| PHD #429: Savior |
| Summary: | Rose comes to see Bannik in the brig once his Manifesto reaches the civilian population. Promises are made. |
| Date: | 01 May 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | They Love Us, Passing Off The Manifesto |
| Players: |
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| Main Brig - Deck 6 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| Tiny and cramped, the Main Brig seems designed to be claustrophobic. The steel bars lining the three cells have been set into the steel bulkheads on each side. Inside each cell is a stainless steel toilet and a bunk that might be too short for some of the taller crewmembers. The dreary conditions don't seem to be helped by the presence of a Marine guard who is there twenty-four hours a day, as long as a prisoner is in custody. The whole room is under surveillance via camera system in the Security Hub and every visitor must sign-in and abide by the rules. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #429 |
Bannik has been quiet since the pass-off of his Manifesto to the world at large. It's as if he's rather uncertain. How will it be received? He's lying on his cot in his cell, staring at the ceiling, off in thought or prayer or maybe just a place of Zen. But when the BUZZ of the lock opening is heard, Tyr is on his feet and moving towards the bars out of curiosity. His first visitor since this happened.
Escorted in by MP is G. Rose Ibbhanas, still wearing her patched wool overcoat. Space is cold, and the hangars tend to be chilly places; it seems silly for a person to bundle up due to the vacuum of space, but here she is, looking like she stepped out of a late autumnal street. "Thank you, Private," she says to the MP, turning to give him a cheery smile. "I can handle it from here." The MP nods, and stands just outside the hatch to the brig.
Rose slowly approaches the bars, hands clasped together in front of her. She looks hopeful, but at the same time, pensive. "Tyr… you look terrible. Are they… treating you all right?" She stops several feet short of the bars themselves.
"Besides the fact they have be brigged? Yeah. I guess so. Don't treat me any worse than the average prisoner, at least." Tyr musters up a tired, tired smile. While you might figure he has all the time in the world to sleep, you have to remember: the lights stay on in the Brig, twenty-four/seven. "But how about you, Rose? How are you doing? I haven't seen you since, before, you know —" Since before Kepner and Bannik's little trip to Gemenon.
"Oh, I'm fine. You know, another crisis comes and goes, and we all huddle aboard the Elpis wishing it would all just go away," she offers in reply, sarcastically cheerful, but only a little. Rose doesn't have it in her to be completely defeatist; usually all it takes is a few words of encouragement and she springs back from the doldrums. "I, uh, heard some things," she says vaguely, glancing nervously towards the desk guard. "Well, read, really." A pause. "Is it true?"
"Yeah. I know. Has to feel pretty tough, just hanging on for dear life, not being able to really do anything about it." Tyr sounds sympathetic, understanding even. But when she asks the question — the one he must have been expecting — he just nods. "It made it to Elpis already?" Word moves fast. But then: "Yeah. I wrote it. It's true." Now he just pauses, awaiting her reaction. He seems nervous; after all, Rose is the epitome of 'Girl on the Street.'
Rose sucks in her lower lip at his confirmation of it being true. "Then you were right. You were right about it all. And you went, and saw with your own eyes," she breathes. Hand trembling, she slowly reaches out towards the bars, taking a step closer - if Tyr wanted to take her hand, he could. There's a throat-clearing sound that comes from the MP at the desk, however, and that hand instead retreats to her side as if she accidentally touched a hot stove. Glancing his way, Rose withers under his watchful glare, but the MP immediately goes back to whatever he was doing - reading a book, it looks like, Swallowing audibly, her attention swings back to Tyr. "They're going to keep you here forever." Her voice cracks and she drops to a whisper, not finding the ability to make any louder sound than a peep.
Bannik reaches out to take her hand when it comes forward, but, when the MP glares at them, he pulls it back as well. Perhaps less for himself than Rose. Don't need both of them getting in trouble. "I did see it with my own eyes. They — they chose me, I guess, to go and bring back the message." His voice is a soft, earnest whisper. "And — I don't think they will, Rose. People won't allow it, I don't think. But if they do, well, I'll keep writing. Until they see. Or until they get rid of me. But I can't just keep it inside, Rose, what I saw. I have to tell people."
Rose nods slowly, eyes wide and glistening - she's on the verge of tears, less likely due to the MP's glowering and more because of the tremendous impact that it would have if it proved to be true: not all of the Cylons are the enemy. "Tell me… what you need to happen, here?" It's a cryptic question, and she sniffles, wiping underneath her eyes. She tries again. "What can I do to make things better for you?"
Bannik is quiet for a few long moments. He seems to be weighing things in his head; what will he ask her to do? "Well —" he says finally. "Damon's the one in charge, like, legally, if I get out of here, assuming they don't pile on any extra charges for — you know. The thing. So. I mean." He's sort of asking for her help; but he's also sort of hesitant to ask for it for obvious reasons. "And. Other than that — just tell people I'm not crazy. Just tell them to read it and think about it and try to have an open mind. Just tell them I'm not crazy, I'm not some crackpot. I really know what I'm saying."
"I'll track him down, then," Rose states confidently - it's feigned confidence, as she's been loathe to confront Damon over their relationship issues. She's been willing to let them lie fallow. Now, things have changed; someone else's life is in the balance. "I'll track him down and make him listen. I promise you." Forcing herself to smile, she adds, for his benefit, "You've done what the others don't have the gumption to do, Tyr. Rather than perpetually live in fear and propelling the military machine forward, you've… given us hope. There's hope to be found, now." A tear rolls free down her cheek, and she wipes that away, too. "The war is over. We lost. Now, what do we do with that knowledge?" Sniffling again, she's desperately trying to keep the tears in. "I'm sorry, I'm…" She wraps her arms around herself, turning away to the side, eyes clenched. She puts a hand to her face, and she's wracked by a few silent sobs that manage to escape. The weight of truth, that humanity has lost, is tough to bear.
Bannik looks like he wants to reach out and hug Rose. And that's for good reason; that's exactly what he wants to do. "It's okay, Rose. It's okay. It's tough to process. I know it is. But, people are slowly coming around. There'll be some who'll never let go. Those are the people Kepner counted on. But — I think most people realize it's about the long-term now. It's about what we do with this group of people, now, for the future. We need a plan, and I think the Twos and the Elevens are offering us one." He has the Far Away voice of the True Believer. "But it's going to take time for people to realize that. I'm just so glad you're not mad at me, Rose. I wouldn't know what I would do if I didn't have you on my side."
Getting a grip, Rose turns her wet face back to look at Tyr. She removes her glasses, folding them and tucking them away in her hand. "These eyes, Tyr, that were blind, when you found me," she begins, swallowing down the rest of her tears. "Well, literally, you didn't find me on Sagittaron, but… you found me, that one day, on the deck. And ever since then, whenever there has been doubt… whenever I've been sad… I think of that day. You continually save my soul from despair, Tyr. I, uh, didn't realize it until now, but…" She doesn't quite follow the cliche' that might be going through Tyr's mind at the moment. "You've been tasked with this by the gods themselves. They've punished us for our hubris. And now you're going to lead us out of the darkness."
Bannik takes in a deep breath. Clearly, Tyr never thought himself a cult leader before this very moment, even if his Manifesto made him sound, like, well, very much a cult leader. Finally, he says: "I'm not going to lead us. We're going to lead us. All of us are. I'm just saying what I know is true, trying to give voice to all the people who think it inside, but are too scared to say it; trying to put words to the feeling that people have had but they can't quite put their finger on what it is." His voice, hesitant at first, slowly picks up steam, starting to sound like the preacher he sometimes is. "But I can't do any of it without you, Rose. I hope you'll help me; be by my side while we try to do this. You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Rose Ibbhanas."
Rose cracks a smile, small at first, but it widens and lights up the room, dispelling her previous tears. "If they'll let me, can I… come back? I can bring my prayer books. At the very least, it'll let me do what I can to keep your spirits up." She glances again at the MP, who is not at the moment paying any attention. So she does what she was forbidden to do earlier: she quickly reaches through the bars and takes Bannik's hands. Not quite knowing what to do with herself now that she has them, she leans forward and gathers them to her cheek. Still damp from her tears, she murmurs, "I'll do what I can. I swear by the gods I will." Then, letting his hands go just as soon as she's sworn onto them, she takes a few steps backwards. This gets the guard's attention, and he frowns, rising to let her out. "I'll see you, Tyr," she says louder, and clearer, mainly for the guard's benefit.