. Things she didn't even believe actually existed. If the woman could go paler, she slightly is. None of this seems real. "…Here… I think that goes here…" She flashes her light across the name plate she thinks would be correct. After all, stories are far different than seeing the things in person. She then continues to walk on, picking up a clay bowl and dremmel set, the bowl slightly chipped from having fallen… She shakes her head. "Barbaric…" And her own slightly glass cut, shaken hands slip that into it's place.
"That works for me." Leyla goes about the business of cleaning up and replacing what she can, "But if there is something missing, we need to record that." Though, quite likely, all of these artifacts will end up back on the Cerberus. She does take off her gloves, however, dangerous as that might be. She can't risk her flight suit being compromised when she has to fly again. "It might not be important now, or seem so, but they had to have come in here for a reason. There were much more useful places they could have destroyed in this estate."
Having staunched the little sliver on his finger, evan takes the peplos by the shoulder clasps and holds it up to his own shoulders. It does, oddly enough, seem sized to fit either a rather robust woman or else a man. "Heh. Maybe Wade will want it," he chuckles, turning a half-step to watch the folds of the garment flutter on his way to the spot Mum's pointed out.
Quinn's eyes go a bit wide as she sees Evan toying with that dress. That's an uncomfortable sight. "Bunny… I wouldn't do that if I were you. I doubt the Gods are listening, but… " She doesn't feel like having a god force her hand into ripping off Evan's head because he was committing blasphemy when he wears that dress. It's unnerving. "But… that dress… well, it supposedly got it's last wearer killed for cross dressing. And killed by his own mother's hand." A shiver goes through ehr back as she gingerly beds to pick up another relic, just a hint breatless from the motions. "Sweet Pea has got it right, if they took something.. it's worth knowing what that something was."
Leyla is nothing, if not thorough, as she begins a methodical sweep of her side of the room, retrieving artifacts and trying to find which pedestals or displays they went with. "Do we have a camera or some means to record what we're finding in here? That might be useful too." Hey, it always works with raptor footage. A turn of her head, as she catches Evan holding up the dress and Quinn quickly trying to talk him down from the ledge, "We'll find you something nicer when we're finished here, I promise."
Evandreus looks at Mum with a skeptical stare for a moment, but he's not going to fight her over such a simple request. He folds the thing over his arm, then folds it again, then tosses it onto its place on the pedestal like one would toss a newly washed t-shirt onto a folding table in the laundry room. "I've got a camera," he tells Lala gamely, "Let's see… what's still missing?" he wonders, taking out the little digicam from an inside pocket of his flightsuit, starting it up in order to get this all properly documented.
Quinn is going, slowly by surely. She might be a bit faster if she didn't have quite a watermelon in the way. Leaning over is -not- an easy thing, leaning her a bit more breathless every time she does down. When Evan mentions he has a camera, she reaches out. "You two pick up, I'll photo. Touching the ground is… Not comfortable." She admits in embarrassment, cheeks flushed with breathlessness from the work. If Evan permits, she takes the camera and picks it up to prepare to take photos everything that's found.
"If you need to stop and rest we can do that. I also have some water and a snack, if you're hungry." Trust Leyla to always have something to munch on. At least she's not smoking in Quinn's direction. She's trying to be good. She does retrieve what looks to have been a chalice of some kind, setting it back on the flat surface it came from, if the note on the wood is to be believed, "I'm not big on the stories…what was this guy's deal again?"
Evandreus hands over the camera when Mum gestures for it. He's a good boy, her son, and never gives his mother reason to have off with his cranium. Unlike some people. He shuffles on over to the other side of the chamber, spotting something dark beneath a pile of rubble, and comes up with a length of rusted chain with some primitive-looking fetters attached to each end. "He was evidently pretty kinky," he points out, but otherwise he leaves the storytelling to his mumsie.
Quinn accepts the camera, carrying it over to a ledge somewhere that -doesn't- look covered in glass so she can sit and snap photos while catching her breath. She shakes her head to Leyla. "I'm stopping just fine, don't worry, Sweet Pea. Just hold the things up so I can get pictures as we go." Then she looks over to Evandreus, smirking a bit at the question of the story. "He was a disrespecter of Dionysus…he did not beleive he was a god and hated his followers, his sacred rites, etc… Kinky, I don't know, but he did shackle followers of Dionysus and kept them prisoner until the God sent an earthquack to fell the tower and send them all free. In the end…" Maggie's lips purse a bit…"He took to cross dressing…" She nods to that thrown aside dress, "And then Dionysus made his mother go crazy and rip his head from his shoulders."
"You know, I have to wonder why exactly people bother to worship the gods. Seems to me they spent more time killing, punishing and torturing their believers than ever doing anything to help them." Logical, blasphemous Sweet Pea is logical…and blasphemous. Still, she does as ordered, holding up everything, for pictures, before she sets it back down. "If we get a chance to raid the stores in this place, I know I could use some nice cigars and some good drink." The place is the size of a small city, it must have its own humidor and liquor wing or something.
Evandreus holds up the shackles, posing cheesily with them for the camera, then goes up and down the aisle, trying to find the right pedestal for them, finally setting them down. "Tell me about it. I've been dry for… ages, now. Not that I've ever been big on liquor, but, still. It'd be nice to have the option." Which he doesn't, still not having been cleared by medical for the imbibing of alcohol. One close call with liver failure is evidently enough to make them skittish. He crouches once more to pull up a golden spear to its full height and lean it up against the wall. "Anyone seen this mirror thing?" he gestures to the last pedestal in the row not to have had its exhibit restored.
Quinn continues cataloging each piece that is show, frowning a bit more as the story comes clear. "This… these aren't… Well, they aren't showing what I knew the story as, though. Not according to the placards that match most of this stuff. It's saying that Pentheus supposedly -enslaved- the god Dionysus' worshippers and over threw the god. He conquered him, stole his divinity and became a god himself. This… this is some sort of cult worship here." Maggie sounds like she feels a bit dirty even saying it. She also smirks at both of them, "Don't talk to me about not drinking or smoking. Either of you. And… I don't see a mirror myself."
"Neither do I. And I've been up and down this row twice." Which is the row adjacent to the row Evan is working on. "Looks like we might have some idea of what they were looking for." She does bend down, moving to push back one of the pedestals that's been overturned, "No such luck." Leyla lifts a hand, now holding a bronze mirror up from where it was hidden under the debris. "Well, neither of them would be for me, if it makes you feel better, Jugs." Nope, she has a few people lined up she's determined to salvage for.
Evandreus squints at the label copy for the mirror exhibit. "Oh, hey, this one sounds pretty cool. It says that Pentheus looked into the mirror and saw things 'as they should be seen,' seeing the face of the one true god reflected back at him… and when he recognized the divinity of Dionysus inside himself, he became the god," he reads aloud. "Hey, Lala, dare you to look in the creepy mirror," he snickers.
Quinn stares at the two non believers as they find the mirror, Lala at least, and Evandreus dares her to use it in a way that makes Maggie's stomach turn. "…Perhaps we should not play with the supposed god's toys…" Maggie chimes in gently, nervously, but she doesn't actually stop them.
"How could there be one true god, when they had like half a million of them?" Inquiring minds want to know. "You should never dare a: a taurian, and b: a non-believer." It's just a mirror, after all. And not even a very good one. Polished brass, really? Leyla does indeed turn the mirror, though she doesn't rub it on her suit to clean it up. Rubberized suit=not good for polishing. But she does look in the mirror. Quinn's comment comes just too late for her to actually stop.
"Well, like Mums said, this is some weird-assed cult. Every weird-assed cult needs its own one true god. Or else how would its members maintain their insufferable air of superiority over the rest of humankind?" Not that Evan would have any experience with that sort of thing. No, that's not bitterness in his voice. At all. He does peek back over his shoulder, though, and, seeing Lala looking into the mirror, "Are you God yet?" he asks her, grinning, all sorts of cheeky.
Quinn is -dead- quiet now, her eyes staring wide at Leyla. She nearly drops Bunny's camera, but fortuantely she put the strap around her wrist and it catches just an inch or two later. "Sweet… pea…" She breathes out, standing nervous, her supersitious self waiting for all hell to break loose.
"No, but how could I tell? I can't even see my face, and I look like my head is a potato that's sprouted shoots." Leyla tsks, rising to her feet to put the mirror back down on its pedestal. "If ever there was a god in that thing, it's gone now. I can see why he would have thought he was bacchus though." She looks back to Bunny and Quinn, "Isn't the whole point of cults that they don't actually work or believe in things that are real?"
Evandreus snerks aloud, having tried and failed to stifle a bout of laughter at the description of Lala's face in the mirror. "Yea, and Pentheus looked upon the mirror, and saw before him the face of the one true god," he intones, trying to keep a straight face until he cracks up for the punchline: "Mr. Potato Head."
Quinn rests her hand on her chest again, smirking deeply. "You're all going to give me a frakking heart attack, you know. Keep this up and I might have to go into labour here just to show you all it's dangerous to frak with the gods." Maggie is joking. Mostly. But she's definitely on edge as she watches their jests with the mirror.
Leyla arches her back, stretching out a bit as she gets back to her feet. She may not have a beachball on her belly, but her back still aches. "Alright, let's get the rest of this room cleared, and get this stuff stored to take back with us." Clearly, she's not been cursed by the mirror. And thankfully so. Quinn won't fit behind the pilot's console anymore, if they need to evac.
Evandreus gives his mum a winning smile from over there where he's tidying up the exhibits. "Frakking with gods did always end to end up with babies being born," he teases her. "As far as I remember." And then his comm's going off, with a call for him to come and help move some other supplies out to the Raptor. "Look after mumsie, Lala. don't let her drop my little sister in here," he says, on his way out.
Indeed, it's a relief that no one is a god, a dead god, or going into labor. Maggie's caught her breath by now and just smirks to them, looking back to Evan, "Alright then, We won't be too much longer." She gives him a casual wave and then heads over to Leyla so she can keep up with searching the room. "I'm rested. Let's get this done with and get back home."
"I promise not to let anything happen to her. I'll carry her out to the hallway myself, if she looks as if she's about to pop her bun out of the oven." A completely innocent smile in Quinn's direction, before she turns to continue along the rows, replacing this and that as she goes. She does pause though, once she arrives at what looks to have been a particularly important display. Supposedly the helmet of Pentheus. According to the writeup on the poster(complete with picture) and on the wall, Pentheus' divine battle helmet, which was the head of Dionysus himself before Pentheus ripped off the head of the god. The god had the head of a bull, and so the helmet was in the shape of a bull's head, with horns twisted at a peculiar angle not found in natural cattle, "Hold on a sec."
Quinn pauses, looking back towards Sweet Pea as the woman says to hold on. "Whatcha got, Sweet Pea?" Maggie does seem a bit more recharged and less terrified of what might happen by them blaspheming the Gods. She heads over in the younger woman's direction, camera coming up to take another photo.
"That helmet. I've seen it before. No, not the helmet, but…" She turns back, heading back over to retrieve the mirror, which she holds back up. "I'm sorry if I'm walking over your beliefs, Jugs, but I need to look in the mirror again, alright?" At least she's asking this time.
Quinn shakes her head quietly, "No, no, it's fine. I'm being completely a superstitious nutcase, I realize. I don't believe. I just…" It's a weird thing to say considering she sure as hell -acts- like she believes. Something has scared her into thinking the gods might exist for whatever reason.
Leyla nods, and then raises the mirror, "That's it." She doesn't angle the mirror towards Quinn, however, but she does continue, "Look at the way my head is distorted in the mirror. I look like I have growths on it or horns." Her free right hand indicates the picture of the helmet, "Just like the helmet there."
"Huh." Maggie looks between the things. "Whomever wears the helmet is supposed to be the true God? I'm not… sure. If you're really curious, Sweet Pea, I suppose we could take the mirror back and piece it out more there. We'll probably have room." Maggie reaches out, her fingertips tracing over the mirror curiously. "And honestly, why would the -cylons- take it. It seems like centaurions went through. Whatever else causes this kind of damage?"
"I have no idea why they would take it. But this must be what they were looking for. Everything else has been accounted for except the helmet. SO even if they did bring centurions in here, they didn't take anything else. Most of the rest of this entire estate is completely intact. Except for this room. Maybe it's something else to do with the helmet altogether. Doesn't it seem strange to you, well, not strange, but…they come to a place above Tauron, a colony who's symbol is a bull, and take a helmet that's made in the shape of a bull's head? A head which was supposedly cut from a god's body?"
"Yeah… yeah, it does actually seem strange. I know neither you nor Evan believe but…" She nods towards the missing Helmet's picture, "They apparently believed in something to do with that… More little hints like that are all the things that make me think there might be something to this mumbo jumbo after all." A chill passes through Maggie's spine.
"And these are all supposed to be relics of Kobol. Perhaps there's a clue there. If they're interested in it. It's where we came from. Or so our stories say." Even Leyla believes that, as her own ancestor stories, the ones written on her own flesh speak of the place. Not that anyone that Leyla knows, and probably anyone Leyla doesn't know has any idea where Kobol is. "I don't know enough about all of this to make any educated guesses. Perhaps Toast would know." She's got all that religiosity. "I think we should collect everything in here and take it back to the ship. Including that picture and anything else we can find about it in here or if they have any records." All museums have catalogs, don't they?
That thought makes Maggie nod in affirmation. "Toast would be one to know, or the Priestess… but if you don't think it's a waste to bring them back, I sure don't think it is." With that, Maggie goes to gently collecting all the relics and their placards, filling her own bag with religious and historical museum pieces. She's as gentle with them as humanly possible.