| PHD #261: What Went Wrong? |
| Summary: | Khloe gets some advice from Wade on how to deal with Lucky's death. Then, Vandenberg pops in for some questions. |
| Date: | 14 Nov 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | Not Out of the Woods - Air Wing |
| Players: |
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| Pilot Berths - Naval Deck - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| The battlestar's pilots call this place home. Bunks line the walls with grey curtains to cover their sleeping areas. Lockers sit between each pair of bunks and a round metal table sits in the center, furnished with simple but comfortable steel chairs. A hatch at the rear of the room leads to a communal head. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #261 |
Khloe looks like she's fresh out of the showers, her hair loose and still damp and hanging unbound around her shoulders. She's sitting at the main table in the berths with her chairback in front of her, hands resting at either side of her neck, with her elbows perched on the back of the chair. She's staring at some point on the table, fairly zoned-out.
Wade didn't had the opportunity to get a shower yet, and as a matter of fact he is still wearing his pilot suit. It seems that he went to a mandatory medical check and then made his way back to the Hangar, to check what the deck peeps had to say about the damage on his Viper. Perhaps it's also a way to keep his mind away from what went on out there. The man steps into the berths now, carrying his helmet under his arm. He immediately spots the SL there and he nods to her "Captain" offers the man after that. He opens his locker and moves his helmet inside, starting to unhook the straps of his suit afterwards.
"Drips," comes Khloe's quiet response. Probably for the first time Wade has known her, her voice is vacant, without her usual force of personality behind it. She rubs underneath her nose, sniffling, then goes back to her quiet staring.
The Viper pilot unzips the top half of his suit and pulls his arms from it. Underneath, the usual greens, with dogtags hanging over his chest. He turns around to look at the Captain, knowing -or at least thinking- what's going on there. He looks into his locker again and starts taking his shower supplies, moving them to the table. Now, he moves to stand closer to the woman and says "We all need to mourn, the ones that were lost. We need to do that, and we need to remember them, we need them close." He taps on his forehead and then on his heart. "But we also need to remember, that we are still here. And for them, and for us…we need to be strong, and look forward."
Khloe dips her chin slightly. "I know, Drips, I know." She doesn't look up when she speaks to him, simply maintaining her gaze into the void. "I've just been going over the combat in my mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. Everything has an explanation, everything has a cause. Lucky was where she needed to be, when she needed to be. It doesn't make sense that she's gone. Hells, we almost lost Splash and Decoy on top of everything else. Everyone fought well. I'm just…" She pushes some of her wet hair back behind her ear, looking very vulnerable. Sounding very vulnerable. "It doesn't make sense."
Wade listens in silence to what the SL is saying, and he can understand what she is saying, really. He takes a deep breath, pulls a chair that he then repositions so it's facing her, and sits down. "In the past, there were situations that caused deaths, that we were able to pin down to something…" he takes a moment to build the next part "…not directly related to combat. In this particular case" he swallows "Yes, Lucky was where she needed to be, when she needed to be. But so where the Cylons." Now, he takes a deep breath and clears his throat, clearly hurt by the recent developments. "No, it doesn't make sense Captain. None of this does, this whole…situation, should have never happened. But here we are" He leans in a little, trying to meet her eyes "Remember Lucky, you do Captain, you remember her."
"She and I… well, I didn't know her well," Khloe explains, her appearing detatched, voice tiny for a woman who prides herself on her confidence and leadership. "I regret not getting that chance. Now, she's the first death under my new command." She finally moves, rolling her shoulders a little, and taking an unsteady breath. Don't let them see you cry, Captain. Gray-blue eyes tear away from staring at nothing, and look at Wade. They begin to harden, a mild frown returning to her features. "When it's time, I want you to help me go over the Viper footage. We'll figure out what happened, if there were any flaws in our piloting. And then, coming up with sims to drill out those weaknesses. Consider it part of your instructional training."
Vandenberg arrives from the Deck 4.
Vandenberg has arrived.
Wade looks at the Captain in silence, he presses his lips together and nods in silence. Before he says anything, he moves to her locker and takes out a tissue, which he offers to Khloe after he takes a seat "Sometimes it's ok to…break" His hand extended with that tissue, as an offer to her. It's clean and everything. "And certainly, we can go over the footage and see what needs to be worked on. You have my help" he offers a very faint smile, and a nod to her. "I didn't get to know her a lot, I got here when she was the SL and she, welcomed me to the Black Knights. I always thought she was a good person, and that is how I shall remember her and keep her with me."
Khloe's expression continues to harden from her previous vulnerable disposition, looking down at the tissue as if it's offensive to her. Any tears that may had come out are quickly forced back. "Drips, because I know you're just trying to be kind, I won't be a bitch at you. But don't ever," that last bit said low and even - not quite a threat, but defintely a warning. Then, her scowl lightens a little. "I'm sorry, I'm just… trying to make sense of it all. And I'm not allowed to 'break' as you put it. Not once. Ever."
The hatch opens and the little Marine S-Three appears. She's in her tanks and black combat pants, one leg cut away to shorts with a bandage on her calf. There's another on her neck. The woman looks a little tired but otherwise put together despite her slight limp. Vandenberg steps inside and stops, looking between the two. The woman seems to have walked in on something quite personal and she freezes in place, unsure of whether to stay or go.
Wade just shakes his head at that and takes the tissue back "If it works for you" he nods at this and presses his lips together "I know, I know you are" He nods again and clears his throat, moving back to his locker "Just let me know when you want to do that Captain, I'll be there" And now, he sees the Marine lady walk in. Wade looks at her with a completely neutral expression and simply says "Hello" nothing more. With that said, he starts to push the suit so he can completely take it off. After this, he takes the tanktop and shirt off, moving everything inside laundry bags.
Khloe is seated at the central table, hair still wet and unbrushed from the shower. One of those rare times she's seen in her fatigues and not her dress blues. Noticing the sound of the hatch, she glances in that direction, and immediately straightens up in her seat. Then, she moves to stand, rubbing underneath her nose and sniffling. Force it down. "Lieutenant Vandenberg," she says, her usual on-duty voice returning in full. "Something I can do for you?"
"Uh, I just had a question or two, sir." She looks to Wade and back, still not quite sure. "You alright? Take it you all lost a mate this afternoon?" She's quiet with the questions, though they're obviously not the reason she came by. "Sorry for your loss." She takes another limped step forward and clasps her hands in front of her. Natalie means it. "Wanted to ask about the..the engagement. If that's okay?"
Khloe glances over shoulder at Wade, and then back to Natalie. "Yes, of course it's okay, Lieutenant. And… loss. Loss is part of the job. Thank you for your sentiment, though." She pads over to her locker - Khloe Vakos, barefoot - and there's a quick turn of a padlock dial to open it up. She reaches for a brush. "I hope you don't mind if I straighten myself up. My post-shower routine was… interrupted." Brush, tugtug, brush.
Wade looks from Vandenberg, to Khloe and back to Vandenberg. Now he nods at her and says "That we did" He presses his lips together now and nods again "Thank you, for saying that." After saying this, he pulls down his pants, taking out one leg at a time, now ending up only with his boxers on. Pants go to the laundry bag as well and now he takes a towel from the locker, finally closing it. Towel is also placed on the table and he looks at all his gear, to see if he has forgotten about something.
"Yeah, it is, sir." Vandenberg looks like she might say more but stops herself short. "No, of course I don't mind." The Marine nods to Wade and clears her throat. "Doesn't ever get easy. Guess it sounds like this pilot had been with you all a long time. Doesn't get any harder. If I'd lost a member of the group I came off Aerilon with I don't think I'd handle it well, either." She takes a long breath to steel herself against the idea before moving on. "Sir?" she addresses Khloe. "I was curious what kind of strength the Cylons attacked with. Was it only Raiders or did they attack with basestars, too?"
"It was only Raiders, one heavy Raider," Khloe says to Natalie. She winces as she's tugging through hair that's already begun to dry on its own, but she refuses to surrender. Tugtug. "The main reason why there was a need to scramble out of there is that the civilian freighter seemed to be a possible objective for them, as well as Ewe Aerilon below. I presume you were on the planet?"
Wade listens to the conversation at hand for a moment, but soon starts to pick everything up. He rests the towel over one of his shoulders and takes a step away from the table "Captain," he offers to Khloe "Lieutenant," he offers to Vandenberg "If you'll excuse me, there's a shower with my name on it" He nods once again and with that said, he makes his way towards the exit, finally leaving the Berths, heading towards the Head.
The answer causes Vandenberg to slit her eyes and look away. She swallows, thinking on what she's heard. "Yea- yessir. I was at the camp. Coordinated the defense. Took two heavily wounded." She nods towards Wade. "Aye, sorry for interrupting." Her eyes lift back to Khloe then. "So they went after the freighter? Weird. Okay, just trying to piece together what happened. Thanks. Sergeant Constin has this theory and me chasing down information so.." She lifts a hand and flits it through the air. "Anyway, thank you for the information. I'll leave you be, sir." She dips her head with the last comment.
"They were clearly going after our soft targets, yes," Khloe reaffirms. Then, she gives a curt nod. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Anything else you need, don't hesitate to track me down." She then faces into her locker, starting to braid her hair into her usual regulation braid.