AWD #248: Rematch?
Rematch?
Summary: Jena and Toby speak for the first time since she put him in sickbay.
Date: 11/Sep/2013
Related Logs: Never a Dull Moment
Jena Toby 
Naval Enlisted Berthings - Deck 3 - Battlestar Orion
Housing a couple thousand naval personnel is never easy, but the fleet has managed for many decades. The enlisted barracks are divided up into sixty-bunk berthings and spread out across Deck Three. Each bunk has a small blue privacy curtain to keep out the light and prying eyes, but at least each individual has their own space. The drawers beneath each bunk and the lockers provide additional storage space. Between each stack of bunks is a single table that comprises a single section, each barracks holding five sections that are divided by thin bulkheads.
AWD #248

After lunch, before the evening meal, the barracks, aka the berthings for the enlisted isn't real busy yet. Sitting on a bunk is the newest arrival on Orion, and she's selected one of the lower ones. There are no personal touches around the area yet, uniforms and boots, a few civilian clothes is all she's unpacked so far. She's wearing her fatigues and her pack is within hands reach in case she gets a sudden call. For ten years she'd been on call twenty-four, seven, and that still hadn't changed. Lifting out another shirt from her bag, she begins carefully and meticulously folding it.

Toby is off-duty and looking for Dio. His fellow Tauran is not around though, or so it would seem, so he diverts instead to his own bunk and drops down onto it, not apparently careing that he still has his boots on. Dispite the fact that he's been her longer, his bunk is also almost devoid of any personal touches and while many of the others have photo-collages of massed ranks of family and friends his has only the one picture and that, for those in the know, is from Site Anvil and thus most likely post War-Day. Despite that he seems content enough to stare up at the bare ceiling until Jena's movements at her bunk are registered out of the corner of his eye and he rolls his head a little to watch for a moment or so.

Jena had noticed the other bunks, it was just something she had always done, noticed things. When Toby walks in, her eyes lift from her task and watch him as he approaches his own bunk. Her lips curve into a warm smile but she looks towards his face. "Good afternoon," breaking the silence, it's the simplest greeting. After folding her shirt, she places it in a pile and reaches for another one. "How are you feeling?"

Toby returns the greeting with a short upnod, although a moment or two later he then does add, "afternoon," for the sake of basic politeness. He's still watching her unpack, but there it's not as if there's much else to watch really. "Been better, been worse," he offers after consideration, "you know how it is." He lets the silence fall again briefly, although for him at least it doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, before then breaking it with, "so, I hear you're a parajumper. That right?"

Unpacking another shirt, Jena begins folding it in that same precise manner. His greeting, when given, is acknowledged with a broadening of her smile. "I'm glad to see that your eye is better. We could rematch anytime you're interested. We had a good match going on, pretty evenly matched." Smoothing a hand down her folded shirt, she assures herself it's just so before she looks back at him, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "I am. I guess word gets around." Though of course her pack and gear give it away more than likely, there's no anyone she'd told directly, but indeed word does get around. "I hear you're the go-see person on the deck."

Toby listens quietly enough, until the word rematch is spoken, then causes a faint, although not entirely serious frown. "Rematch? I know I took a blow to the head and all, but I have distinct memories of us agreing it was a postponement only." Such things are important it would seem. Catching the surprise he offers a quick explaination, "Dr Nasreen mentioned it when one of the pilots was enquiring as the that state of my face." He grins a little to himself then offers, "seems most had assumed it was a fight. As for Deck though, depends what you want. Systems to keep the pilot and crew alive, thats me. Systems to make the bird go, there other people's problems."

"Yes, I didn't mean a rematch, I meant to finish it off," Jena is just as quick to correct herself. "Two to nothing." Reaching into the bag, she begins pulling out socks now, perfectly folded together, white. "I can see where some would assume it was a fight, but I honestly didn't mean to hurt you out there. Mine hit a little higher and it was more of a glancing blow." Tilting her head to the side, she regards him. "You definitely look better without the black eye, but the swollen eye gave you a sort of dangerous look." She nods in acknowledgement of his duties on the deck. "I ride in a lot of Raptors."

Toby acknowledges the correction with a slow and deliberate nod, then adds another as the current scoreline is mentioned. "No, you meant only to steal the ball and wound only my pride," he retorts with a hint of humour, "must admit though, it's not often I find someone with a skull thicker than mine. 'specially not a Caprican." He seems amused at the idea of him having a dangerous look though, stating with a faint smile, "I've found a lot of people assume that anyway. 'Tauran and bruised? Must've been a fight, why the frak isn't he in the brig?'" He shrugs, a slightly odd manouver while he's still flat on his back, "we have a reputation for it or something."

"There's nothing wrong with being Tauran at all." The words are gently teasing and she continues to talk to him while she unpacks. "I've been there a few times on rescue missions. Takes a special kind of person to survive the elements there, though if you can handle it, the extremes are amazing to behold." Using her fist she gently raps on her head. "Thick as anything. I was in a fight club once upon a time. It led me to where I am today."

"Spent the best part of thirty five years there," Toby replies with another sprawled out shrug, "can't really compare it to anywhere else." He knows that his people are generally considered 'rugged' and other such words, but in his head thats more the other colonies being soft. He bites back an instinctive reply about there being no one surviving there now, not needing to pick that particular non-fight and instead folds his arms across his chest and rolls a little so he's now half on his back, half on is side facing Jena. He looks faintly surprised at her fight club comment, but doesn't look particularly like he's going to question or challenge it, choosing instead to ask, "how about Caprica? Fine civilisation compared to our base courseness?" It was the Capricans who coined the term 'dirt eaters' for Taurans after all.

"It's a long time to live in a place with such extremes, but I guess where someone is from shapes who they become." Jena finishes unpacking her bag and begins stowing it in her locker. The surprise registers when she had mentioned the fight club, but she doesn't further expound on it. "Caprica was a place to be born, as good as any I guess. I had no say in it, so it's just part of my past that will never be the same again. I guess like everyone else's."

"Was never really my plan to leave," Toby replies almost absently, before snapping back to the present once more, "looks like it worked out best for me in the end that I did though I suppose." Rolling back to his back he shifts his hands so their behind his head and returns to staring at the bottom of the bunk above. "Some less so than others," he offers about as philosophically as he's ever going to get, although that's really not saying much. Deeper thinker he is not.

Carefully, Jena puts away her belongings, probably everything she owns, much like everyone else. Glancing over her shoulder, she sees him back on his back and looking up. "Yeah.. as much as we want to, we can't save them all. I wish I was super powered." Once more, she gives a lopsided smile, closing her locker. "Whenever you're ready, you know, we can finish that game." She doesn't seem to be leaving though as she moves to sit back on her bunk again.

"We could've saved more though," Toby starts, jaw hardening a little as he does so, "but some of the brass decided to sit on their arses instead." He doesn't clench his fist and punch his ceiling, but that doesn't mean he isn't sorely tempted to. Instead he takes a few slow, deep breaths and adds, "JAGs looking into it though and if there's one officer onboard that I'd trust with my life it's her."

Having heard about some of the slacking by a high member of the air wing, Jena nods in just as much an angry manner. "I hope that wherever the man went, that he goes through hell. Over and over." Hearing the bitterness in her tone, she smiles, forcing that part away. "I sound like a vengeance pursuer, but I'm not. I'm all about life and saving it." She gives him a concise nod at the mention of the JAG. "Hopefully I meet her soon."

"Spirits of the dead can't rest til they've been avenged, so bring on the vengeance and let our dead sleep soundly," Toby replies, his voice back to it's usual tone. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving human life, so long as they aren't collaborators and such, but we've got a lot of work to do and if we start with Shepherd then thats one step closer isn't it." Pointing his thumb in the direction of the aforementioned single picture he has he offers, "that's her, third from the left." The picture itself appears to be a makeshift pyramid court at Site Anvil, with enough people crouched and tanding to form 3 or 4 teams. Toby and Rhonwen are both present, although from the looks of things, playing for different teams.

Jena knows how very true that is and she nods solemnly. "I understand what you're saying. And by the way you can call me Jena, if you would like." Peering at the picture, she smiles. "Ah, I see! Someone from your past. I imagine it's really good seeing people you know from before. Sorta gives you an anchor. I'm not sure what it would be like to have no one in the whole of any of the Colonies know who I was or remember me from before. I do have a grandma on Caprica."

Toby is fully aware that Jena only means well with her words, that she's made a perfectly understandable assumption and that it simply happens to be wrong. That doesn't mean they feel any les like salt being poured into an open wound though and his immediate response is to close up. Turning a little so he's facing the picture (and thus conveniently also the wall) rather than her, he replies as naturally as he can, "no. Not before. After. I spent the first couple of months on Picon then came here." He's doing his best but there is definitiely something in his tone now, anger, bitterness, hatred, something along those lines anyway. Rolling back once more he sifts a little so he's resting on his elbows and turns to address her. "There is no one from before. I watched my world burn and with it, everyone one I ever knew, obliterated in a nuclear holocaust." The anger seems to be gone now and it's all just bitter reality as he repeats, "there is no one from before."

Telling herself she was a fool, Jena can't even stop herself from doing it as she walks over, approaching his bunk and sitting down on the edge beside him, unless he pushes her off or physically prohibits her from doing so. "So you already know the hell it is to lose everyone." Gently, she brushes her fingers over his forearm. "I'd apologize for bringing back the bad memories, but I suspect they're never far from the surface. I am sorry for making a wrong assumption though."

Toby doesn't seem particularly happy about the idea of the one small space he can call his own being invaded so, but he's not feeling dickish enough to kick Jena off. He does draw his arm back from the touch though. Watching her in utter silence for a few moments he then gives a very slight nod before acknowledging, "easy mistake to make."

Rising from the bed, Jena finds herself having to offer another apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to violate your personal space" She moves back to her own bunk. "If you need to talk or anything, I'm around. Right now I think I'm going to have a nap."

Toby gives a nodding acknowledgement to the apology before lowering himself back down and resting his hands behind his head once more. There's no reply given to the comment about talking about things though, as he's a big strong Tauran and that's not what big strong Taurans do. The mention of a nap though, that gets a response as he offers a nod and a simple, "not a bad idea, Might have one myself."

Like him, Jena lays back on her bunk, but she doesn't immediately close her eyes or go to sleep. She lays on her side, facing the room at large. "Now time to see if I can get some sleep. This is always the hard part. Relaxing enough to let my body rest."

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License