| AWD #326: …And The Quest For The Holy Rhino, Part 2 |
| Summary: | The Away Team makes progress in some areas, runs into trouble in others. The Looters take their leave. Part 2. |
| Date: | 13/05/2016 (OOC Date) |
| Related Logs: | None |
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| Aerilon |
| We're on Aerilon! Well, in a park in a city on Aerilon. That's abandoned. LOOK OUT FOT THAT KEW FIR…crap. |
| 28/11/2005 |
Bennett raises her brows slightly at the mouthful of a title rattled off at her. A firm squeeze of Xanthe's hand in lieu of a shake, and then it's released. "The pleasure is mine," she insists gently, eyes on the taller woman. "We will need men and women like you to be the caretakers and historians of our civilisation, when this war is done." Lleufer's question melts her smile into a grin. "Actually, I could use a hand, when you are finished here, with dismantling the number two engine's cowling, so I can check on the rotor blades."
"I rather think that getting the flying machine back to life should take precedence," Thanos says, with a smile towards Lleu and Bennett both. "I've got some experience at jury-rigging things and can respond well to direction, should you need an extra hand for labor in addition to the good Sergeant here. Otherwise I'll continue on with the cataloging. And I will speak to the Captain as you recommend, Sergeant. And regardless of the decision made, if you wish, I shall make sure you have a copy of the sketches and notes, as an Aerilonian. Perhaps not the most interesting reading, but…information. No matter what happens."
Lleufer looks a little surprised, "I'd be honored, Doctor. I'd do my best to see a copy gets passed onto … whatever remains of the Aerilon government if I can, or what comes out of the war here. People here would appreciate your effort if these things can be saved." He looks back to Bennett and nods, "Sure. I don't know jack about taking apart engine cowlings, but I can do what I'm directed. I'll come now. Mission priority." Ynyr steps around the crates and comes out towards the craft Butch had been working on.
"Certainly," Bennett tells Thanos. "There is more than enough to assist with; my knowledge of engines is many years out of date, unfortunately, and Toby seems to have gone on walkabout.." Slacker. "You are not from Aerilon," she points out then, shifting gears in the conversation, presuming Thanos walks with her back to the rhino.
With his fellow Orion tech, and the 'locals' working ont he Rhino Toby is still salvaging parts from the vipers and loading them into the back of the raptors for recovery. He's vaguely aware of the group chatting to Thanos, but he has a job to do, so he's getting on with it.
Kelsey got her rest and bandaged up. Then she went to work on one of the Rhinos. This… was not expected. It's bigger than she thought. And uglier. And oh so pretty. She's been working at replacing one of the feed systems for the turrets, cursing a lot and generally acting like an enlisted the whole time. Nope, this is a different Squire. "Frakking feed jam rejection," she mutters, finally walking down one of the ramps, tucking tools back into her ruck.
Lleufer picks something up to move it out of the way of the area Bennett wants to work and he grimaces, is abdomin still in the last stages of healing since he got shot on a mission not too long ago. It hurts but he manages to move the barrel, rotating it on it's rim until he gets it off to the side. Briefly Lleu puts a hand to his gut, "Doctor Thanos is from Caprica, I think. Not Aerilon." Ynyr looks around, "What do you want me to do, Bennett?" He glances in Kelsey's direction as she comes down the Rhino's ramp cursing .. not like an officer.
Bennett lifts her chin to indicate the rhino's portside engine. "That cowling needs to come off, so we can check the rotor blades." She glances across to the tech she'd been helping out. "Correct?" As an aside to Thanos, "My undergraduate degree was in mechanical engineering. I am humbled by how much of it I've forgotten." Her lips curve in a rueful smile.
From the other Rhino, where Evan and Jonathan have been working, there's a loud *WHONGGGG* followed by an impressively long string of curse words in a mixture of Tauronese and Standard, drawing to a close with, "…rat FRAKKING cock sucking sonofaWHORE!" the last word punctuated with the sound of something heavy hitting something that doesnt want to move…and the running lights on the Rhino suddenly flare into life. A muted voice states, muffled by the cockpit frame, "System Online. Warning…" and proceeds to list a few garbled items that decrease in volume and finally stop. That Tauran voice barks in, "DONT TOUCH IT! CRAP, DONT FRAKKING TOUCH IT!" then a softer, "I can't believe that worked…" Those that might have a better few to the interior of that first rhino might can see Evan looking dumbfounded as he stares at the primary system panel just underneath the flight deck, while Jonathan stares at him like the man just grew an extra head right in front of him.
Kelsey steps down off the ramp, looking to the assembled group of naval officers and crew she remembers. Things ducked away, she gives a 'who me?' look to Lleufer and starts to move to Bennett to report. But then there's a bunch of noise from the other Raptor. And running lights?? Kels blinks but stays quiet. One running bird! Sweet!
For now, the civilian scientist is lending a hand whereever needed, and right now she might be a spare parts holder or other grunt job sort of thing for whatever Bennett and Lleu are working on. "I am willing to wager that if you start using it again in capacity, you'd be surprised at how much comes back," Thanos says to Bennett with a smile. "Neural pathways and all those lovely bits." The WHOOOONNNNGGGG and cursing draws her attention. "You know, before all of this, I'd never have guessed how much starship repair on the fly is like dealing with site excavation when you're elbows deep in the bush," she observes, thoughtfully.
With a particularly complex bit of some cockpit system or other over his shoulder Toby appraoches the first raptor again, pausing by the wing just long enough to heft up the heavy companant before clambering up after it. It's as he crouches to pick it up again that the commotion arises from the raptor. Recognising the curses in both languages and initially winces and starts to duck backward through the hatch incase he needs the raptor's armour to shield him but as the lights come on he straights on the wing once more, looking across at the rhino for a moment, then calling out «You need a hand in there?»
The shouting is what initially quickens Epiphany's pace. Hollering, well, that's no good. Hand on rifle stock, ready to draw it up sharply. When it tapers off, she slows down. Marginally. That is, until it's clear that the other Rhino is powering on. She's taking off, then, running again. "Can you shut it off? Don't let it broadcast anything." They did say the place 'seemed' wholly hidden from the Cylons, but there's no point taking risks, right?
"Yeah, well, I don't know how to take it off." Yo, Butch. You have to tell the Jarhead what to do! Ynyr's not as dumb as a rock but he's not a mechanical kind of guy either. He starts looking at how it's put together but the skin on the outside is pretty smooth. Lleu says low under his breath, "How the frak… " His head pops up at the sudden noise and Lleu bumps it against the cowling! "Owe!" So much for going around in here without his helmet on. The Marine ducks and comes arund to see what the hollering is about.
Kelsey lifts her chin. "Hey!" she calls out. "Shut down the IFF! It's going to ping! If they've been here since the start of the war then they're gonna broadcast fleet sig!" Former Ordnance Tech, right there. But she looks over at Thanos and chuckles. "Oh man, you know about digging stuff up? …Have we got a place for you."
Elsewhere in the bunker, there are sounds of some of the other looters stirring around, but only Stephens seems to care enough to start wandering back to the Rhino when Evan starts his tirade, looking like he hasnt slept all night. Evan and Jonathan glance at each other when others pipe up, and Evan takes that queue to reach into the guts of the system and yank a plug. Somewhere above him, a panel goes dark, "DRADIS and rboadcasting is offline.." he sighs, with a look out of the back at the Orion folks, "One of you pilots want to go upstairs and tell me if the system will start up? I think yer deck engineer fixed the power converter on this one, so lets see if it'll fire up. Just…dont give it any thrust, eh? Lets not roast everyone."
Bennett grins as the rhino's running lights flicker to life. The cursing barely even registers; she's spent enough time on the deck, and living on Tauron, to be intimately familiar with some of the more colourful things technicians can rattle off. "Oh," she asides to Thanos, "Fixing birds has never really been my wheel house." Flying them, on the other hand.. "You'll need a screwdriver, to begin with," she tells Lleu with a cheeky smile.
Toby moves quickly to stow the salvaged part in the raptor, then steps back out onto the wing so he can observe the Rhino as it is slowly brought online, maybe. With his colleague inside and not immediately calling for assistance he's content enough to lean against the edge of the hatch and enjoy the view.
Since she was already at a decent jog towards the Rhino, Epiphany just carries on up to it. Thankfully, she was one of the less injured. It means the movement is just wearying and not strictly painful. She slept. Sort of. Sleeping on away missions can be hard to begin with, but with the previous day's crash and the stress of dealing with the looters… well. Let's just say someone would contemplate murder for coffee at this juncture. Once the CAG is settled in the cockpit, she leans and calls down: "Trying in three… two… One." And on the final, she starts trying to fire on the most basic systems. Scale up from there, if need be.
"Indeed," is the cheerful response to whether Thanos knows about digging stuff up. "Though it's been a little while since I last got to indulge in fieldwork, rather than appraisal and…hrm. Creative use of local resources." She purses her lips a little, thinking. "Surely there's some extra toolkits in the supplies. Shall I inquire?" Hey, at least she can be helpful enough to get tools where someone might be able to make use of them.
Bennett gets a grunt out of the enlisted Marine. Lleufer rubs the top of his head and goes to dig up a screw driver that matches roughly the size and shape of the screw heads he looks for before he went over. He digs around for a moment, finds something that might work, then comes back. "Hand me a rifle and I can take it apart and put it back together with my eyes closed, but cowlings aren't in my training." He goes back to the engine and starts looking for screws to loosen and remove, if he can. Ynyr sort of sticks the tip of his tongue out as he gets to working on one. Some of his attention is occationally for what's going on with the other Rhino.
Stephens slows to a stop within arm's reach of Toby while he watches Epiphany's head in the Rhino canopy, a pensive look on his face, "After that outburst, I sure hope this works. Just a matter of time before the Toasters figure out this place is down here." Evan and Jonathan watch the system panels with a mixture of horrified anticipation as a bastardized pre-flight is run through, "Warning: DRADIS not engaged. Transponder not responding." The running lights flare into bright mode while the cockpit makes a bizarre beeping sound for a few seconds. The relative quiet is shocked by a sharp THUD of the fuel system charging, and the Rhino's two physical turbines begin to whine, with a lower undertone of the antigrav generators spinning up and HUMMMMMing. The Saturnalia Tree of red warning lights scattered around the cockpit slowly begin to blink green. Eliza and Bubba appear from around one of the partially scavenged Vipers to watch the verdict.
With his side bandaged up, Rourke makes his way back down to join the others just as the engines of the Rhino roar to life. "Sounds like it's going to be a joyous Saturnalia for the CAG after all." he comments as he opens his bag to pull out a bottle of water to take a swig from, the pilot not able to do much at the moment but observe.
Kelsey just sort of smiles at Thanos. "Hope you're planning to come back with, then. I dunno about these jokers," she mutters under her breath towards the Doc before looking back to the Rhino. She watches Pip run up inside but doesn't say anything. Yet. Once she has orders, she'll move. Fixing ordnance systems is second nature. Overall ships is a leeeeeettle different. When the fuel system thuds, she takes a step away from the Rhino she was on, glancing to it like 'Don't surprise me, please' and she moves over to stand beside Bennett and Thanos. Slowly, she puts her flightsuit back up and on, dropping the bag. Where the hell is her armor? She just glances around.
Toby glances down to Stephen as he catches sight of the man in his periferal vision, «it's looking promising» he starts, then it registers that he'd been spoken to in common. "Sorry, I was saying it's looking promising, I'd be surprised if that's everything mind, but it's a big leap forward." He might say more, but then he spots the other pair emerging from by the vipers and gives them a nod and a thumbs up. «Looking good.»
"How long is not long, I wonder?" Thanos asks, a little bit of a troubled tone in her voice - though she's not glancing for weapons or armor, but towards the various dusty old things or precious artwork in various states of undress in the sheltered area of the bunker she's claimed. "Perhaps I'd better prepare. As soon as I pack up, I'll be back to help," she promises those nearby F- though unless anyone stops her, she'll be making good time on those long legged strides back to where she was working on her cataloging before. SHe's managed to requisition some clean rags and other jury rigged protection in addition to the padded cases. And as she gets to work, it's clear that she's putting not only a protective barrier but also a layer of pretty boring drop cloths and other 'nothing of importance here' things on the top layer of certain crates before closing them up.
Stephens nods slowly and smiles a little, responding first in bad, but understandable Tauran, «Heard you the first time.» With that said, he clasps Toby on the shoulder, or leg, whatever he can reach, then starts forward, "You do good work, man. We might all get out of here alive after all." Jonathan and Evan look like their starting to relax a little, when Piffy sees a couple of warnings pop up on her primary display, "Anti-grav system critical. Gyro out of alignment. Recommend immediate shutdown. Indeed, Epiphany and Evan and Jonathan can pick up a faint wobble in the airframe that gets subtly and slowly worse the longer the engines are allowed to run.
The lights come up and nothing in the cockpit explodes in Epiphany's face. So far, so good. "She's no happy," she calls down, "but so far, everything says she'll be space worthy." The Viper stick stays put, checking over a few oher things. She's even leaning down and groping around the console. There's at least a studied eye there. She may not work on the birds, but she can spot an issue. Hands on controls, she's wiggling them. Feeling the wire out. It's as she's reaching for a dial to tap at its screen as the warnings come on. Eyes go wide and she reaches out to start shutting things the frak down.
Lleufer decides to go set the screws down where they won't get misplaced before he tucks the screw driver into his armored vest and starts to see if he can remove anything. Carefully a piece of the cowling Bennett told him to work on comes off in his hands after a moment of trying to shift it, "I got it!" Ynyr takes it over to set it down, then sees about working on some more screws. He glances in the direction of the other Rhino Epiphany's doing her checks on and that disturbing throb that seems to be getting worse. But she's shutting it down so he focuses on getting the rest of the cowling off for Bennett. Some of it's tricky for him since Lleu really has no idea what he's doing.
Kelsey watches Thanos move, distracted from looking for her kit. She spots her vest off to the side and strides for it, shouldering it up and putting it on. Girl takes no chances. There's aircraft running. At this point in her storied little life, she can't deal with much more right now. "So what are you a Doctor of?" she asks Thanos.
Bennett moves off to help Lleufer with that cowling, her own flight suit stripped down to the waist and tied off to free up her arms. She eavesdrops on the Tauran being tossed around with some amusement, but doesn't comment on it.
Toby slips off the wing as soon as Stephens moves a pace or two and returns the mans clasp with a pat on the shoulder as he passes back to get the next item from the viper he's dismantling «soon, soon.» As he gets close to Eliza and Drake he flashes a grin at the pair of them, «might have to work faster if they keep this pace up. Figured I had a day or so to get what I could.» Then the rattle starts and he turns abck to the Rhino, «okay, so maybe a bit longer still.»
"PhD in Xenobiology, with a research focus in Xenoethnography," Thanos replies cheerfully to Kelsey. "Though my fieldwork relies heavily on Archeology as well." She slips on a pair of barrier gloves, before she begins packing up some textiles and scrolls, putting them back in protective sleeves, and with other layers of jumbled artfully careless don't look at me refuse."
Stephens approaches the back ramp right as Piffy is cycling the bird back down, and Eliza and Bubba both look a little crestfallen, but go back to what they were doing before: checking crates at the far end of the hangar and the systems down here. Maelinn must be snoozing. Stephens assures Jonathan and Evan, "Hey look, you got the bird online. Sounds like we get the antigrav recalibrated and then see what the other one needs, and we can get the frak out of here. Right?" He gives both men pats on the shoulder, then grabs a wrench and heads back down the ramp. Apparently he's quite willing to help SOMEWHERE, himself, while the others work on various things.
On the second Rhino, the Orion folks have overhauled a few things…the power converter has been rebuilt and one of the stabilizers has been rebuilt with some rust cleaned out of it. In the process, they've been able to uncover a picture in that cockpit, badly faded, of someone in an old Colonial Fleet uniform, bearing Captain pins, standing beside the nose of a Rhino bearing the name 'Ares' Fist'. No notes on the back, and the pilot's name isnt readable on his uniform.
<OOC> Retrograde says, "WHY YES, I HAVE A PICTURE OF HIS FACE HERE…http://www.moviebodycounts.com/actors-Michael_Ironside.jpg"
<OOC> Retrograde says, "For those that were here at the time it happened, that is most definitely the face of the Skinjob that shot the messhall up eons ago."
With the next bit of viper dismantling having a need for extra hands, Toby heads over to the second Rhino to check on his collagues progress. There's a brief technical conversation followed by a more casual, 'oh, and guess what I found' shortly before another explosion of swearing in Tauran, this time from Toby. It's really heartfelt and gutteral too, not your run of the mill 'oops I dropped something', no, this is appraoching cataclysmic. Then Toby's appearing at the ramp with something in his hand, looks like a small photo, and making a b-line staright for Bennett, "Captain!" he calls urgently, remembering to switch back to common, "you need to see this. Right. Now."
The sigh of relief as the Rhino powers back down is nigh-audible, even from where Epiphany is ensconsed in the cockpit. She makes sure everything has settled before hauling herself up and out. The last thing any of them want is one of the beasts to blow up in the enclosed space. It'd be bad. For all and sundry. Mostly 'all,' but certainly some sundry. Goose hops the last couple feet to land on the ground. This is just in time to see Toby zip around the other bird to head towards Bennett. A check of the rifle she's wearing and the woman traipses off to follow. But not before calling to the looters: "If you need an untrained hand, just holler." AKA: 'I can hold your flashlight.' or 'I can hold tools.' The things a well-trained dog could perform. Hey, she's here to look pretty and fly.
Bennett lifts her head from the guts of the turbine she was trying to diagnose, and spots Toby headed for her at full tilt. "What is it?" The spanner she had in her hand is set down, and she swipes the back of her hand across her nose to scratch an itch that's been dogging her, before hopping down to the ground to meet the technician. Her brows slowly raise as she catches a glimpse of the photo. "Where did you find this?"
Lleufer has had to climb up a short ladder to hand Bennett tools as she calls for them. In some cases, she has to describe what the thing looks like because Ynyr may not even know what is what. He can step and fetch however. Down the ladder he comes to see what lit a fire under the Tauran and comes to stand on Bennett's other side. The Marine frowns, "That photo's of a skinjob." As if they didn't know that already. Llue gives Bennett an upnod, "I'm going to go get us some water to drink. I'll be right back." Lleu grabs his helmet and rifle so he won't leave them behind to find and fill some water bottles.
"The other Rhino," Toby answers quickly, look staright at Bennett to make sure that all the terrible consiquences of that register in her features. The ship was a skinjob's, and thus the toasters likely know it's here, and thus they're all severly fraked. Very severly fraked. He flicks his eyes sideways briefly as he spots Epiphany closing in as well and takes a half pace or so to the side so she can see it as well. Lleufer gets a brief glance that could likely be translated as 'no shit, but shut the frak up moron' but then he dismisses the marine from his attention, turning back to the two captains instead.
Apparently Thanos has become used to yelling, cursing, shouting, and rifle fondling - or she's just singularly focused on packing up the items she's so painstakingly catalogued, and carefully tucks her modern journal into a handy pocket pouch on her utility belt as well as a few precious pencils. Once the crates are packed, she'll start dragging them into a little assembly that's much like triage staging. The scientist then looks around for the marking device she'd scavenged earlier, and then squats down beside the crates that probably are in the "most likely to stay behind" category. After cracking her knuckles a bit, she starts freehanding a label that looks remarkably close to what one would expect from a military stencil - probably observed from countless other crates in the area. "Textiles, Surplus, Grade E." goes on the one that's disguised to look like just rags inside upon first opening. "Rations, field, animal exp. 20040315" on another.
At least for the moment, Stephens and the others are a little too busy to clue in that the Orion folks appear alarmed. Stephens totes his wrench across the floor to get Eliza's attention and nods his head towards the sorta working Rhino, "Go help Evan. He's got a heartbeat," then directs his footfalls towards Thanos, "Doc. Maybe you oughtta start telling Bubba which crates to pack and we'll start loading the bird partially. I got a bad feeling about this, that we're gonna have to leave in a frakkin hurry. Fair enough?"
You learn the faces of the known models pretty early on at Crandall. So much ground fighting and so many on the planet. And in some cases, you become intimately familiar with a few from fighting them. Like Six. Epiphany's features tighten as she looks it over. Her voice is kept low: "We keep as many systems offline as possible on that one specifically, got it?" But then Stephens is speaking up and she looks up and swivels to visually locate the man. Shortly after, the rest of her follows. "Whatever gets loaded onto a Rhino goes through us. I said it last night, I say it again. Those ships are leaving under Colonial command. We'll gladly take you with us, but you're going where we go."
"Perhaps we should expedite our egress, Captain," St. Clair opines to the CAG, sotto voce. "Has that rhino's data drive been stripped yet, by the way?" That question's for Toby as she slides her arms back into her flight suit and zips it up to her breastbone. As Lleufer turns to depart, she almost says something to him- then seems to think better of it and simply watches him go. Like a hawk.
"No idea," Toby replies honestly to Bennett, "but I can find out and sort it if needed. Lleu is paid no heed, nor Thanos really, but he does turn to listen in to the developing situation between Epiphany and Stephens. He keeps the photo though, stuffing it into a leg pocket of his trousers for future reference. Then, to the CAG, "you want us to switch all efforts to the one we powered up, or keep working on both?"
On the other hand, somebody could have found the photo and left it there, not the skinjob themselves. If they've had skinjobs as Marines, there surely have been skinjob pilots too. Somewhere. Why would somebody keep a photo of themself in their own cockpit? That would be weird.
Lleufer comes back a couple of minutes later with two bottles of water. One he offers to Bennett. He stops, picking up the tension that has risen and his gaze slips to Epiphany, then to Bennett. The MP Sergeant doesn't say anything but watches people a lot more carefully now as he uncaps his water and takes a drink.
Stephens turns to look when Epiphany gripes at him, one brow raising, "Now Captain, that's not very sporting of you. We have people depending on us. We both lost our rides on the way here, and we're working together on getting them both working. If you wanna take your balls and go home, then we can always go back and break everything we just helped fix and leave. I'm SURE you'll get everything fixed in time before the enemy shows up. Right?" The work inside the momentarily functional Rhino has stopped as both technicians crane their heads up high enough to spy the confrontation going on. Somewhere, Bubba and Eliza and Maelinn have stopped to look when they hear Stephen's voice take on that tone.
Why, he asked just in time. There's an open crate of carefully wrapped items. Shiny ones. The earthenware jug that alerted the Marines to the fact the bunker was occupied has been packed in pieces. There's a collection of metalworked goblet type of things, as well as a stone carving in a beautiful marbled blue and green, though a portion of it has been cracked off long ago, from the weatherbeaten and smooth angles of it, rather than the fresh jagged edges of something fresh. Thanos closes it up. "That one's got the highest priority," she tells Bubba. But gods is it frakkin' /heavy/. If they take that one, it means that if they want a bunch of gear goodies too, it's likely to be the only one. "The rest—perhaps if the others want them, but I'd recommend for expediency they stay here."
"There's Raptors." Which specifically have not been looted or pulled apart by the Colonials. "Take one of them. But these Rhinos are Fleet property, our mission was to retrieve them, and like frak am I going to let you run off with one just to get shot out of the sky because you're some goddamn civilians who got too big for their britches." Has anyone ever noticed that Epiphany nigh-always has coffee in hand on the Orion? Anyone know when she last had any? This is a woman who has no patience to even summon. "Even if you could fly it, do you really think you'd make it off this rock before getting shot out of the sky? I'm not letting you kill yourselves, lose artifacts," yes, Thanos, she was paying attention, "and destroy a ship we need."
Bennett accepts the bottle with a small smile of thanks, and unscrews the cap to take a deep drink. Gods, she's thirstier than she realised. "Nobody is taking their ball and going home. Let's not lose our heads; please have your people proceed as they were. Captain, a moment please?" Her voice is level and soft to Arrington's clipped intensity, but there is a coolness to those pale blue eyes as she regards the CAG. A tip of her head to the left, where they might have some privacy.
The Captain, for the moment, is wholly ignored. It's the Aerilonean sergeant that Thanos fixes her gaze on for a long moment, her expression somber. But then she seems content as the rest to sit back, folding her arms.
With no clear answer to his question fro Epiphany, Toby decides that the best way to avoid getting caught up in whatever may or may not happen between the CAG and Stephens is to put a touch of physical distance between him and them. Skirting round the long way back towards the second Rhino he flashes a look to Drake, Maelinn, and Eliza mouthing 'can you talk your boss down?' in Tauran at them as they reach the point of closest approach.
Stephens grins and looks to his right at Bubba, "You get this girl, Bubs? Three hundred days since the war started, and she thinks we lived this long only to get shot down because we don't know what we're doing? I dont know HOW we survived this long. Our frakkin SAVIOR is here!" He turns his head back to Epiphany, still smiling a little, "You got no idea who we are, or what we can do. Seeing as how you got your own armored ride shot out from under you on the way in, your arguement that we'd get shot down getting outta here when you wouldnt…not that strong, Captain." Then Bennett cuts in and the man eyes the Raptor Pilot for a few moments. He sets his jaw and shakes his head, then stalks back towards the Rhino that Jonathan and Evan are at (that he had told Eliza to go help with), and puts his fingers to his lips to issue one of those annoying, ear-piercing whistles.
Randy yawns and rubs the back of her neck as she wanders in from some corner she was curled up in for slumber in a tiny ball, some sort of tarp from her pack pulled over her body, including her head. "Shut the frak up. People are sleeping!" Randy has already made an impression on some of her marine buddies that she's not the best person to wake up. "People who have /explosives/."
Something else has Ynyr's attention. He watches Thanos a moment, making eye contact, but he doesn't say anything. Lleu drinks his water, recaps it and sets it down. He watches the others and keeps his mouth shut, watchful of what is unfolding.
"Considering we only have your word for it, for all I know you are sympathizers. No telling what these Rhinos might have in their memory. Might have been posted out here all along." That picture must have unnerved Epiphany more than she initially let on. When Stephens turns away, her hand shifts to and tightens agains the stock of her rifle. It's clear there's a hint of temptation there. But she relents and turns to step over to Bennett. "What."
The doctor's head tilts a little, as she studies the two groups, though she relaxes for a few moments as Lleu catches her eye. But then there's perhaps a mental headcount, and then her eyebrows raise just a little. "Far be it from me to interrupt the ritual territory marking, but—there /are/ people who are on watch, somewhere, aren't there?" she asks, with sudden concern.
Stephens seems to ignore the comment from Epiphany - when his crew pop their heads up, he approaches the Rhino and has a few irritated words with them, and can be seen pointing across the room at the two parked Raptors. Evans looks like his puppy just got kicked, and looks back at the Rhino's interior with a plaintive expression on his face. However, both he and Jonathan seem to accept what they were told and drop back out of sight, while Eliza does a 180 and starts across the hangar to the Raptors with a visible 'whatthefrakever' look on her face.
Bubba simply accepts what Thanos has told him, but looks a little confused when their orders seem to be changing. Not the brightest bullet in the clip, this one.
"Captain," Bennett murmurs, "with due respect, I do not think this is the time for dick waving. I share your concerns, but there is something to be said for tact. Have you not heard the saying, 'you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'?" Her tone is cool, though a few inches away from chastising.
Toby pauses at the bottom of the ramp to the second Rhino, just keeping half an eye on Eliza to see whcih raptor it is she boards as one is part full of viper parts. He knows that she knows which is which, but it is worth just checking anyway.
There's a long look for Bennett. It's tolerant, but Epiphany is neither pleased nor amused. Even She of the Calm has her limits and apparently they come when her Coffee Meter has been on empty for this long a period of time. "We don't have time to play diplomat with a bunch of looters who may or may not be wholly frakkin' aware of that photo in there. For all we know, they've been trying to get these running for the Cylons. So no, I'm not going to play tea party." There's a glance to Toby, then back to Bennett. "I want the utmost caution getting that one online, lest our 'friend,'" Frakkin' skinner, "left any surprises behind."
Toby only half hears Epiphany's remarks, as his path has brought him close enough to hear enough of the other group's conversation to be able to get the gist. As they seem to change plan and aim for the empty raptor instead he calls over, «stay safe out there. There's precious few of us left. May the Sun watch over your travels, and guide you to safe harbour.»
Stephens isnt Tauran, but Eliza is. And when Epiphany makes that comment, the woman blinks, looks at the two Captains, and her hand is immediately on the pistol still holstered at her hip. In rapid-fire, angry Tauran, she turns to face them both, but her words are for Epiphany, «Say that again?? My home is dead and you accuse me of helping those motherfrakkers? Bitch I'll shoot you in the face right now!» Stephens blinks and takes a step forward with an 'oh shit' look on his face…he might have some experience with Someone's Temper, "Liza, honey, dont do that shit. Someone starts shooting and we gonna have a lot more than two dead."
"If you've not had to scavenge to survive in the last year," Thanos says, rather coldly, "Then I envy you your privilege, Captain. May it continue to do well for you. Sergeant Ynyr, best of luck to you. Stay strong. And a pleasure to meet you, Bennett." But it seems with those accusations, the scientist seems quite sure of her welcome—and it's not with the military folks.
Kelsey has been off looking at things in containers, probably having mild joygasms at seeing these museum pieces up close. She wanders back with nothing in her hands, though and comes up short to the side. She stares at everyone, waiting. Hand on her pistol? Newp. Hand lifts and just rests on the grenade on her vest. Yes, the same one she had to re-pin eariler.
Randy doesn't seem to care that no one responded to her 'morning' grumpiness. She moves her way towards Epiphany, raking her fingers through her hair which has become a wild mess from her beauty sleep. She rubs her eyes, unaware that she's walked in between the ruffled Captain and Eliza, a pissed off Tauran with a gun. She's gritting her teeth as if she has some sort of headache. "Sounds like the honeymoon period is going swimmingly," she doesn't bother to lower or raise her voice. "I can't remember whose turn it is to nap…" She unfurls her small arms into a giant stretch, holding it there.
Before she moves off, though, the leggy blonde scientist will stalk over to Ynyr and offer him the modern journal she was working on earlier, with the full notations for all the artifacts, along with the "Stay Strong" comment, before turning to drift off towards that raptor.
"Nor do we have time for petty squabbling," Bennett interjects, practically trampling on Epiphany's words to make that observation. "There are too many unknowns at the moment. We need their help with those rhinos, and we need to keep our heads about us. This is your show, Captain, and I will do as you command; but I am asking you to stand down." The bus driver takes a step back, eyes still locked with her commander's, then hears Eliza speak and pivots to face the Tauran. «ENOUGH.» It's not a bellow; it's the hiss of a whipslash cutting through the tense air. She switches back to Common, "I have work to do, to get this beast running. Captain." Epiphany gets a dark look, and then she's stalking off.
Toby's face mirrors Stephens in that 'oh shit' moment as he steps forward to put himself in between Eliza and Epiphany. He who is unarmed and unarmoured at this time, and also Tauran. "Captain" he starts, in a tone that while he hopes it isn't actually insubordinate, does at least comfer the fact that he really wants her to shut up now," then, turning to Eliza «she's Leonese, what do you expect? They can't fraking help themselves.» Sorry Stephens, «turst me, I've been working with them for months now and I've lost count of the number of times I've had to stop myself punching some of them. But they're our best chance of beating the toasters and avenging the dead. I'm not sure how you've managed to cope this last year, but I've done it by killing those bastards, one, two, three at a time, and will continue to do so until they're all dead, and our familes are a rest. SHe's annoying I know, but she's working to that same aim.»
Lleufer has noticed Stephen, his pilot and his group heading for the Raptors without actually making a big stink about it. Then Epiphany speaks a bit too loudly. Ynyr grimaces and mutters to himself, "That is not helping, Captain." Probably said loud enough for Arrington to hear him. The Sergeant looks annoyed. He turns his attention back to Eliza and Stephen to make sure that defuses … until Thanos walks up. Lleu accepts the journal and puts a hand to Dr Thanos's arm to stop her from walking off at once. Bennett's bellow gets Ynyr to look her way, then he says something low to Dr Thanos.
The pistol comes out and Epiphany just stares in Eliza's direction. The woman doesn't even go for her rifle. She just stares the Tauron down. "Yes, princess, you suffered the worst of everyone else. I know." It's condescending as fuck, but she doesn't seem to care. Bennett just gets a brief, side-eyed look. "
The pistol almost comes out and Epiphany just stares in Eliza's direction. The woman doesn't even go for her rifle. She just stares the Tauron down. "Yes, princess, you suffered the worst of everyone else. I know." It's condescending as fuck, but she doesn't seem to care. Bennett just gets a brief, side-eyed look. "Right. Instead, let's let them go off and get themselves killed while we lose a bird that we could really use right now." Then it's back to Eliza. "So, let me guess. You managed to keep a Raptor or maybe some civilian ship going for the past year, so you think you're hot shit. Those-" her arm comes up, points at the Rhino's cockpit, "are not for the faint of heart. Even if you were military trained, you'd be lucky to last in one for a pleasure cruise, let alone trying to keep people alive. If you're so frakkin' selfish as to try, fine, but I'd make sure your friends know they're dying for pride and nothing else."
Lleufer thins his mouth, "-Captain-." Yes, let her get pissed off at the Marine, but now even /he/ is giving her a shut the fuck up look. He glancs at Thanos and starts walking towards the CAG with a look to Bennett.
Thanos smiles at Lleu, and it's a rather sad one. She murmurs something back, though she still turns to head back to where the other group as stowed their gear a bit. Epiphany's incredible continuing barrage puts some stiffness in her steps, but she doesn't dignify it with a look back; instead she's moving to collect a not-unsubstantial ruck that may very well contain all that she owns, and hefts it to her shoulders.
Its the snap comment from Bennett that gives Eliza a moment of check, enough to make the woman blink out of the anger that was about to make her do something she really was going to regret, most likely. She doesn't look at Toby, but the woman seems to be paying attention. When Epiphany starts talking again, there's a moment when it looks like things are going to get Much, Much Worse - the click of the holster strap disengaging and the safety getting thumbed off, and since Bennett and Epiphany are Right There, that glint in Eliza's eyes where the decision has been made: She's going to try to murder a Fleet Officer, knowing the team is outnumbered and probably going to fill her so full of holes for it she can be used as a screen door.
Which is right about where Stephens makes that last lunge to grab the woman's gun arm and latch on to her with a snarled, "Don't you frakking do it. I'm not godsdamned dying at the hands of the godsdamned Navy after a year of avoiding the Cylons." Now HE'S pissed, and the challenging look he gets from Eliza makes it clear, the two are either going to beat the living shit out of each other later, or set some bedroom on fire.
"First of all, neither of you are in command. We are on the ground, an unfamiliar place for both of you. I suggest we follow the chain of command as we have /all/ been trained to do." Randy might be a little too big for her britches. Perhaps it's the EOD designation she fought so hard for. Perhaps it's just that she's tired, and she's tired of all the squabbling. "Stop antagonizing and escalating the situation unless you actually plan to accomplish something," she says directly to Epiphany, looking the other woman in the eye as if trying to communicate /other/ things underneath what she's saying, but there's nothing directly implied by her words.
Kelsey has been standing on the sidelines with her hand on a frag on her vest. She's watching everything deteriorate quickly. What the hell did she walk into? She twitches her face a few times before just walking out into the middle and screaming, "ARE YOU FRAKKING KIDDING ME?!" she let's voice echo before looking at everyone in turn. "Are you all inanse? GodsDAMNIT! CHILL! We have to shoot each other?!" She looks around at everyone. "I'm th girl with grenades strapped to me and I'm the voice of sanity here?! What the hell???" she makes a dumb face at all of them. "REALLY?! ME?!"
There was an earlier comment that may have stood out. One where Epiphany's voice got a touch more frantic. About having no proof that these people can be trusted. It was that photo, really, that set it off. She, at least, hasn't put her hands on her rifle. If anything, it seems like she'd let Eliza walk herself right into such a siuation. The rest are considered. Those around her. All Epiphany does is arch her brow. "Fine." There's something in her. Something that has fallen apart. There is an utter and complete lack of faith and trust. The woman turns and starts heading for the Rhino the photo came out of. "We go home with one Rhino. Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll be a distraction enough so I can at least ensure my people make it home."
"They're were going for the empty raptor, not the rhino," Toby snaps back to Epiphany. When he'd first stepped forward he'd had his back to the CAG and was facing the potential threat of Eliza's gun, but now he's re-evaluating and turning as the Captain keeps talking. Turning his head to appeal to Bennett for calm he says, "Captain StClair.." he isn't sure exactly what to ask of her, but the plea for a rational head is right there. As Stephens steps in again he flashes Epiphany another glance, then moves towards Eliza, both to talk quietly inher ear, and cut down the angles she has on the CAG if she gets her weapon free. «I've been there,» he mutters to her, not bothering if the rest of her crew can hear, but trying to keep it low enough that the Orion mob can't, «take that rage, remember it, but find a channel for it that isn't going to get us all killed. Remember it next time you spot a toaster, use it where it can do good, where it can send even one of our people to the rest they deserve. If you die here, if your crew die here, then thats more deaths to be avenged and even less of us to fight the bigger foe. Take the raptor and leave. I was going to ask you all to stay, to come with us when we leave, but after what she said I know I cna't ask that of you any more.» Looking accross to Stephens he gives the man a faint nod of thanks for his own actions, then steps back a mere half pace to give Eliza space to, hopefully, turn and walk away.
Lleufer is still walking towards Epiphany and when she turns to go into the Rhino, the MP Sergeant just keeps coming, "-Captain-, I'd like a word with you, please." On board the Rhino would due fine. But then Kelsey starts shouting and loosing her marbles. The MP Sergeant stops and looks divided at which situation is worse. Ynyr glances to Randy and makes a motion with his chin that maybe she should go chat with Kelsey. He'll be a minute.
At this point? Stephens has his hands full. He might or might not hear what is being directed to him, he's focused on Eliza, holding on to her gun hand while simultaneously maneuvering her in the direction of the non-Viper-Parts-laden Raptor, "Pre-Flight. Tosko. FOCUS. Get the frakker prepped. We are leaving. Eliza still glares at Stephens, but her vision shifts to look at Toby when the Deckie addresses her in her native language. She STILL doesn't say more, but finally she shoves Stephens hard with her shoulder, dropping her sidearm to the floor, and turns to stalk towards the Raptor.
Stephens simply sighs and mutters, "Frak. Me." He shakes his head to clear it and looks around, his words directed towards his people he can see, "You. You. You. Load your tools. Bubba, grab a case of survival rations and one of the small arms crates. Doc?" He looks Thanos over for a moment, then shakes his head, "Aint gonna be able to take alla this and you. We survive all this, you know where to come looking for the shit you been saving. Fair enough? Why don't you hitch a ride with these helpful Navy sorts." Didn't really sound like he was giving her a choice.
"Frak me indeed," Toby mutters under his breath, then gives Stephens a quick nod of understanding, or parting, then turns back towards his own crew. He's expression is about as neutral as he can manage, but it definitely betrays the fact that he's pissed off. Quite severly. Still, Bennett wanted the second Rhino's data drive checked, and he's still happy to be working alongside her, so he heads to do that.
"I really don't have the time to be chewed out because I didn't offer them tea and the Admiral's personal quarters," Epiphany responds to Lleufer at his request for 'words.' "I didn't come down here planning to have to coddle someone's feelings. I came down here, into a frakkin' war zone, planning to pick up some new ships. For the people actually fighting the war. I offered them to come with us. I offered them a safe home. They still wanted to take advantage of us." This is half to herself, half for Lleufer's benefit. Hey, the woman was never meant to be in the position she's in. She's a teacher. Not a politician. She's also exhausted and stressed out. It's not as if she seems proud of what she's done, but she's also not apologetic, either. "Let's finish working on this shit so we can get out of here." That, a bit louder. Then, in Kelsey's direction. Point. "Put it away. If they shoot me, St. Clair can just go home the happiest frakkin' stick in the colonies."
Bennett looks over when Toby addresses her, but she too seems lost here. There are too many voices, too much going on. Hers would just be another struggling above the din. So she gives him a grim little headshake and continues prepping the rhino. "We would be happy to have you, doctor," she tells Thanos softly. "Wescott, stand down. I need a hand with the compressor, anyway." The comment about Epiphany being shot making her happy causes her to visibly bristle, but she doesn't rise to the bait.
Kelsey just stares at the way everyone is dividing off. Her head goes back and forth, ponytail swinging with each movement. She looks lost and dumbfounded. Not quite crazy, just wondering what the frak is going on with everyone. The tension can clearly be felt. Watching everyone on one end pile into a Raptor is one side. Then she looks back to her own side and watching it fragment? Her arms remain outstretched before falling back to her sides heavily. wtfsadfas. Looking to Pip at the end she just shakes her head and walks back towards the group. No hands on weapons, just looking at the ground. She nods to Bennett without much more and unslings her pack again. Time to go back to work.
Lleufer stands his ground, "Captain, as you refuse to allow me to speak with you in private, or listen to anyone else in your team, I have no choice but to ask Captain St. Clair to relieve you of Command of this Mission. You are not acting rationally." The MP Sergeant speaks as clearly and as firmly as he can without raising his voice. He then looks to Bennett, "Captain St. Clair?"
The Doctor doesn't seem terribly surprised, but she offers Stephens her hand. "Keep them safe, please?" She says to him. "And may we meet again under better circumstances, with a story to tell." She doesn't seem too terribly upset, especially since she's got her own gear with her. At Bennett's welcome, she smiles. "Thank you, Bennett. What can I do to make myself useful?" At Epiphany's words, though, her lips set in a grim line. She doesn't seem to notice that it's Bennett that's being talked about until the other woman stiffens, but there's a respect that lights in her eyes when the bait isn't taken.
There's a long moment that Epiphany studies Lleufer. Finally, there's a shrug. "Of course." It looks like she's about to say more, but there's finally a shake of her head. Her clipboard, with notes on the inventory, had been abandoned. She returns to retrieve it and makes her way further into the bunker space. If anything, there's a resigned nature to it.
Stephens DOES look back when some of the conversation carries to him. He only watches for a moment though, shaking his head to clear it, and now with a bit of a sense of urgency, slaps Bubba on the shoulder as he moves around to help the man move one of the crates he requested, towards the Raptor with a sighed, "Lets get home before the crew thinks we really aren't coming back. That frakhead Miller will take over and get the rest of them killed." He even offers a faint smile at Thanos, "Stories? Doc, you damned well better have a book for me to read when I see you again. After all, someone's gotta make me look like a good guy." Back at the raptor, Eliza has indeed managed to power the bird up and for a moment, the engines whine, just a momentary test that things are Ready To Go. She gives Stephens a thumbs up, then hops out to help the techie types get their stuff stowed away.
Thanos turns to watch the old crew pile into the raptor. Her face is stoic, and she takes in a deep breath, but there's a shadow in her eyes, as if she's already watching the ghosts. Once they're loaded and piled in though, she'll offer a hand in a wave-salute, a mask of stiff upper lipped cheer. But after that, she'll turn to help out with whatever loading's needed for the new crew, apparently no stranger to labor these days.
Kelsey walks back over to her group and watches all of it happen. Her pack half-unslung, she hears Lleufer and then looks to Bennett, then looks down to the ground. The rest of the weight comes off her shoulder and she stares at it. The look of confusion and frustration on her face has no depths. Her eyes lift to watch Pip walk away, but she stands with the others. They can all see it on her face that she suddenly feels lost at sea. No home. Her belief in the chain of command just got shattered. The girl saw none of what came before but just publically witnessed what happened. The girl just looks sad. Listless. "Aye, sir. Compressor." She turns without another word and heads towards the ramp of the Rhino.
Bennett doesn't look angry; she looks sad. Conflict has never been something she's good at. Hell, she joined the military to sate her love of flying. Blue eyes cut from the marine to the deflated-looking viper stick, and she pushes back to her feet, and informs the rest of the crew calmly, "Captain Arrington is hereby relieved of command until I am able to ascertain that she is in possession of sound mind. At which time.." A breath. "At which time, authority will be returned to the CAG." A position she's never had aspirations to, if her digging her heels in as squadron commander's been any indication. To Stephens, "I will ensure that an accurate account of these events is put on record. Clear skies to you and yours, and gods speed."
Lleufer draws a slow breath, "I know people are stressed, tired. I'm sorry about that. But we need to keep our wits. We are a -team- and we have our orders. We need to stay focused and watch each others' backs. All of us." Ynyr keeps his baritone calm quiet. Just as quietly he adds, "Thank you, Captain St. Clair." When that is done, Lleu watches Kelsey and sighs, then sees about going back to work himself and think.
It takes a few more moments for the looter team to finish prep, then Evan hops out and crosses the room, opening a panel to punch a code in, then sticks a paper on the wall with the code on it (presumably leaving it for the Orion folks). As he's running back to the Raptor, the far end of the huge room begins to open up, revealing how it's been partially concealed by a short cliff face overlooking the water - no way a ground Cylon would ever see it. The raptor spools up and lifts off, then noses over and screams for the entrance doors, even as they are cycling through and starting to reclose. Another 60 seconds and the Orion folks have the storage bunker to themselves.