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[truth_is_cold]

[Text | Public]

I'm now staying somewhere else. But if necessary, I can still be reached by the communication system. [If Dylan wants to announce where they're living, he can. But Mr. Paranoid Bastard isn't about to publicly give a location.]

As an aside, does anyone here know how to play chess or any other strategy games that might be available? Are there any musicians from the ship?

[He very desperately needs to learn about the local culture. There must be more than "the Authorities are terrible people and want to render us impotent". Survival situations or not, these people have lived here for a very long time and must have something unique and exclusive to them. They're obviously not barbarians or savages.]

Also, do either of the pilots of the ships that have crashed need assistance?

[Nietzschean style proclamation of friendly interest. He wouldn't offer if he didn't like them.]

Comments

[truth_is_cold]

We don't have gods. [But they're frequently named for them.] So our marriages are entirely about the well-being of our offspring. ...Though don't get me wrong, I do love my wives. All in different ways. And I suppose I must have done something right for them to choose me.

[He scruffs a hand over the back of his head.] I do that, too. But if I'm laid up? [Yes, he'd make an absolute pest of himself. He knows he would.]

We've actually been fixing up the inside of the building we moved into, so it's not all that bad.

[buckingauthority]

Me and the having children thing? Not a good mix.

[For a lot of reasons. Most of which are deeply personal.]

If I make it through a week alive, it's pretty much cause for celebration on the Galactica. Can't take the time out for a family when we've got a dwindling supply of qualified fighter pilots protecting the fleet.

[She glances over at him again and then chuckles.]

Now you make me wanna see you like that. All laid up and ornery.

[Then she nods.]

I moved out too. Still in the process of fixing it up, though. Maybe I'll steal some ideas from you.

[truth_is_cold]

You must be kept busy. [But he huffs a quiet laugh at being laid up. He could imagine how quick it would be before any one of them became tired of him. It's almost a challenge- but not one he's eager to undertake. He'd rather last as long as he could here in one piece- who knew when his advantages might be necessary.]

Dylan's managed a lot of work. [Though they're both particularly busy bodies.] Smile at him properly and I'm sure he'd do half the work for you.

[He wonders about her being engaged but... out walking doesn't seem like the right time to ask. He'll do it when they reach the building, which is just up ahead and he leans over close to her to point it out.]

[buckingauthority]

[Kara nods, reaching up to run her fingers over her dog-tags again. She misses it, as frakked up as it sounds.]

After the initial attack? We were running from the Cylons, using our FTL drives to jump to new coordinates. But they always found us. Every thirty three frakking minutes. That went on for five days. We'd jump, then try to get our FTLs spinning up again while we waited. They'd ambush us, like clockwork, until we found out how the hell they were tracking us. All the pilots had to take stims and were on constant rotation.

You do not wanna to see me hopped up on crazy pills. Busy doesn't even begin to describe it.

[She notices him leaning closer and flashes him a smirk.]

I've been known to give pretty good smile. Plus, you can say this was a housewarming gift to butter him up.

[Kara hands him the bottle of liquor, which is still pretty much full.]

[truth_is_cold]

It sounds intense. [And dangerous. He remembers how much she resented the Cylons, how afraid she was of them. Afraid, or angry. Maybe some of both. She's volatile. But that makes her interesting and intense. Someone that he would like to be around more.

Not the most healthy line of thought, but neither is the most healthy person. He simply hides his bad genes well, behind a charming and mischevious smile that he flashes at her as he accepts the bottle and gives her a friendly hug around her shoulders.]

I'll do everything in my power to keep from seeing you hopped up on "crazy pills", so long as you watch my back as well.

[Because he knows what horrors are. He's seen them, tearing through people, using them as food and incubators. They aren't here, but sometimes you just need to know that someone is looking out for you. Maybe even it's just a comfortable alliance, it still feels better than being "alone".]

And I'll pass on the message. [Because Dylan is a funny drunk.]

[buckingauthority]

[The hug kinda takes her by surprise and Kara involuntarily tenses for a second or two before forcing herself to relax again. She's not used to open displays of affection, but well familiar with physical punishment coming without warning; a symptom of the kind of childhood she grew up in. Every now and then it still creeps up on her. She hates that it does and so compensates by playfully punching at his shoulder.]

As long as I get to watch the front too. But yeah, you need someone to make sure you're still alive when the dust settles, count me in. Then again, I tend to have crazy ideas when it comes to battle, even without the stims.

[truth_is_cold]

[He smiles cheekily at her punch, not noticing the tension beyond a normal reaction.]

You should throw yourself into battle. Survival is one thing, but surviving is nothing if you don't take pride in fighting for it. [There's a note of pride in his voice.

When they reach the house (it's a smaller one near one of the wells, two bedrooms to keep Rhade and Dylan from wearing one another's company thin and already Dylan has been doing things like putting in new flooring and making the windows reasonable and not boarded up messes.

There is even a door of some synthetic material that managed to survive whatever battles happened here. He opens it to let her in.]

[buckingauthority]

Trust me, there's plenty of pride in what I do. I didn't earn my Top Gun spot on the ship playing it safe. There's nothing that makes me feel as alive as I feel in the cockpit, chasing down the enemy and giving them a fiery death for frakking with us. Well, almost nothing.

[She'll quirk her eyebrow at him coyly. Two can play at that game. When they finally reach the house, she finds herself glancing around curiously and admiring what they've already done with the place.]

Wow. Impressive. You keep making me say that.

[truth_is_cold]

[He's still amused by "frakking"]

I'd love to see you try your hand at slipstream. As for the place, a lot of the work is Dylan's. I'm mostly the, "hold this down while I do this" type for him in this case.

[And to his room. Where there's a sleeping mat and a wooden flat converted to a futon, he puts the board in the middle of it.]

[buckingauthority]

What's slipstream? Is it how you pilot your ship? And hey, that's still an important job, holding things down.

[Kara's a tactile person so she's already running her fingertips along the walls and any edges that come within reach. Touching any personal items he has lying around. It's clear that she's a snooper, but still manages to do it lightly, moving on quickly to the next new thing. She watches him start to set up the board on the bed. That makes her smirk again.]

That's some strategic placement there, commander.

[truth_is_cold]

It's whatever placement you'd like it to be. [Even if to keep from sitting on the floor.

He doesn't have much yet. Some guns and some ammunition from the soldiers (homey, that). Parts of his uniform folded up, as well as some clothes all stacked neatly. And a replica of a metal vertical sculpture that he found, tucked decoratively into the corner of the room.

All in all, despite wanting to return home, he is doing his best to remain comfortable here.]

Slipstream is our faster than light travel and how we pilot. The drives are fragile, but with the right hand at the controls it's incredibly fast and reliable. A ships AI can't navigate it correctly without an organic's hand at the controls. One supplements the other.

[buckingauthority]

[Kara's got guns, ammo and salvaged parts for a still stashed in her room, Rhade. Plus a single military cot and sleeping bag. This is luxurious by comparison. She notices the neatness. It fits with what she knows about him so far.]

Sounds like fun. More hands on than how we do it back on Galactica. With us we have to make the mathematical calculations to be sure that we're not gonna end up inside a star or planetary body, plot a course, spin up the drives and then make the jump. It's pretty much instantaneous. No piloting required. At least, nothing that requires finesse.

[truth_is_cold]

Finesse is definitely something that's required to navigate the slipstream, or you do end up in the middle of a planetary body or anomaly.

[He arranges the pieces, darker side toward him (his usual preference).]

LMAO You did not see that. XD

[buckingauthority]

Not so fun, obviously. But it sounds like a challenge. Vipers are small single person combat aircraft. Fast, maneuverable, may not look like much? But they've got plenty of teeth.

[She moves to join him on the bed, sitting on the opposite side of the board.]

Why do I get the feeling you're forming up two sides of a battle?

Why hello thar!

[truth_is_cold]

They sound like slipfighters. [The name of which, he guesses, should make them obvious.]

That's the game. The two sides are equal in number and even in position, and the different shapes of pieces have specific directions they can move to. The object is to take the king of the other side- [He holds up his king.] -by moving him from his place with one of your pieces.

Not an especially physical game, but a good way to get to know how someone thinks.

sorry again for all the lateness XD

[buckingauthority]

Sounds about right.

[She glances down at the board, noting that there's a line of pieces in the front row which look all the same. She points to them.]

Infantry?

[There's always a frontline. Having grown up with her mom in the Marine Corps, she knows the value of a strong ground-force. Cannon fodder, maybe, but sometimes that's all that's preventing the other side from winning.]

[truth_is_cold]

[He's pleasantly amused by the observation.] Indeed. The usually a pawn can only move on space, but in the first move, it can move two. [Like in a charge.]

[buckingauthority]

What about the rest?

[She points to the back row. It's pretty clear that there are some pairs but the two in the middle are singles. One was the King, so she taps her finger on the one next to it.]

Queen, right? What can she do?

[truth_is_cold]

[He smirks.] When she's free, she can do anything.

She can move as far as possible either in a straight line or diagonally, only stopped by another piece. [He makes motions with his finger to indicate what he means.]

[buckingauthority]

Anything, huh? I like the sound of that.

[Starbuck gives him amused look in return, then starts unzipping her flight suit and shoving the top half down to her hips, tying the sleeves around her middle. She's warm, okay? She tucks a strand of her pale blonde hair behind her ear and leans forward, peering at the other pieces he's carved.]

Why do I get the feeling this is the kinda game that goes on for hours.

[truth_is_cold]

Not if you become very good at it. [But yes, it can.

And he looks over her, because she is attractive, but otherwise doesn't say anything because it is hot.]

Go takes longer. But there is only one type of piece and innumerable strategies in that game. If you play chess enough, you begin to pick up patterns.

[buckingauthority]

I'm not sure if I'll have the patience for it. But hey, I'll try anything once.

[She flashes him one of her more wicked grins. The kind that's unapologetic of who or what she is. Yeah, she's no scholar. Not a lady at all. She's wants to stay free and not tied down to anyone or anything but her duty.]

So...come on, teacher, teach.

[Time Warp Comment!]

[truth_is_cold]

[And it is a long game, that requires slow build up and doesn't exactly lead to immediate gratification. But Nietzscheans have an unusual perspective about games, that everything distantly evolved from competition for survival, breeding, and resources, so even a minor game should be treated with the same reverence.

And Rhade is one to flirt while playing games, whether it throws the opponent and makes them uncomfortable, or holds their interest. Even subtle flirting, like trailing his finger around a piece as he contemplates a move, or finding excuses to touch her hands.]

I think you've gotten the hang of it.

mmmmmmm

[buckingauthority]

[Starbuck had clocked every flirtatious move and responded in kind. She wasn't the subtle type, but Rhade had set the tone and she'd rolled with it.]

I still lost.

[She shifted her focus from the board to the man she'd been playing with.]

Better luck next time, huh? Remind me to teach you Pyramid so that I can have the advantage.

[truth_is_cold]

I don't think I mind you having me at a disadvantage. [He leans back, and smirks slightly. That's a huge compliment, coming from him.]