PHD #294: You Win
PHD #294: You Win
Summary: Andrea once again tries to reach out to Khloe, but the Knights SL wants nothing of her merry-making. Cidra rescues her from thermonuclear meltdown.
Date: 17 Dec 2041 AE
Related Logs: Previous buddy-RP between Andrea and Khloe!
Players:
Andrea Cidra Khloe Wade 
Pilot Berths - Naval Deck - Battlestar Cerberus
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: #294

Andrea is sitting back on her bunk, curtain open, toying idly with the bottle of blonde dye she'd been using for the last while. It had only been to dye her roots as they grew in, but there was about a quarter of a bottle left, enough for maybe one last dye job. So what to do with it? She didn't want to go blonde, she was pretty much red for good, now, but she'd had ideas. Oh, she'd had ideas.

The hatch door swings open, and in walks Captain Vakos with a plastic bag. From the size and shape of the objects at the bottom of the bag, it appears the Captain just went shopping - or, at the very least, went down to the quartermaster's office. She sets it down on the table, and walks straight past to her locker, with which she dials the combination and opens it up.

Andrea leans over and sees the Captain, and then stands up with a grin. "Hey there, Poppy. Get yourself something pretty?" She holds on to the bottle, and walks over to the table, though she doesn't open the bag.

"Just a trip down to the quartermaster's, as I'm low on some things, and they're bringing a lot of stuff up from Tauron," Khloe replies. She produces her mesh shower bag and takes it over to the table; she plunks down into a chair and begins sorting through the bag. What gets produced may surprise Hosedown: non-regulation black shoe polish, non-regulation shampoo and conditioner (although it doesn't look too fancy), and some other sundries that will carry her through the next month or so. The empties and shells of hygiene products she's collected get emptied out of the mesh bag - seems she's been collecting them for a while, and she begins sorting through the new lot. "Don't get excited; I figured I'd take from the batch of stuff recently acquired as to not deplete standard stores."

"Don't get excited? But it's non-regulation black shoe polish, Poppy. I mean, how could I not be excited for that?" Sarcasm drips off of Andrea's tone as she grins at her SL. "By the way, I had an idea for you. It doesn't involve opening up, getting girly, or talking about feelings, either."

"It's difficult to contain my enthusiasm, I know," Khloe states as she begins tucking items away into her shower kit once removing packaging, adhesive, or whatever else that prevents it from being used. Anything that could be reused gets put into the bag. An eyebrow goes up at Andrea's 'idea'. "This should be good. What is it?"

Andrea gives a conspiratorial look around, then leans in. The berthings seem empty, but you never know who is just hiding behind a curtain. She puts the bottle of dye down in front of Khloe. "Everyone knows I've been dying by now, right? So this is what you do. You 'steal' this bottle from me, and tonight, or right now, even, you empty this bottle into the CAG's shampoo. After one wash, her hair'll be a bit lighter, after a few, she'll be flat out blonde." Andrea's grin is borderline evil. "The best part is that everyone KNOWS I'm pranking people, and they know about the dye. So, if the CAG is just a little bemused, when she's talking to me, you come out and say you did it, for a bit of fun. She laughs, because no one would suspect you, and she knows you've been trying. If I'm wrong, and she totally goes postal, then I'll just take the heat. Another week or two of washing the head won't hurt me, and she won't brig me for hair coloring so no flight time lost. It's a win-win, Poppy."

Carefulling filling up a small take-with shampoo bottle from the larger one, she frowns deeply at Hosedown's suggestion. "Win-win? Are you high, Lieutenant?" Comes Poppy's offended, if not predictable, response. "I'm not about to forcibly change the CAG's hair color, especially without her consent. Why do you think I would find a personal violation like that, even if it's more or less harmless, to be 'okay'?" She shakes her head, standing up. "Some days, I wonder if you're not out of primary school, yet." She takes several of the items that didn't fit in her mesh bag, as well as the bag itself, and carries them over to her locker for proper storage.

The source bottle of shampoo stands, unprotected, with the cap open, within arm's reach of Hosedown. And Poppy's back is to her, awkwardly juggling her supplies as she stashes them away.

Andrea grumbles a bit as Khloe stalks off, then notices the bottle left open in front of her. She considers, for a moment, then opens the bottle of dye. Taking a moment to slosh it around a bit, so there is a drip between the dye bottle and the open shampoo bottle, Andrea then sits down at the table, shampoo un-compromised. For now, anyway.

Khloe returns to the table, dusting off her hands in that 'all finished' fashion, and begins sorting through what's left. But before she can even sit, she notices a spot on the table. A pale orange spot. Almost dramtically, she leans closer, peering up at Hosedown with a growing scowl, and then back at the offending drop - if there's anyone who'd notice a fleck of lint at a hundred paces, it's OCD girl. With her index finger, she wipes it up, and sniffs at it. "Hosedown, what the frak?" She growls, standing up straight. "You just poured that crap into my bottle, didn't you?"

Andrea looks down at the table, and then back up at Khloe in faux surprise. She'd like to thank the academy. "Poppy, you just SAID that to do so would be a personal violation. What makes you think I would do that sort of thing?"

"I can't frakking believe you," Khloe spits. She snatches both the shampoo bottle and the offending dye bottle, caps and all, and heads over to the trash. "No more pranks, Hosedown. Keep me out of it. And even if we're pulling supplies up from Tauron, wasting toiletries like this is a shame. A damned shame." Plunk, into the garbage they go. "Now I'm going to wash my hands before I accidentally stain my uniform. You - " Khloe points a dye-and-shampoo messy hand. "Don't touch anything." And into the head she goes.

Andrea sighs, then walks over to the trash can and looks down into it. Not too much spillage. She takes her dye back, puts the cap on, and walks back over to her locker to put it in. She then leans against that locker to wait for Khloe.

There's an assortment of grumbling and scrubbing sounds coming from the head, and after five minutes Khloe finally comes back out. You'd think she had Viper grease on her hands, or something. She goes over to her own locker, peers inside critically, then eyes Hosedown suspiciously. Even though she's quite a way's away. "I'll give you a free tip, Lieutenant. Frakking with someone with OCD like that is a sure way to get your ass thrown back into the boxing ring. And, quite frankly, I'd rather you were physically able in order to do your job, so please. If you believe in the gods, for all that's holy, please. Just stop pranking. Or, if you must, do it where I can't see it." Locker get closed with a sigh.

"I have an idea, Captain. Take a look in the trashcan. You saw the dye. Look what splashed out of the bottle when you tossed it." Andrea nods at the trashcan.

Khloe narrows her eyes. This is, no doubt, another trick. She slowly walks over to the trash can, peering inside, pushing the plastic aside carefully to avoid getting anything on her hands… which will just require re-washing in a bit, anyway. Cream-colored shampoo. No sign of orange tinge. "Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused. What's the deal?" She asks, looking back at Hosedown. "You just wanted to see me blow up. That must be it."

"Didn't take much, did it?" Andrea asks. "One frakking drop of dye on the table. You rail at me for being childish, and then you go off like a short fuse. I didn't touch your stuff, and you should be able to save most of that bottle." She shakes her head. "If we're going to be childish, anyway, it may as well be in harmless fun. The worst I have ever done to you is touch your socks." She straightens. "And then I didn't know what the effect of that would be. If you'll notice, I haven't touched any of your property since then, though I could have, easily."

Cidra arrives from the Deck 4.
Cidra has arrived.

Khloe begins unfastening her jacket, glancing again at the trash. "I didn't get this ration of shit in the Checkmates," she grumbles. "A ration of shit, might I add, for doing absolutely nothing. There, I was respected and left alone. I did my job. People respected me for being a good stick, and left me alone." Once her jacket is removed and hung on the back of a chair, she reaches into the trash to produce the shampoo bottle and retrieve its cap. "You need to think carefully, Hosedown, as to what's more important to you: merry pranks, or frakking with your SL enough such that she has a nervous breakdown. My patience is now worn extremely thin; you're continuing to make it very difficult to obey the CAG's orders of taking it down a notch. If this continues, I will fill out the paperwork to transfer you to another squad."

Speak of devils and CAGs and they shall appear. Or so it goes with Cidra, at least. Into the berthings she strides. In her officer blues, jacket unbuttoned to denote she is 'done' with her duties for a spell, at least. She pauses in the hatchway to light a post-work cigarette, so she does not immediately interrupt or take much notice of Andrea of Khloe. Not immediately.

"That's stupid." Andrea steps forward. "No one flies solo. I don't leave you alone because alone plainly doesn't work. It's not the pranks I pull, it's not me trying to pull you out of your shell, that has you on edge. The Cylons happened, the war happened, Money Shot happened, and you're so on edge you're about to explode. You won't take it easy on your own, you don't know HOW. I'm giving you the same shit you would give ME if I tried to take on enemies in flight by going solo. Or at least I am trying. If you would just…" her eyes catch the opening hatch and catch the CAG. She catches her voice and looks over at Khloe.

"We're not flying, Hosedown!" Khloe stams the bottle down on the table (after capping it securely, of course). "When we get into a Viper, that's when we do our job. When we're not in a Viper, and we're not handling the responsibilities of our uniform, we are not flying. Leave me the frak alone! Stop trying to push your happy-go-lucky bullshit into my life! I. Don't. Want. It." She's not in Hosedown's face, but it may come to that.

Cidra continues to not interrupt the interplay between Khloe and Andrea. She observes and smokes. A small nod to Andrea, but it's only acknowledgement. Silent hello. Her expression at the whole exchange is inscrutable.

"You're gonna say that? You? Miss Always On Duty!?" Andrea steps forward. Cidra seems to be forgotten. "You don't want to be happy, you don't have to be. But you do need a change. Whatever safe place you hollowed out for yourself isn't working for you anymore, and anyone who pays any sort of attention to you can see it. You don't want to be friends, fine. But I am not going to leave you alone. Because we're wingmates, and wingmates watch each other's back, whether we're flying or not. That's how it works, Poppy. That's what we've been trained since day one of flight school. It isn't regulation, it's the way things have to be."

"I am so frakking tired of this," Khloe sneers, turning away from Hosedown and going over to her locker. Still open from earlier, she reaches into her laundry bag and quickly wipes her hand off of whatever she had on her hand from handling the shampoo bottle, then grabs a leather satchel and removes its usual occupants: sketch books, pencils, the like. Into the bag gets stuffed a few essentials and a change of clothes.

"A good day upno you both," Cidra finally says, making her way into the berths properly. Brows arch with some questioning at Khloe but she does not ask. Yet. To her bunk she goes, to rummage.

Wade arrives from the Deck 4.
Wade has arrived.

"You're not the only one." Andrea retorts, and then heads to her bunk. "Hey there, Toast." She then sits back on her bunk, puts her head back, and sighs. The instinct to add to that retort is strong, but would cross the line from argument to insubordination, so she keeps it in check.

Khloe finishes stuffing the satchel, and slings it over her shoulder. Her locker gets closed and the wheel thrown. At Cidra's greeting, she stiffens into something that looks like a cross between a soldier straightening at attention and kid caught in the cookie jar. "Major, sir," Khloe responds to her greeting, not sure whether or not to go or stay. So for the moment, she stays rooted.

"Are you going somewhere?" Cidra asks Khloe once she's done rummaging. Emerging from her bunk with a book, which she takes to the center table. Raptor fligt specs. It's not particularly saucy reading. Andrea earns an arch of her brows. "Hosedown. Is something the matter?"

Wade steps inside the Berths, he is currently wearing his off-duty greens. The man looks around for a couple seconds and then makes his way towards his locker "Ladies" offers Wade to Cidra, Khloe and Andrea. There is also a nod of his head and a polite smile. Finally, he opens his locker and looks inside for something. He is tapping one one of the shelves and then kneels down on the floor, to continue his search.

Andrea's eyes tighten. "Just an argument between friends, sir. Nothing to worry about, we'll deal with it." She opens her eyes and glances over at Khloe, who is doing her statue impression. "Just… be careful, okay?"

"No argument, sir," Khloe contradicts Andrea, eyes narrowed, glancing towards her. "I give up." Looking back towards Cidra, she says, "If you'll excuse me, sir. I was just leaving." She doesn't respond to Wade's greeting, instead taking up the uniform jacket hung on the back of a chair and heads towards the exit.

Cidra's eyes rove between Khloe and Andrea. And back again. She closes her book, before really doing much more than skimming it. "Do you mind terribly if I walk with you?" she asks of the Black Knights SL. "I have been meaning to speak with you upon the matter of planned modications to some of our Vipers." An inclination of her head to Wade. "Drips. How goes the day?"

Wade looks from Andrea to Khloe while they talk, and finally he looks back at Cidra "Toast. Days goes well, I'm just trying to find a book on Vipers that I took from the library…I think I might have misplaced it." He takes a deep breath and offers a smile "Maybe in the sims" There's a nod there and then he looks at Khloe and Andrea again, before looking back at Cidra "And thanks to you I can say that I haven't been completely ignored" he chuckles softly at this and does a thumbs up "Thank you, Major" Now he tilts his head and asks "How about yourself, how is your day going so far?"

Andrea's eyes find Wade, and soften, and she smiles. Her attention is pulled very quickly back to Khloe, though, and she shakes her head. "Nope, clearly no argument at all."

Khloe's hand tightens around the strap of the satchel on her shoulder, tight enough so that the old leather protests and creaks. She maintains her exterior, though, especially in the presence of the CAG. "No, Major, not at all. A little work never hurt anybody. At your leisure." She stands near the door but not expectantly so, instead waiting for the Major to extract herself socially. Khloe is, naturally, already extracted.

"Careful. The library petty officers have ways of collecting fines, despite the end of all payroll from Picon," Cidra remarks a touch dryly to Wade. "It goes passing well. I was refreshing myself with basic ECM specs, but that can wait a moment." She stands, leaving her volume on things Raptor on the table. She'll get to it when she returns, if it's not pilfered. She ashes her cigarette quickly in the ashtray before standing, though she does not put it out. Smoking CAG will continue smoking.

Wade nods to this "Right you are" says the man to Cidra and then closes his locker. He opens the curtain of his bunk and pats on the bed, finally digging inside the covers "Aha!" He pulls that something and it's indeed, the book. "They can go collect fines somewhere else then" He smiles at this and then opens the book to take a look at what chapter he was on. Finally his attention drifts to Andrea and he returns the smile.

"A little work? No. A little work never hurt anyone." Andrea shakes her head and then stands up again, walking over to Wade's bunk to look at the book. "A book, eh? Does it have pictures?"

Khloe clenches her jaw, watching Cidra with a stony gaze. "After you, Major," she says quietly, throwing the wheel and opening the door for her superior officer.

Cidra's reaction to Khloe's stony gaze is unperturbed. On the surface, at least. "I thank you, Captain," she says as she strides past. And off she goes.

AFTER KHLOE AND CIDRA LEFT THE ROOM

Wade stops paying attention to the interaction between the CAG and the SL and just looks at Andrea now. "Pictures? Heck yeah, also popups and spots for coloring" He smiles at this and shakes his head. Now, the man just open his locker again and takes a small knife, he idly starts slashing the air in front of him, moving it horizontally, vertically. What the hell is he doing?

Andrea walks near him, though she stays out of accidental stabby range. Can never be too careful, after all. "And now with the boogeyman slaying?"

"Oh you know…" says the man as he keeps slaying the air in front of him. He smiles with some amusement but barely noticeable "I'm just cutting through the tension between Poppy and you" He shakes his head at this, closes the pocket knife and waves his hand in front of him as if trying to clear the air "I can still sense it." Wade moves the knife back into the locker and closes it "So, what was that all about?"

"She's not even trying." Andrea mutters, and she walks back to her bunk, sitting on it. "It's all duty this, duty that, but if duty means being less than a total frigid bitch to anyone who might care for her, then she'll just frak duty in the face. She's hiding, she's pissed, and rather than dealing with that shit she's just gonna push everyone else out until she flames out like Money Shot."

"Still not opening up huh?" idly says Wade as he flips through the pages of his book. He closes it a few seconds after and puts it on his bunk "Well, first of all, ask yourself this. Am I trying to hard to get her to open up? Am I being pushy?" He lifts both hands "Only you have the answer to that." He nods and says "Second, you know, she's always been like that and granted, she has reasons to be pissed." He clears his throat "I think she is trying to find her balance again, give her time"

"Am I trying too hard to get a friend to NOT fly into a sun? Am I being pushy in my desire for non-atomized friends?" Andrea retorts. "Some shit you can't do on your own, and she knows as much about lightening up as an Aquarian Catfish knows about the finer points of Caprican Cuisine." She rests her head in her hands. "I'm not trying to be a total pusher, but every single gesture is taken as a full frontal attack."

"Nobody wants to see Poppy fly into the sun, Hosedown" says Wade to her. Finally he walks towards the table and pulls a chair; he takes a seat and looks at the woman. "True enough, some shit you can't do on your own" admits the Viper pilot. He tilts his head and takes a deep breath "So what was it this time? What did you say and what was the reply to that?" He shrugs now "I haven't talked to her since she left the brig…should do it at some point"

"I told her to try playing a trick on Toast. Some dye in her shampoo. It'd be funny, and when it was over if she didn't feel comfortable with it, I could and would take the blame. She acted like I had proposed an assasination, called me childish. Then, she left out her shampoo bottle. I put a drop of blonde dye on the table near her bottle, and when she came back and saw it she completely flipped out. When I pointed out that her, now leaking, shampoo was undyed, she just continued sniping at me."

"See, the way I see it, you gotta do things in stages…" says Wade, nodding to Andrea. "Poppy is a person who, to me, is standing on an extreme" He clears his throat now and continues "And you want to take her to a complete opposite of what she is used to" Wade chuckles at this and then takes a deep breath "And…well, she caught you trying to prank her, so you can't expect her /not/ to flip out. Specially Poppy" Now, he shakes his head "Don't get me wrong, I do want to get her to open up a little bit, to understand that she has people willing to help her out. But of course, it's not the easiest thing to do. Baby steps Hosedown, Baby steps"

"She didn't catch me doing anything. I made that drip on purpose to prove a point. I have no intention of dying her hair, I might as well light it on fire for the effect it would have. Baby steps are fine, and someone else can take them. I have tried and she's pushed me back over and over again, and I'm not about to invest myself into her just to watch her explode when she gets too wound up. I don't need her calling me childish when a drop of dye earns a tantrum."

"So, are you saying that you are going to give up on the one you call a friend?" asks the man now, leaning back on his chair and just, looking at Andrea. Wade shakes his head now and sighs "Well, I know I should have a chat with her, will see what I can do but, you know…" he shrugs and adds "Don't know how that is gonna go"

"I want to be her friend." Andrea covers her face with her hands. "But that's a two way street she doesn't feel like walking. And what's the point? Why get all bought in only to watch her crap it all away because she's sout bought in to ther invincible schtick?" When she looks up at Wade, there are tears. "She'd rather we were all Cylons, just a bunch of cold logic without emotion."

"I know that you do" says the man, nodding and showing a faint smile. "As for the two way street thing, just give her time, see what happens" He shrugs once again and then, when he sees her crying, she digs in his pocket for a tissue. The man leans forward and extends his hand, offering said tissue to her "Well, I'll let you in a little secret. If that's what she wants? She is not going to get it, from any of us"

"I just wish she was safe to talk to." Andrea sighs. "You know… about the dream stuff. That's the sort of shit a SL deserves to know. I hate feeling like I am keeping it a secret but we can't risk…" she cuts off, shakes her head, takes the tissue to wipe her face and then blow her nose. "I gotta knock it off with all this emo crap."

"So why do you think she is not safe to talk to?" asks the man now, leaning back against his chair once again. He rubs both hands on his face and then blinks a couple times, looking a little tired. The man chuckles with amusement and then shakes his head "Crying…it's not a bad thing, you know? And frak everyone that say that it's bad" He winks now, adding "You are trying, Andrea…hopefully she can see that"

"She flipped out when I left a drop of dye on the table near her shampoo," Andrea says, dead pan. "How likely is she to take the idea that I shared a dream with a Cylon?"

Wade shrugs at that "Who knows. I know I won't share it…heck, I only told the CAG and Decoy" He then looks at Andrea and smiles "You know, I can understand why you do this, trying to help her and all. Wingmates in and out of the cockpit, that's something to respect" Now, he presses his lips together and takes a deep breath "So what's your next step?" finally asks Wade.

"I was contemplating cranial injury," Andrea says with a sigh, then she looks up at Wade. "Or maybe making a certain someone look so silly that even Khloe has to laugh. Ever considered going blonde?"

Wade just lifts one finger "No…and I would advice for you not to try that one." He smiles at this and shakes his head "I suggest you find another target or not do that at all" The man winks at her again and then taps his fingers on the table "Cranial injury, not a good choice either"

Andrea stands up with a smile and steps over to Wade. "Oh, you think you're untouchable, eh? Not vulnerable to a bit of pranking?"

Wade looks at her as she stands and walks towards him "Oh no, I don't think that…after all, pranks were a big thing back in Chimaera." He nods and smiles "What I'm saying is, I would advice for you not to try that" He chuckles to that for a moment and then continues to look at her, in case she decides to try something funny.

Her head tilts to his side. "That a threat, Drips? You're being awful ambiguous…" Her hands are on her hips, and look like they might dart out at any time. LOTS of danger on that face right now.

"Threat?" asks Wade with a surprised -maybe fake- look on his face. He shakes his head now "No, no no no…I don't do threats, Hosedown" He offers a wide smile now and a nod "It's, like I said, an advice offered to a wingmate, you know? After all, we gotta look out for eachother, right?" However, he still looks at what she does, as if waiting, waiting.

Andrea sighs, and shakes her head. "Not gonna go ahead and say that should your hair magically go blonde, there will be dire consequences, then? You really can take all the fun out of this sometimes. Are you ticklish?"

"Hey, I'm just saving yourself some trouble" says Wade to her and winks after that. He chuckles at this and arches one eyebrow at her last question "Am I ticklish? I…don't know? I'm not sure I /want/ to know either." He smiles at this and then sighs "Consequences…such a strong word" He shakes his head again. Cryptic Wade is Cryptic.

One moment Andrea is standing there, the next she has bowled into Wade, her hands going to his sides. "I think it's important that we find out," she says with a grin. "After all, knowledge is good. It's for science!"

<FS3> Wade rolls Athetic-20: Terrible Failure.

Wade perhaps, was trying to hard to be ready for her attack. She does get him of course and the man starts laughing. Guess he is ticklish after all. Still, he attempts to move away and that causes the chair to tumble backwards, with him on it. The Viper Pilot hits the back of his head hard against the edge of the metal table and goes down on the floor as his sight blurs. 'Oooowwww!' that's something similar to the noise the man makes. He immediately rolls to his side and pushes himself up with one arm, falling back and moving one hand to the back of his head.

Andrea's eyes go wide as Wade goes down, hitting his head against the table. Dropping to her knees beside him, she reaches out to touch his shoulder, gently. "Holy Crap, are you okay?"

Wade feels her hand on his shoulder and for a moment, doesn't say anything. Probably still dizzy from the hit. He takes his hand from the back of his head and there's blood on his fingers, and blood on his hair "Frak" mutters the man as he sees the blood now. He stands up, placing one hand on Andrea's shoulder to support himself "I'm alright, I'm alright" informs the man now. He has to close his eyes and then says "Damn, that hurt"

Andrea moves to his side so he can put some weight on her, and then starts for the door. "Better get you checked out by the docs, though. Come on."

Wade takes a deep breath, hand still placed on Andrea's shoulder "I'm fine, it's nothing…" says the man, moving his fingers to the back of his head again, still bleeding a little "Frak, that's gonna need stitches" He shakes his head at this and then looks at Andrea "Alright, alright, let's go"

With a sigh, Andrea starts for the door. "You know, Drips, if you wanted to get your arm around my shoulder, you could have tried the yawn thing. That normally works for most guys."

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