Hiding in plain view. ((open to anyone!))

[chiron_survivor]

She didn't flee to the Nexus immediately. At first, she was just in shock. The cylons were back, except this time, they were running the government. A "coalition" government, but everyone knew what that really meant.

It didn't make sense to her. They hated humans. Why not just destroy them and be done with it?

Her boyfriend assumed it was some sort of elaborate revenge plot, or a way to salvage the aspects of humanity the cylons considered worth keeping. He wanted her to agree with him, to be red-hot about it, too, but Adia was too distracted. She kept seeing Caspar's face -- the one she thought she knew -- and comparing it with the ones she kept seeing, wherever she went.

She could tell it was bothering him, that her attention was elsewhere.

Later, in the middle of the night when she knew she wouldn't be missed by any humans, and prayed she wouldn't be missed by any cylons, she PINpointed to the Nexus.

She sat at a Nexus terminal and typed out a message for anyone to read.

The cylons are on New Caprica.

Only then did she cry.

Comments

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

It's a comforting feeling, to see Oceanglide's name pop up on her PINpoint, regardless of how long or short the message is.

No. I'm in the Nexus.

((It's never too late! I'm happy you tagged. <3 The only thing is that RL is kind of crazy right now, so I hope you don't mind if my tags are sporadic and slow.))

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Were it another Decepticon, he'd have requested - ordered - a situation report, but Adia is not Cybertronian. And something about her news throws him a little. The simplicity of the announcement, perhaps, devoid of demand or warning. A message without attached expectations is unusual of late.

Would you be averse to a visit?

((:D I don't mind that at all! RL's having a similar effect for me. Hope you're keeping OK!))

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

She starts to type a response, then pauses. Is she? Does she want Oceanglide to see her like this? He's her friend -- that she does not doubt -- but there is an understanding, too, of what falls under that domain, and she isn't sure being a soppy mess is included.

It's the way he phrased his question, the gentleness of it, that finally gets her typing again. You can visit me. I'm staying in the Nexus for a little while longer.

((Trying my best, hope you're keeping OK too!))

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

I will be there shortly.

One might question what that means, with the Nexus definition of time. But it's only a few minutes before Oceanglide arrives in the area and seeks her out, his steps slowing as he approaches her.

His armour's less polished than usual, a few dents and scrapes visible. But it's been well scrubbed, and the smell of chemical astringent lingers with him. His manner is a little different, too - there's a sort of diffident caution to him, as if he's expecting to deal with trouble. He looks about with unconscious coolness, stops a few feet away.

"Adia?" His voice is quiet, cautious. He wants to take stock of her reaction. Robots are perhaps not the easiest sight for her right now.

((Not bad, thank you!))

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

It's enough time for her to wipe at her face and try to look presentable, although she can't hide her fatigue or her red-rimmed eyes.

She looks up when she hears her name. It is fortunate that he bears little resemblance to a Centurion; she concentrates on the differences. "Hi," she says softly. Fishing around for something to say that won't end in a sob, she adds, "Thanks for coming."

It sounds weak, to her, though she means it. She's glad she's here, even if it only shows in the way she slightly relaxes the grip on her PINpoint and doesn't turn away from him.

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

He inclines his head in answer: it would be impolite to draw attention to her present weakness. It's somewhat of an awkward situation, for a Decepticon - true comfort isn't their strong point. Encouragement is much easier.

That said, Oceanglide is not most Decepticons. He's dealt with the hurt and the broken before - been required to actually try and help them. Adia's at least more lucid than Waterlog on a bad day, he points out to himself. He pulls up a chair, absent-mindedly testing its strength before he sits.

"An unexpected turn of events," he says quietly, conscious of the understatement. "May I ask what the situation is currently?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Not so unexpected," Adia replies quietly, her voice a little rough around the edges. "Right before we settled on New Caprica, one of our ships exploded. The cylons were able to trace that to us."

"They arrived a few days ago. A contingent of the human-looking ones and thousands of armed Centurions." Her gaze drops as she recalls the order of events, but it doesn't seem to trouble her to answer. "They secured our colony and then met with President Baltar. Everyone was on lockdown. It was... several hours, maybe. And then they announced that they were setting up a provisional government with us. That they had a change of heart about us. As of when I left, the cylons were building some settlements and integrating themselves into our programs."

Adia is a lot more open-minded towards the cylons than most humans, far more open-minded than one would expect or the cylons probably deserve. And yet she cannot help but look disturbed at the notion -- fearful, angry, and perhaps even a little disgusted. How dare they nearly annihilate all of her kind and then come back and pretend that all is forgiven. How dare they.

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

"And suddenly your home is not your own." He sounds as if he shares some of that disgust. It reminds him of what happened after the truce, of age-old enemies so-politely invading posts and territories and old haunts. But like it or not, he and the Decepticons had time to understand what would change and why - even to return the favour.

How much more disorienting must it be for Adia's people, their haven turned into a prison around them in a few short hours?

Oceanglide clicks to himself as if forgetting she's human. "A change of heart," he echoes sardonically. "How kind of them. Have they given any indication of what brought about this sea change?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

His empathy is like a life preserver, and she holds onto it to keep herself from drowning in her despair. Even his robotic sounds are comforting, because she can hear the understanding in them. She shakes her head and sits up a little straighter. "Not really. Some people think it's an elaborate revenge plot, or maybe we have something that they want, and the only way they can get it is by preserving our colony."

Her expression changes; the anger and fear replaced with something akin to sorrow. "Some of them were sleeper agents, like the one I knew. It turns out, if a cylon dies, its consciousness downloads into a new body. So maybe... maybe some of them remember being human, and don't want to lose that part of themselves."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Oceanglide can't think of anything a mechanoid race would need from humans, how elaborate their intended revenge would need to be - though it's true, if you want prolonged suffering you'd need be careful of human fragility. But then, the cylons are human creations - who knows how they function, or what they need to maintain themselves.

His optics flicker at the mention of downloading: he seems surprised, then pensive as he speaks. "Remote download. That is interesting. Very much so. An escape from death for all of the fallen. One wonders... well, it certainly sheds light on their previous strategies."

He pauses, then adds, "I cannot speak to the desirability of humanity, of course. Though I suspect their self-discovery may have been traumatic. Depending on the skill of their creators. And their... existing attachments. Your friend..."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Their suicide missions, you mean?" She smiles sadly. "It's incredibly clever, and so obvious, too. I mean, if you're already making many copies of each model, why not keep some around as spares?"

She looks down; he doesn't need to elaborate. "Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part," she murmurs. "Because if he is alive, I'd hate to think that... that everything he was could just be shrugged off, like a costume." The corners of her mouth tighten into a frown. "He hasn't tried to contact me. I-- I've seen a few of his model walking around but they've all just looked through me."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

"It does explain their supply of skilled yet 'disposable' agents." Easy for Oceanglide to imagine commanders being cavalier about their assassins' lives. Not so easy to understand how said assassins would tolerate it. "Intriguing technology, to be certain... but there you've found the cost already, I think. It is feasible if you are prepared to share the form of a thousand others - with all their strengths and failings."

He draws his hands together, twining his fingers as he frowns. "Whomever he has found himself to be, there is also the question of whether he can contact you. Whether he dares to risk drawing sensors toward you." A sort of wry sadness then. "Whether he dares to face you now."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

It's a good point, and it makes Adia wonder briefly, somewhat unwillingly, about how that affects cylon psychology. "They won't say how they created human forms, and why only seven... not that I expect them to. But maybe it does limit them in other ways."

"Dares to face me?" She looks up at Oceanglide incredulously, then fights off a sudden wave of misery. "Wouldn't that just be something," she says. "Him out there, worried about me... and not giving me any sort of sign so I can be just as worried."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Oceanglide shrugs it off. "Of course, you would not notice. You're accustomed to a single form."

He tilts his head a little, then. "If he believes you feel him a traitor, he is bound to fear your reaction, is he not?" He says it as if it's the most natural response imaginable. If Oceanglide didn't know how Adia felt himself, he'd expect the same. "Only more so if he still harbours affection. There are other possibilities, yet- perhaps you should not be concerned with those."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Do you have anything like that where you are from?" Adia asks, somewhat timidly. She doesn't think of Oceanglide as a cylon, but he's the closest to them, in some ways. She values his insight, regardless.

Her stomach twists -- that weird mix of hope and disgust with herself that she'd even consider the possibility of Caspar still having feelings for her. But she does nod at Oceanglide's question. "No, you're right. It's just..." She sighs shakily. "We're all afraid of cylons, but we-- the civilians, anyway -- we haven't really seen them, not when they were chasing us through space. But now. Now they're everywhere, but now some of them are wearing his face. We could be wiped off New Caprica on a whim. It's hard to imagine a cylon afraid of me, for any reason."

She exhales slowly after that confession, then looks a little anxious. "Other possibilities?"

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

"Hardly. Some Cybertronians share similar designs, but never exactly alike. Regularity breeds lines of weakness... and besides that, one always wishes to stand out. These cylons are alien creatures." Their attitude is mystifying to him, at least in this respect. He can't decide if they're too human to act differently, or too young to know better.

"I understand. Yet you would be astonished how easily those with power 'forget' their advantages. Even when their intentions are... kind." He wavers on that 'even' - almost says 'especially'. His voice is a little tighter, almost cutting. Though the disapproval isn't for Adia. It's just a sensitive subject.

Accordingly, he's silent a moment, questioning whether he's raising spectres only because he knows of them. He chooses to be respectful, in his way: speak what he knows, allow her to judge it for herself. "For example. Some - lost and afraid, unsure of who they are - will cling to those who welcome them, seeking to place a gulf between themselves and the life they had before."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

A small smile passes over her face. There's something oddly reassuring about Oceanglide calling cylons "alien". "We obviously don't, either. We have some cloning technology, but not for humans."

If she weren't so exhausted, she'd give deeper thought to his words, puzzle over their significance to his life. Instead, she's just grateful that his example is something that had already crossed her mind. "Oh, I don't doubt that. They're very... close with each other. They take their unity very seriously." A mental image of one of the tall, strikingly beautiful blonde models welcoming Caspar back with open arms pops into her head and she frowns at the sudden surge of irrational jealousy. "It's one thing humans could learn from them. We wouldn't be in this mess if we had that kind of cohesion... but then we wouldn't be human, I guess."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Oceanglide tilts his head. "You seem very alike to us. Externally, for certain. There seems to be so little leeway for modification..."

He nods a little, remarks quietly: "It's little to envy. Harmony is the wingmate of stagnation." Unity and closeness... no need to wonder what his fellow Decepticons would make of all that. "How far will they go to preserve that unity, I wonder? Whether to quell tempests or prove that they belong."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

She blinks at him and that small smile stays on her face a while longer. "Other species look very alike to us, too, but they find a way to tell each other apart. I imagine there are some humans who would love to modify themselves as you do."

"I don't know," she sighs. "Another Nexus friend of mine, she was here earlier. She's psychic. She told me there was a lot of disagreement among the cylons about coming to New Caprica and trying to live with humans." She fidgets with her hands and adds, "I'm not sure how they finally decided on coming here."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Not knowing why she's smiling brings a flicker of wariness to his core. He keeps it to himself and snuffs it swiftly. Ridiculous to be concerned if an organic is laughing at him, especially one who's friendly. "Some, I'm sure. But you wouldn't be among them?"

"Hmm." He's not certain about psychics, but he's not going to question Adia's friend in front of her. It's not as if it's a far-fetched assessment. "That makes it all the harder to know whether to trust their decision. Although since they have committed themselves now, that should weight matters toward stability. I assume they're not willing to share their rationales freely?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

If Adia had any idea that Oceanglide was the least bit concerned that she was laughing at him, she'd be surprised, to say the least. She's always been one to worry that others are simply humoring her, or worse -- not nearly as worried as she was in junior high, but that insecurity has stuck with her. It'd certainly be something to know that even a cool-headed, take-charge Decepticon feels that way at times.

Of course, the reality of knowing that she might have upset Oceanglide, however unintentionally, would set off a guilt spiral that would be hard for her to recover from, especially in her fragile state. Best that she never knows. "I don't know... I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything, but I'm used to how I look. It'd be weird to be radically different."

She nods -- his assumption is on the mark. "I was thinking about what my friend said... maybe they don't want us to know how much they're arguing among themselves about this because it shows weakness." She shivers uneasily. "I just can't help but think that some of them still want all of us dead and they're just biding their time."

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

Pride's an issue for most 'Cons, of course. But there's also the fact that part of Oceanglide is still wired to expect mockery and manipulation. And to fear it. When people feel comfortable disrespecting you...

But he is sure of Adia's good intentions. And, admittedly, of her ineptitude for such games. For him, that's even more reassuring. Especially right now.

"Yes. But to be stronger would bring relief from your fears. If you possessed the ability to protect yourself - or to climb the skies, or sense approaching danger - would that not be a change for the better?" Oceanglide tilts his head; he's testing, seeking to judge... something. He doesn't know what cnclusions he's likely to find.

He's also not reassuring. "Most probably. They need time and opportunity to outmanoeuvre their comrades' objections; as for the well-intentioned... perhaps they are afraid you would 'misinterpret' the situation."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

Adia may have failed Mean Girls 101 (not that she'd ever want to pass a class like that), but she's not oblivious to Oceanglide's look. It gives her enough pause to frame her answer more thoughtfully than she might have otherwise. "Those things sound very useful. They're the sorts of abilities humans obtain with technology, though, not by physically being it. Not that that's bad, it's just... it's not how organics work."

She wasn't expecting him to disagree with her, but it doesn't help her anxiety much. "Misinterpret?"

[sole-captain.livejournal.com]

"I see." His optics flicker and Oceanglide seems to frown - why anyone would rather rely on external tools is beyond him. But this isn't the time to debate the distinction. He nods slightly. "I suppose we all have limits to what we will become."

His explanation is given in a casual tone, but there's a definite coolness to it. "Why, just imagine if the opinions of their hostile friends were public. It might stir alarm, incite panic among irrational people. Their peace would be dead before it was born. And merely because a few of them are angry still - that does not mean you have any reason... any right... to be concerned."