Excerpt 007: Lay of the Land

[rekindledtitan]

TYPE: Patrol log

LOCATION: Nexus

PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [rekindledtitan], One [1] Unconfirmed, designate Costas, Adia [chiron_survivor]



ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Costas, Adia; Blaze-37; Cylons; New Caprica; Demeter Effect



Blaze’s patrols in the Nexus have become less frequent, but the need to keep the place monitored and safe hasn’t diminished just because she wants to distract herself. So she still arrives, on a schedule dictated by strategy and calculated variations. All the better to be unpredictable.

Still, there are certain people they’re not out to surprise, and by the time her boots hit the paved Nexus streets this time, Ghost has already sent a text message well ahead of them:

Hello Adia! If you’re free to come along, we’ll be on patrol in the Nexus three hours from now. Hopefully the temporal variations won’t throw that estimate off by too much. If you can make it then we’ll arrange a rendezvous. -Ghost

Comments

[chiron_survivor]

As luck would have it, Adia is free of obligations (or critical Cylon surveillance) at the time Blaze will be on patrol. She fires off a quick reply, not wanting to have her PINpoint out of her pocket longer than necessary.

I can make it. Where do you want to meet?

[rekindledtitan]

Great! We can meet you by the coffee machines in the main plaza. That seems easiest.

They'll look for her as soon as they arrive, Ghost floating up above head-height to scan the area. Blaze's armor looks more battle-worn than last time they met Adia, but she's always meticulous about cleaning away any potential contaminants before she comes here. Fluids and moon dust included.

[chiron_survivor]

Ok. See you there.

Having arrived a bit early, Adia is already standing by the coffee machines, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands to ward off the winter chill. She doesn't look any worse for wear physically, but there is a pensiveness in her expression, a tiredness that wasn't present at the Halloween party. It seems the new year has brought her more, not fewer worries.

She brightens immediately upon seeing Blaze -- or Ghost, rather, as he is easy to spot floating above everyone. She waves them over with a gloved hand. "Hi, Blaze. Ghost. Happy New Year."

[rekindledtitan]

"Happy New Year to you too, Adia." Blaze lifts a hand in greeting as she comes over, Ghost bobbing down ahead of her. "Are you all right? You look like you've been having a rough time."

"Are your people okay?" Ghost asks, floating closer to peer at her.

[chiron_survivor]

Adia smiles tiredly; she feels bad that this is the first bit of news she will share with her friends, but maybe it's better to get the bad news out of the way before bringing up more pleasant topics. "The Resistance bombed a Cylon armory a couple of days ago. The Cylons retaliated by rounding up a few suspects and increasing their security. It's tense, at work. And I'm worried that this is only the beginning."

[rekindledtitan]

"They're tightening their grip..." Ghost looks down, his voice troubled.

"Hnn. I understand looking to security after that. But they ought to work on smoothing things over with people before things get worse." Her mind's on all the questions this event raises, though, and it being Blaze they don't stay silent. She tilts her head curiously, serious tone easing for a moment. "They say anything yet about how the Resistance blew it? Where the explosives came from, I mean?"

[chiron_survivor]

Adia sighs softly and wishes that she could give Ghost a pat on his... well, on him. His concern is touching. "They're doing exactly what I thought they would," she says, looking from him to Blaze, and there is a morbid sort of pleasure in being proven right, in not being unnecessarily worried, but that self-righteousness is short-lived. "I don't know where they got their explosives. I'm assuming they made them from chemicals at the water treatment plant, but Will has kept me purposefully out of the loop, in case I get questioned."

She takes a small sip of hot chocolate, preparing herself to deliver more bad news. "Several Cylons died in the blast. They resurrected, but... Julia, the Cylon I work with, she says that a Cylon doesn't lose the memories of dying. They relive them when they resurrect."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze nods and hrmms in disappointment at the lack of detail. It makes sense, of course, she just itches to know how things went down. She's not used to being shut out of after-action reports. Adia's news about Cylon resurrection is an unexpected shift of subject though, so the Guardian's reply is immediate and blunt: "Hm. Well, good."

Ghost blinks at her and she shrugs. "What? It's not pleasant but they could use a smack upside the head. If they remember, maybe they'll learn something from it."

"We both know it's not always that easy," Ghost says very softly. "Even for Guardians."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia cringes a little at Blaze's assessment, but she hates to see anyone suffer. Even Cylons, but especially Caspar, who she had hoped escaped his violent suicide relatively unscathed. But she doesn't interrupt Blaze's exchange with Ghost, just listens silently and wonders if there is more to being a Guardian than simply fighting evil and protecting civilians.

"I think, unfortunately, the only thing they've learned is to hate us more," Adia says quietly. "But what's done is done." As awful as it is, at least the Cylons can come back from the dead, and she can't help but feel a little resentment over that. "How are things on your world, Blaze? It looks like you've been busy."

[rekindledtitan]

"Over that?" Blaze gives Adia a look that mingles surprise and disbelief at that first part, shakes her head. Even she doesn't hate (most of) the people she fights, and they've done much worse than take out a suspiciously-placed armory. She does, however, feel a surge of frustration at the situation - to her the Cylons seem all kinds of immature and irresponsible, and the thought of them holding so much power over a civilian population...

Is that what we'd have been, without the Traveler?

"Hnnh." She waves off Adia's question, trying to shake off the useless anger. "We're always busy. If anything it's gotten quieter. Half the enemy leadership in the system is dead and the rest are squabbling with each other for control. Makes easier pickings for us, but not a lot of good stories."

She nods toward the streets leading out from the Plaza. "We'd best get moving. Got a lot of ground to cover and it'd be good for you to see it."

[chiron_survivor]

"They can be kind of petty," Adia admits with an almost embarrassed look. "They've been sentient less than fifty years... I didn't think something like that would matter, but the one I work with, Julia, she seems really emotionally immature at times. They don't have a lot of empathy for us to begin with, anyway." Sensing Blaze's frustration, she adds, "They don't have much in common with you. Or you," she says, smiling briefly at Ghost.

At the change of subject, she nods hurriedly and takes a quick sip of hot chocolate. "Okay, lead the way. I've been doing some more exploring myself lately, but the winter weather has kept me closer to the Plaza most days."

[rekindledtitan]

"They sound like children," Ghost says with quiet unease, drifting closer to Adia. "Children armed with weapons of mass destruction. That's, um. Terrifying."

"Hmmm." Blaze nods to Adia, and sets a brisk pace for one of the main Nexus streets. She will, after a minute, settle down to match whatever Adia seems comfortable with - the Exo is taller and, unlike her organic friends, tireless. Some adjustment is required.

"Guess the snow does make it harder for people. Shame - it's pretty nice to see how things change this time of year. Give us a heads-up if you could use a minute to warm up or take a breather. I don't know your speed yet."

[chiron_survivor]

"It is," she says simply. "But they aren't as different from humans as some people would have you believe, either. You see far scarier things on your world, Ghost." It is something of a marvel that a little alien machine can show more concern for Adia than a Cylon that is biologically no different from a human. Blaze is lucky to have him as a companion.

Adia keeps pace with Blaze as best she can. It is not her height or a lack of energy that gives her trouble, it's that darn cup of hot chocolate. She can't take a sip without slowing down. "Ah, maybe not so fast at first?" She'd ditch the drink but she hates to waste anything, even if it was free and made with one of those instant cocoa packets. "The snow is beautiful, but I don't want any of it on me when I return home." There is no way to explain snow on a planet where the only precipitation is rain. "But it is very pretty. I'm glad I get to see it here."

[rekindledtitan]

"We get to punch ours, though," Blaze points out, regretful that Adia doesn't have it so simple. She counts herself lucky for a lot of reasons; Ghost's guidance and companionship is just the first.

"...You get to punch them. I only break their locks," Ghost corrects, to a chuckle from his Guardian. "Not that that isn't satisfying..."

Blaze is a little reluctant to slow down, but needs must and she did invite her friend out here in the cold. An easy stroll it will be, until Adia indicates otherwise. "Did you have snow back home? On... Leonis?"

It takes a brief search of her memory to find the rare instance where Adia named her original homeworld: fortunate that Exo memories are hyper-accurate when they aren't utterly blank.

[chiron_survivor]

"You can fight them with a clear conscience," Adia says, smiling a little at Ghost's comment. Not that she desires to punch anyone, but a war fighting pure evil sounds much more appealing than the complicated mess in Adia's world.

"Sorry." She lifts up her cup. "Once I finish this, I'll be able to move faster." The cold doesn't seem to be bothering her, though. She's not even wearing a hat. "Yes, that's right," she says, pleased that Blaze remembered her home world. "We had snow in the mountains, but the winters where I lived were very mild. Only a few inches at most."

The topic of winter is a perfect segue to mentioning its patron spirit, but Adia stalls, taking another sip of hot chocolate first before clearing her throat. "I, um... I talked to Reynard."

[rekindledtitan]

"It's a rare privilege," Blaze acknowledges. She's only too aware how special her position is... though she tends to spare little thought for the downsides.

"We're not in a hurry," Ghost assures Adia. The little bot is peeking at her now and again as they go, noticing her relative comfort compared to how much Steve wraps up when they patrol with him. "I don't know how chocolate tastes, but it smells nice."

Her other news distracts him quite handily, however. Both bots stop dead for a moment, Blaze's head swiveling to look at Adia. It's just a moment though, before the Titan resumes her slow march stroll. "How'd that go? You hash things out with him?"

Adia doesn't appear hurt at all - Ghost would have jumped to call attention to it - and she doesn't seem distraught. Both ought to be good signs, in Blaze's opinion.

[chiron_survivor]

Despite the conditions of her settlement, Adia is a lot hardier than Steve. It also helps that Reynard blessed her with cold resistance for the season. "You have a sense of smell?" she asks Ghost, surprised, before peering at the little bot thoughtfully. "You aren't missing too much. Flavor mostly comes from a human's sense of smell. The tongue only picks up five distinct tastes, so it's smell that carries the most information."

Adia stops as well, less gracefully, not expecting so abrupt a reaction. It takes her a moment to fall back in sync with Blaze, "It went okay. It wasn't easy confronting him, but he knew something was wrong as soon as he saw me. I... I don't think he realized how much it would hurt me, to be caught off-guard like that." To be reminded of her own painful past. "So, um... he explained himself, as best he could, and promised that he would try to be honest with me from now on." She looks up at the both of them, Blaze especially, unconsciously looking for their acceptance, or at least tolerance, of her continued friendship with Reynard. "I don't think he would ever hurt me -- not directly -- but I can't say the same for the Nexus. He's not the same person in the winter. But at least I know what to expect."

[rekindledtitan]

"Yes, although I think I may be biased toward smells my friends enjoy. Or against the ones I find in... unpleasant surroundings. Without instincts to guide us, we Ghosts have to make our own associations. Exos can taste."

"Pretty much like a human can," Blaze confirms absently. "Definitely get more than five flavors though, so I guess it's more like smelling through your mouth. Ghost's nose is more sensitive."

When she looks there's something in Adia's expression (that strange expectant hope) that makes her blink twice, rapidly, then jerk her gaze back to the path. She brushes it aside and gives a nod. "You know where you stand - that's something. What was his excuse for the attack?"

[chiron_survivor]

"Well, if you don't need to eat, then a sense of smell loses some of its purpose," Adia muses out loud. "But it's still important. It's the most primitive sense. Can you eat, Blaze? Or do you use your sense of taste for something else?" Seems kind of a strange thing to give an artificial life form, even one with a similar structure to a human.

Not knowing how to interpret Blaze's reaction, she hurriedly takes another sip of hot chocolate, draining the cup enough to justify throwing it out. A quick toss in a nearby trashcan, and she quickens her pace for Blaze's benefit, as if to apologize. For what, she doesn't know. "He said that this time of year, his own will is Winter's. And Winter wanted to stay in the Nexus for as long as possible."

[rekindledtitan]

"Nah, it's just- more information about my environment, I guess." There's a momentary hesitation in her voice, but Blaze shrugs. "We inherited a lot from humans." Whether it makes any visible sense or not. What does an Exo need with a mouth? A gender?

She's less concerned with hiding her uncertainty when it comes to Reynard, frowning before she shoots a look at Ghost for advice. His will is not his own. She's heard things like this before. Maybe even touched on a state like it herself. Still, this is new, and she's not immediately clear if Reynard really means that or if it's a particularly pretentious excuse.

"Winter's will?" Dark and Light and the Wrath of Queens and Warminds she knows, but... "Winter has a will? So you're saying he doesn't get a say in his actions?"

Intense as she is, it's determination rather than anger or even disbelief. She doesn't know if she buys it yet; she doesn't understand and she's trying to feel it out.

[chiron_survivor]

She hopes she hasn't said something inappropriate by asking. Although it's true, it doesn't make much sense. "Cylons inherited a lot from humans, too, but I much prefer your company, even if we can't share a meal." Or the same walking speed for too long.

"Well... not quite. It's not as though he's possessed. But Winter lives through him. I don't think he could tell it 'no', even if he wanted to." She hopes she's explaining it in a way that Blaze will understand. "Do the people on your Earth have any stories about spirits that they like to share? Creation myths, things like that?"

[rekindledtitan]

"Heh." She can't smile, and yet there's something in the look she shoots Adia's way that suggests it. "I always liked thinking that was important to our creators, whoever they were. Making sure we had common ground. We were meant to share the same world even if we look at it a little differently." She chuckles. "Besides, we can still share a drink, and that's what matters."

Neither of these bots tends to be familiar with popular culture as the Nexus knows it... but myths are a different matter. Myth is a matter of tradition, and Titans are inclined to take note of tradition even if it's not directly related to war. Blaze has to nod, albeit slowly.

"Yeah. Not the ones we're normally listening to, but I've heard 'em. Demeter's one of yours, right? Some of Reynard's powers are named after her, in our records."

[chiron_survivor]

"Whatever they did, they did it the right way." She wouldn't want hordes of evil aliens swarming her solar system, but she can't help but wish that the relationship between Cylons and humans had turned out a little more like the ones between Guardians and humans. "You can drink? How does that work?" She looks over at Ghost again curiously. "How about you? Or do you only have sensory receptors?"

Adia nods, mildly surprised. She had forgotten that Blaze's world had some names and myths in common with her own. "Demeter is one of our gods, yes. She's in charge of agriculture and fertility..." She puzzles a little over any possible connection to Reynard, then shakes her head. "She's responsible for winter, too, but only because her daughter was kidnapped and taken to the underworld. At least, according to the old myths. Stuff that predates the Sacred Scrolls. But the reason I bring it up is that Reynard fits those old myths. The ones that talk of spirits who are beholden to the things that they represent."

[rekindledtitan]

She'd smile at that first remark, if she could, and it might not be her usual sort of smile - but it means something to her, that Adia thinks so. Booze and buzzes are just an easier topic to move onto. She gestures toward her mouth, a mimed movement that looks suspiciously like swigging from a hipflask.

"Just need a powerpack with contacts that can fit my mouth. I don't need it, but sometimes it's nice to get kinda buzzed with some friends."

Ghost gives her a rather direct stare for a moment with his unreadable expression, before he sighs and answers Adia. "Ghosts don't have that ability, which I suspect is a very wise safety measure. I... guess you don't drink much either?"

At least they all have things to puzzle over, here. Blaze chews it over as they walk, optics sweeping over the street ahead. "Yeah. I've heard stories that go that way too. Guess I can understand if he's bound to Winter. Wrapped up in it mind and soul. Doesn't let him off the hook for his actions, either, but I guess snow doesn't have much sense of responsibility."

Hmmmm. Not an easy one for her to come to terms with, but she's working her way through it. Ghost is keeping quiet during this discussion, it must be noted - ostensibly scouting just ahead but looking back at the two of them in a way that makes it clear he's still listening.

[chiron_survivor]

"Oh... oh, I see." She never would have thought it possible for robots to get drunk, except she's had this conversation before. "I had a robot friend in the Nexus who told me that his kind could get drunk on something called energon."

Adia hides a smile behind her hand when Ghost gives Blaze a look. "Not a fan?" she says mildly. She suspects that Ghost wouldn't drink even if he could, likely for the same reasons she chooses not to imbibe much. "No, not very much. I have a low tolerance, and the only alcohol available in the Settlement is the kind you make in a wash basin. It smells like paint thinner."

"No, of course not," she agrees quickly. "It's not like he's possessed, he's still aware of what he's doing." She absently adjusts the scarf around her neck, a thick wool knit in a pretty shade of blue. "He's well aware that he's made enemies here, too. He doesn't seem to care much about that. But... he does care about me, for what it's worth."