| Roll the Easy Seven |
| Summary: | Number Seven makes an apparently long-awaited appearance on Gemenon, and proves memorable but unhelpful, save in putting some final questions to rest on the matter of the very human Admiral Michael Abbot. Strangeness is afoot in the Temple of Aphrodite. |
| Date: | 31 Jul 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | A Lie Never Lives to Grow Old; Gemenon and Ark stuff in general |
| Players: |
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| Courtyard - Temple of Aphrodite Pandemos - Gemenon |
| A PLACE OF MYSTERY |
| Condition Level: 2 - Danger Close |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #520 |
A group of Twos and Elevens have gathered in the courtyard outside the Temple of Aphrodite. The temple itself is not a particularly unusual structure for those of the faiths, built long before the Cylons came. All the activity is inside it, in the lower chambers of it, specifically, where Centurions and skinjobs and humans alike have been busy excavating. Supposedly there is a thing down there that could lead the way to Kobol. And point the skinjobs to some strange key to their past as well, separate but equal quests of urgency. As of yet, however, they've not found it.
Today, however, the main business is taking place in the courtyard. Yazdah is leading the little party, watching the skies. She seems to be held in great respect by the Elevens and Twos alike, yet she keeps herself a little apart from them all.
"He's late," a Two with an unfortunate mustache and Virgan accent that the calls itself Wally remarks irritably, squinting at the clear blue sky. "You figure he'll bother to show up at all? He's said he would twice now, but he always puts it off. I swear, the lazy frakker's just dicking us around at this point."
Tyr Bannik has been the boy wonder of manual labor since he set down on the planet, volunteering for any number of back-breaking labors — whether it be digging trenches, delivering water, or, as here, helping supervise the excavation. He's on a break now — it is back-breaking labor after all — and taking a sip of water. He seems very comfortable with the Cylons, perhaps as a result of his earlier trip here. "Who is coming?" he asks the obvious question. "Who are we all waiting for?"
The vest-wearing, shaved-headed Two known as Jameson stops momentarily as he inspects a perimeter of excavated rock and dirt, squinting down at the exposed ground. "Oh, I think he'll show. 'F there's one thing that toss-off actually /does/ care about beyond his own penis, it's /her/. And maybe, just maybe, somebody let slip the fact that she's here."
Sofia is here, quiet and thoughtful. She's been helping where she can and seems to prefer about here instead of onboard. Although she might look more akin to a tomato than a tanned Aquarian. Is it her love of land? Sympathetic people here? She quirks her brows at all of the discussion. She opens her mouth to ask, then nods at Bannik.
Don't ask Samuel why his steps have taken him to the temple area, because he wouldn't really know. He was wandering around outside it, but decided to drop by, it would seem. Pausing a bit now as he watches the people present, listening to the conversation rather carefully for now.
If there's something Wade finds weird, is Gemenon…or, at least, the Cylon occupied Gemenon. He finds it weird and it makes him a little uneasy. When he sees what's happening at the courtyard, curiosity gets the best of him and he approaches the group. He is not wearing his pilot outfit in this opportunity, he is just wearing his off duty clothes. Unlike the others, he is going to remain quiet for the time being.
"Number Seven." It's Yazdah who answers Bannik. "Don't worry. We've informed your Command and your ship is prepared to evacuate and jump if this goes poorly. I do not think it will, though. Seven has been rather…unpopular with the other models since he…did not handle as best he could have certain matters on Leonis. He seems keen on making an alliance with our cause here."
Two Wally cracks up at that. "'Didn't handle as best he could?' Frak, Yazdah, stop making excuses for him. He completely dropped the ball and Nine and Four had to clean up his Goddamn mess. I wonder if the Nines are still pushing to have him boxed? I don't think even Three would box one of us *just* for laziness and stupidity, but they were *raged* at him the last time I had any face-time with our brothers and sisters back in the inner colonies. It's hard to tell what the Nines are thinking most of the time, but slackers really seem to piss them off."
They continue to wait, Yazdah squinting at the horizon hopefully. No sign of Number Seven yet.
"Is. Is he — friendly towards our cause? Seven?" Bannik, for perhaps somewhat clear reasons, refers it to 'our' cause rather than 'their' cause. "I mean. To the extent that he cares about anything?" He holds a hand over his eyes, trying to see what they see.
"Frakking damn it all." Jameson snorts. "Could we place a moratorium on the 'b' word? Box this. Box that. Every time someone gets a bug up their ass, it's always back to the ol' box threat. Purge, purge, purge. That's the way we Cylons solve our problems now, right? What happened to 'wait and see?' Makes us look like idiots." The Cylon wheels about to study Bannik with a tilted head. "I think the best thing we can say about the Sevens in regards to that is that they're not hostile. Then again hostility would require — effort. Maybe that's why. But, naw. We think they're reasonable. Any time they've /been/ hostile, they were usually coerced."
Sofia waves to Samuel and smiles faintly. She listens and tilts her head. "Oh." She thinks she's got an idea of Seven. She furrows her eyebrows at the talk of boxing someone. "Sounds like a bad way to go," She admits quietly. For now, she settles nearby and takes a sip of water. "Um." Hmm. She closes an eye. "We appreciate the warning."
Samuel nods a little bit as he listens, looking a bit more thoughtful as Leonis is brought up. "So, when will he arrive?" he asks, after a few moments of pause as he glances around at the various people present. Sofia gets a nod, a half-wave and a grin.
"Three hours ago was when he was due," Wally Two says to Samuel. "So I expect him about…never."
Yazdah sighs. "He'll be here. He promised. He's been very busy." She sounds like she's trying to make herself believe this defense more than anything else.
But perhaps this is her day. For, just then, there's a flash of an FTL jump in the heavens, and a Heavy Raider appears. It's instantly flanked by an escort of 'free' Raiders, which are in turn flanked by three sections of Viper pilots from both planetary and Cerberus patrols. They don't fly together, precisely, but they've been warned of this shared possible threat and will ally to shoot it down if it comes to that.
But it doesn't. The Heavy Raider descends peacefully enough toward the temple, landing in a grassy field a little off from where the party is gathered. Yazdah looks more surprised than she'd probably admit. "See? I told you he'd come."
Jameson makes a 'jerk off motion' with his hand but doesn't comment.
"Yazdah? It's Yazdah that he cares so much about?" Bannik, it seems to click for him, looking between the other models and the more set-apart Eleven. But then it's the Heavy Raider's show. "We've got inbound. I feel like I should run over to do the post-flight checklist, but I have no idea what it's like for Heavy Raiders."
"I'd ask them but …" Sofia rubs the back of her head. She looks to Bannik and then to the others. Her attention is caught by the FTL's flash, green eyes turning heavywards. She smiles faintly, perhaps happy Yazday was right and stifles a titter at the jerk off motion. She hides her grin with a hand. Silly Sofia.
Samuel watches the arriving Heavy Raider rather carefully, glancing around for a few moments before he seems to remember that they're not supposed to be in danger here. "Okay…" he mutters, otherwise just listening for now.
The doors of the Heavy Raider open, and a man - or, something that looks very much like a man - emerges. Lanky and with longish blonde hair, with a nose that *must* have been stylized in-design by the Cylons to appear roguish broken. To those who were on Leonis, he looks very, very familiar, and recognition should not be be difficult. He's wearing sunglasses, a flowered Aquarian shirt and flip-flops, and he stumbles as if he's somewhat buzzed. He's actually carrying a flask, from which he takes a swig as he emerges into the sunlight. "Whoa. You guys got yourself a regular resort here. If I'd known it was like this, I would've come sooner."
Yazdah stares at him, now tight-lipped, dark eyes harder than anyone either skinjob or human has seen the generally composed and almost gentle Cylon. "You told me," her words are rather clipped. "That you were busy. And no, Mister Bannik, I am not…No." She is firm on that point.
The blonde man grins at her. "Oh, don't be like that, Yazzie. C'mon, Twos. You guys know how to party. Let's break out a keg. Number Seven has ARRIVED."
Jameson again makes the 'jerk off' gesture. "No, that's not an invitation, mate." He says as he turns back over his shoulder with an upturned chin towards Ashwood, before spying Bannik. "Nah. It's not Yazdah he's all concerned about." With that, he wipes his hands against his pants and grimaces.
"Ashwood?" Bannik sure can remember the television reporter from Kythera's TV News at Eight. "But — how? How long have you known? I mean, the Cylons shot you. Why would they —? That's how you died." His voice is just a babble now, the realization coming to him.
Sofia is watching, sipping her water. She blinks. "Wow, our shirts made it /everywhere/," She boggle.s. She turns red as Yazdah answers Bannik's question. She smiles, amused. She blinks. "Wait …" He gave them- Her eyebrows lift, widening. Sofia's mouth opens and closes. "Yeah -"
Samuel pauses for a little while as he sees the new arrival. "You…" he begins, before he goes silent again listening rather carefully for the moment now.
Yazdah is silent, though her face still seems fixed in an expression that's on the point of really, really trying not to start screaming. She takes a deep breath. "Well, you're here now. You have met this one before, I think." She looks to the humans assembled, motioning to the Seven who's stumbling their way out of the Heavy Raider. "On Leonis he called himself Colin Ashwood, and I believe planted a video tape among your people to make you think your Admiral was a Cylon."
Wally Two snorts. "And then Four had to fix it so it'd look right once it was back on the ship, didn't she, Ashwood? So, Nine still trying to hang your ass from wasted Caprican bridge wreckage? You ready to put yourself to good use now."
The Seven still looks kind of drunk and not entirely aware of what's going on. He takes a swig from his flask. "Nine's a downer, man. Hey." Samuel and Bannik are waved at, with some apparent recognition. "Sorry about that whole tape thing. But, yeah. Your admiral. Totally human. So, I thought there'd be a keg?"
"Well. What's — done is done. Unfortunately. We can only move forward and try to repair the damage. You /do/ know that Cairn said somethin' about wanting to use your head as a latrine, right?" Jameson says cheerily towards Ashwood. "I think the bigger problem was, when you got strongarmed into doing that plan, you removed the one human left who could've put a lid on the Areion, right? Or didn't Three think of that?" He waggles his thick eyebrows, and although he's grinning, there's very little mirth there. "But your girl's safe. For what it's worth. She doesn't know, still."
Wade has been, well, keeping away but seeing Ashwood there makes his eyes grow wide. What the hell man. "Ashwood?!" asks the Viper pilot, approaching now and pushing through the crowd. The state the Cylon is in is…well…to be expected, really, specially if it's the /same/….err…model? "Snap out of it!" shouts Wade to the Cylon in a commanding voice, like he has probably done a few times in the past. Not that he didn't enjoy the 'Duuuuuuuude' type of personality.
Bannik runs a hand through his hair, looking, well — just looking. "Wow. So. All part of the plan. You getting shot by the Cylons. Getting rid of the Admiral. Well, that worked. And this is from the Cylon that isn't supposed to have cared? This is what he's able to do?"
Sofia pauses. She looks between the group, her eyes widen. "… the Admiral. The poor, poor admiral," She closes her eyes. SHe looks sad. "They-" This news definitely leaves a sour taste in Sofia's mouth, her green eyes filled with disbelief and horror. She looks torn, and sad. "I-" And the Areion. Was that part of it too? Sofia stares blankly.
Samuel looks a bit shaken by this revelation, but he offers a nod back towards the seven. "You folks play the trickery game rather well…" he finally offers, shrugging a bit after a few moments of pause.
"DUDE! DUNCAN!" the Ashwood Cylon exclaims, beaming. "This guy, man. This *GUY*, let me tell you. We were roomies at Aquarian Pete's. Frak, man, glad you're still alive. You were okay. You need a drink, bud?" The flask is offered. "This place kind of smells like hippies. I bet the smoke's good, but where the frak is the bar?" He nods to Bannik, wincing. "Actually…the getting shot part was kinda…not. Frak. Downloading's a bitch, let me tell you. But the chrome-jobs didn't give a shit about Marty and she was a sweet girl so…" He looks at the Two. "She's here? Marty's here?" This actually seems to get some reaction other than slacker-like bro-dom.
Yazdah sighs. Heavily. "The woman you were with on Leonis is on their civilian ship, yes. Perhaps you'd like to help her now." A pointed gesture to the temple. "Our Centurions have been adding as much as possible to the excavations, but we're still making little headway. They're trying to push deeper today. We hope we can find some entrance other than the main tunnel, which we cannot push through no matter how hard we try. If you could speak to your model line about assisting us with this project, it would be very helpful. We think we have some hope of finding out where we came from here, and perhaps that will allow us to make a better future for ourselves."
The Seven listens to this all with a vaguely sleep look. He beams at Wade. "Man, she's gotten serious, hasn't she? Downer."
Wade arches both eyebrows while looking at Ashwood and is at a loss for words for a moment. He clears his throat and takes the offered flask, taking a smell of it for a moment and then taking a sip. Afterwards, he returns it to Ashwood and looks around "There are no bars, Ashwood…haven't found any at least." He tilts his neck a little and nods to the question of Marty. "So what model are you again? And what the frak is the story with you…."
"Model line?" asks Bannik, picking up on the mention of the request for help. "What is it that you would know that would help? I mean, I've been supervising some of the excavation teams, but — what knowledge do you have that'll help?" Try to focus on a possible bright point here.
Sofia rubs the back of her head. Well, there
Sofia rubs the back of her head. Well, there is another piece of guilt to hang onto. She sighs softly. Then she blinks, listening at the talk of the excavations. One eye closes. "And I am fairly sure if we saw a stash of booze…" Well, y'know. She takes a deep breath, trying not to keep the horrible thoughts for now. "Uhm. I mostly - am not good at digging but -" Well, she's likely been trying to help out. She glances around. Then back to Ashwood. Open mouth, close mouth.
Samuel just looks from person to person for a little while, shaking his head a bit. Reaching to a small water bottle he's been carrying with him, to take a sip now. "So, what's the plan now, then?" he asks, after a few moments of pause.
"If it makes you all feel any better, our /friend/ here was coerced." Jameson takes the liberty to explain, wagging a finger at Ashwood. "I mean, you can debate the merits of the decision he made all day, or the validity of the reason, but he had one." The man — err — Cylon shrugs haplessly. "So, yeah. I think Yazdah said it more eloquently as usual. You want to help Marty? Help us. That's not a threat, but I don't think Three is going to be so concerned for her well-being. Not to mention what some of the others'd do."
"Lucky Number Seven, baby, that's me!" Ashwood says with a bright grin to Wade, toasting him and taking a swig from his flask. "So, where's my girl?"
Yazdah actually can't explain right away how Seven would be helpful to their cause and is still near-glaring at him, though she does finally manage, "We need any support from the other Models we can get to survive. The Sevens seemed…easiest." She seems about to explain more but, at that moment, the ground beneath them begins to shake. The tremors are heaviest around the temple, but they reverberate out, sending many of the humans and skinjobs falling to the ground. Yazdah manages to keep her feet. Buzzed Seven, of course, doesn't.
Bam! Bannik hits the ground, not ready for the tremor that shakes the earth beneath him. He rolls right into that poor Two with the OUTRAGEOUS Virgon accent, leaving the two of them far more tangled than Tyr usually gets with girls, much less guys. "Sorry!" he calls out.
So … is Seven part of the cavalry? They're doomed. Hopelessly, utterly, completely, like free booze in the bunkers … doomed. Sofia just kind of stares. Until - Wah! Sofia weebles, Sofia wobbles but she doesn't fall down! "Tyr!" Poor Tyr. At least he didn't fall into Eleven's cleavage or worse. She offers a hand up, looking startled. "Earthquakes?" She blinks. She hadn't heard much about Gemenese earthquakes, eyebrows furrowing.
"What the f—-" Jameson too wobbles, wavers, and does a CIC-worthy dive into the side of a wall. "Ow.." He mutters. "Ever…think.."
Samuel blinks a bit at the quake, managing to stay on his feet. "Earthquakes as well… What a day…" he mutters, before he looks around. "Everyone's okay?"
Of the party outside the temple, there are no major injuries. Yazdah looks down at the Seven, as if considering helping him up, but she does not. He just sprawls on the ground, taking another swig. Somehow, he did not spill anything from his flask.
Any major damage seems to have been concentrated around the temple, as people who were working on the excavations come hurrying out of it. The Centurions are first, running at those shocking speeds the bulky metal creatures seem to manage. Humans and skinjobs follow, some carrying those who were injured in falls, or by bits of temple that look to have been knocked loose.
Bannik is in the midst of clamoring to his feet, trying to disentangle himself from the Two he landed on. "Is everyone all right?" asks the deckhand, sounding a little paniced at the idea of rubble falling in on the dig crews. "Is anyone trapped down there?"
Even if Wade managed to not fall when that earthquake shook the earth, he still had to work hard to balance himself out. When things were said and done, the man started looking around to make sure that everyone was ok, and for a moment, his attention drifted away. Good thing that this happened, because he noticed something in particular "What is wrong with your Raiders, why are they flying away like that…specially now that…" and then it hits him, could it be? "I want everyone to clear the area, now!" And if that wasn't clear enough, he shouts one more time "NOW! NOW! FRANKING MOVE!"
Eh? Sofia looks up. She blinks. "The raiders are flying away. Do they do that normally?" She furrows her brows. She is startled by Wade's reactions. "Wha- here-" She looks horrified by the idea of anyone trapped or injured and left behind. She pulls her hand back as Tyr disentangles.
Samuel blinks a bit now. "What…" he begins, before he starts to move, although he tries to help if anyone that was injured inside needs help.
"Huh. There are ways of getting God's attention, I suppose." Jameson offers sourly as he picks himself up from the dust, dirt, and rubble.
"There are still people inside, we can't leave them!" a Two says as he helps a bleeding human woman out of the temple. A large, middle-aged human man is likewise carrying an unconscious Eleven in his arms. "We were making some headway tunneling under the lower chamber floor and then…I don't know. The Centurions just started running, like something had spooked them. And then the shaking began…" The shaking, whatever caused it, has stopped. It did not seem to be a widespread quake. Nothing down in town looks to have been effected at all. Only the direct area around the temple.
Yazdah follows Wade and Sofia's look up to the sky, frowning. "They were frightened…"
For frak sakes "Then help them!" shouts Wade back "Everyone that is /no/ shape to help, get the frak out of here as fast as possible. And everyone he is, start moving their asses!" still in commanding tone, the man virtually shouts at everyone. When Yazdah speaks, he nods to her and says "But after the earthquake was done" Himself, he moves forward and starts helping people getting up "Move…move…" says the man, trying to work as fast as he can. He points at Bannik and says "YOU! You supervise the excavations then? You know how to get them the frak out of there as fast as possible…do it"
"So are we going in or out, Drips?" shouts Bannik over at the Viper pilot, coming out a bit more mocking than it was perhaps meant to be. But he takes a deep breath. "All right. We'll need the on-ground medics to set up a triage area. And Raptors on stand-by for med evac. I'm — I'm going to try to get some people out. Any Cylons can be a big help." They're a lot stronger than any human deckhand. He begins jogging towards the cave-in, trying to assess who needs out.
Sofia pauses. "They were frightened?" She looks worried. What could scare a raider or a centurion? She furrows her brows. It stays, eating at her nerves. Regardless, she glances to the sky every so often and moves to help move people out if she can. There's panic and uneasiness. She takes a deep breath and bites her lower lip. Well, if a giant rock falls on her, there's no time to worry about it at least.
"I'll help you," Samuel offers to Bannik, starting to move in the same direction. At least he could be doing something useful, right?
"Come on, then!" Yazdah says, following Wade back toward the temple. Medics, both Cerberus personnel on the planet and humans with medical civilian experience, are responding to the temple grounds to tend to the wounded. Raptors in the sky are plainly en route, though a few of the Vipers on patrol have been dispatched to track the frightened Raiders. The humans and skinjobs who are in decent shape head back in, to search for those who couldn't escape in the initial evacuation. The Seven remains sprawled on the ground. He's not a very effective helper in any of this.
The forum of the Temple of Aphrodite is a fairly standard human worship center. Statue of the goddess in center and murals on the walls, various altars to her incarnations to make offers. Nothing here is damaged, save a few overturned altars. "The diggers were down in the catacombs," the Two leading them says, gesturing to a dark passage off the main gallery. It's been created and tunneled into the temple by the excavations over the months here, but it does seem to lead somewhere that was part of the initial structure. Albeit built over long ago. While the skinjobs help, the Centurions are long gone down to the main township. They were frightened as well.
"In…a small group. The rest, I want them out and as far away as possible" calls out Wade, still trying to help some people to their feet. He looks over his shoulder and sees Sofia "WOLFE!" he yells at her "You either help or you get /OUT/, don't stand there like a scared bird!" Weeeeell, someone's on edge. He nods now to something Bannik said "If you can get the Centurions to help some of the people, good…but let's move fast people!" But…then again, those tin cans are gone. Great.
Sofia blinks, stopping in her tracks. "… uh. I was. But I'll leave if you're going to be a total frakhead about it," She spits a curse at him, looking irritable. She listens and frowns. "What frightens them? Are there other Cylons coming?" She seems to hesitate, now that Wade's yelled at her, where before she was moving to help. She shrugs, ignores Wade and goes to help too.
"Freed raiders and centurions have the full range of feelings now, I guess. Including fear. But I don't know what would have spooked them. Maybe they could feel the quake first? Like farm animals can." Bannik is more than happy to speculate wildly as he drops into the makes his way into the excavation, trying to see if there's anyone who needs help.
Samuel hurries in right after Bannik. "Whatever it was, let's concentrating on getting everyone out, right?" he offers after a few moments of pause. Glancing around for a few moments, he looks like he's about to say something, but doesn't.
There've been no reports of other Cylon contacts from the spotter personnel on the ground, and both the extended DRADIS of the Corsair and outflung patrols of Vipers and Raptors are in constant search of them. And Ashwood looks as surprised and confused (if still far chiller, but he seems just generally chill about everything) than anyone else. As he sits in the courtyard staring vaguely around, while everyone else works.
There are muffled cries coming from the digging area, in the sanctum below the temple to which Yazdah hurries. It opens, as they go underground, to an area that's even larger than the main forum to Aphrodite above. A temple beneath a temple. And to all there, it's readily apparent why the skinjobs were so interested in the Ark of Kobol found by the Cerberus. Where the ancient ship on Cerberus has 'cave painting murals' on its wall, this one has full statues, huge and sculpted seemingly from the earth and stone that made the temple itself, of the symbols of all 12 Colonies.
1 A great ram, on its hind legs, with curving horns. Aerilon..
2 A lion, likewise raised up on its hind legs, roaring. Leonis.
3 An archer with an arrow to the string. Saggitaron. .
4 A goat, carved with its head lowered as if about to charge. Caprica.
5 A bull facing the goat and likewise drawn horns-down and charging, with a lightning bolt drawn over his head. A boy riding on its back with both hands raised. One holds a jagged, long knife. The other holds nothing. Tauron.
6 A female figure in flowing robes, seated with very straight posture. Virgon.
7 A figure, again female, pouring water from a pail. Aquaria.
8 Two identical, faceless figures, entwined as if sharing half a body, or a womb. Gemenon.
9 A pair of weighing scales, in balance. Libran.
10 Two great fish, swimming toward each other, tails curved as if they're weaving around one another. Picon.
11 A crab, pincers upraised. Canceron.
12 A scorpion, its poison tail curved. Scorpia.
But, unlike upon the ship, there is no 13th symbol. Where it should be, however, is an archway. Or what should be one. It appears sealed, or having never had an opening carved in it at all. It's there where the digging was taken place, just beside it, as if they were trying to tunnel around it. The humans and skinjobs who remain are struggling to remove rocks and calling out for those they seem to think still trapped behind it.
Wade looks at this scene in completely silence and eyes wide open. He swallows and then looks over his shoulder to one of the closest officers "Go outside, contact Cerberus over secure wireless and tell them what we've found. Straight to the CO, XO and Department Heads, do you hear? Get also a crew with cameras and more equipment to dig, and do it fast" His words are severe and straight forward. The other officer stands up and runs off to do what was ordered. "Ok, needless to say I am not going to stop anyone from going there, because I am…but do /not/ touch anything." He takes a deep breath "Lets focus on getting everyone out."
"Oh. Gosh. This is — something." Bannik gestures at the twelve things here. "But — we need to get people out of here more importantly. How many do we have back there?" he asks one of the nearest humanoids, not caring if it's Cylon or human.
Sofia looks a bit annoyed, but pauses. She looks to the Tauron symbol. "Oh… OH!" Hey, that's familiar. She looks around the syombols, but that Tauron one - "There's something - about that knife," She murmurs. "It's the one we had…" She remarks quietly, "That the Marine CO-" She cuts herself off. "Can someone fetch - gurneys? Or a board or something. I bet at least someone will need to be carried," She'll move along to help but something nags at her.
Medics are already moving in with gurneys. A Marine private present nods to Wade and hustles to go relay that, while the other work on clearing the rubble. Yazdah dives into it. "We had hoped…when I dreamed of your Ark, and it looked so like this place, I had hoped your people might have found something to open the arch. It seems…a kind of door. It seems to be locked with something that has to do with how the statues are arrayed. We thought there might be a code of some sort aboard your Ark but…nothing your people and ours have exchanged about it seems to do anything to open it. We were trying to around it. It won't open, and it's a load-bearing wall, so we can't blow it…we thought we'd found a place soft enough to dig farther in…"
The skinjobs are strong, but the work is still hard and touchy, trying to move the rocks and not bring them down even more on the people back there. It's the Two who answers Wade and Bannik. "There are six we haven't accounted for. The Eleven in charge of the dig here and the humans and Twos with her. We heard *her* back there, at least, though we can't quite make out what she's saying."
Wade nods to the Elven who spoke to her "Alright then, let's get them out…let's find them." He nods and takes a deep breath "We don't leave until we find them, but we must be really careful on how we do things…as you said, we don't want this whole structure to fall on top of us." He clears his throat and then says "We'll stay with a smaller team, the rest needs to get out of here…" and with that said, he gets to work.
The wall where Sofia is working is touchy, and more rocks collapse than can really be moved. One of them into the poor specialist. Ow. But between the skinjobs strength and Wade's work, they do manage to forge an opening they can get through. The six who were trapped are on the other side. Three humans, a pair of Twos, and an Eleven. One of the humans and a Two are on the floor, unmoving. The others look bruised and bloodied, but seem able to get out under their own power. With all those who've assembled to do it, it won't take too long to extract them.
"There's…something down there, I'm not sure what," the Eleven says, in a somewhat trembling tone. "We had just gotten through to what I think is another gallery, and the Centurions ran. They…they just ran. And then the tremors started. Whatever opening we'd carved has caved in. It's as if…something is keeping us out."
Sofia looks to Yadah, nodding. She seems to understand and frowns, hearing as people speak. "I -" Sofia squeaks in pain as a rock lands on her. It's nothing lethal, but it does smart and sting her already wounded pride. She's in pain and annoyed. Sniffle. At Eleven's words though, she blinks. For reals? "Hm…" THat seems odd. She looks to Wade. "It's definitely something to look into," She admits. "But - maybe later." For now.
"Wolfe!" says Wade in a hushed voice "Are you ok?" But he does keep working to get that opening, to get those people out. He looks at the Eleven now, considering her words "Well, someone needs to go in and look…" he licks his lips and takes a deep breath "I'll go…can you make sure that everyone is alright, tend to the wounded and send everyone to the Medics outside?" asks Wade to the Eleven. He looks at Sofia now and back at the Eleven "And her as well, I'm afraid she'll need some rest after that close encounter with that rock"
While Wade can go in and look all he likes, whatever there was to be seen won't be easily gotten to. The entry they'd managed to dig has caved in entirely. The medics carry out the wounded human and the Two. The human is groaning, but seems to be responding to first aid. A medic had to perform CPR on the Two, but he's conscious again now. He's staring up at the ceiling of the strange sanctum with wide eyes. He looks terrified. And the Twos do not seem given easily to fear, for all their indulgence of other human emotions.
"I didn't think I was coming back…" he coughs. "And there was…nothing…"
Yazdah looks at him in alarm. "We should clear this place," she says to Wade. "And keep everyone out for…sometime. Days at least. There is something very strange here. I had Dreamed it would be our salvation." She sounds frustrated, and impossibly sad. "But there is something very…wrong…about this…"
Sofia is annoyed, and blushes at Wade. "S-sorry, Yeah, I'm fine," She murmurs. "I'd like to look. The knife - like the one we had-" She points at the Tauron thing. But for now, she doesn't argue. "Maybe when we come back. But it does seem odd," She admits. But Sofia for now, will meekly submit to medical attention. She's more bruised and stunned than genuinely hurt.
When Wade listens what the Two is saying and Yazdah addresses him, he looks at her. The man nods to her "I agree" He takes a deep breath now and looks around the place now. "Ok, let's move out…" He rubs his hand over his chin "Yazdah, I honestly don't know what the hell is going on here, but we'll find out…we have to. Good or bad, it will still have answers, perhaps not everything but something that would help us all…for once and for all…" He shakes his head "Frak…" mutters the man and stands up. His attention drifts to Sofia and he nods to her "We'll come back. For the time being…" he looks at the Cylon again "Let's secure the area…more Cerberus' crew are on their way"