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]

"Is there a way to become resistant, on your Earth?" That does sound preferable, come to think of it.

"Dionysius," she replies, looking up at him. "The God of Wine. There's a prayer you say when you open a bottle of wine, but it's more custom than anything. Like saying 'Bless You' when someone sneezes."

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

"Same way as with everything else: Take small doses until your body becomes used to it." Something, he notes, that he himself should be practicing, though not with alcohol.

"What is the prayer for? Thanks? Or asking that the wine is good?" He steps ahead of her to open the door when they come to their destination.

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"I tried that in college with alcohol and all it did was add to my Freshman 15." She smiles briefly, then pauses, unsure if Martel will get the joke. "I mean, it just added empty calories to my diet."

"The first," she replies, stepping through the door and taking a look around. "He invented wine-making. I mean, according to myth. He's supposed to be kind to mortals, unlike his followers."

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

He crooks an eyebrow and opens his mouth to ask when she explains. "Ah. Well, you don't look any worse for it."

It's warm and the light from the windows is helped by the weak lights. Lichtenstein gravitates towards a corner booth out of habit. "Unlike his followers?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," Adia replies drily, taking the pseudo-compliment as it was intended. "That was a while ago, anyway."

The bar looks so peacefully mundane, compared to the Nexus and even her current home, that she feels a bit disoriented. She follows Martel to a booth and slips into it, sinking into the creaking leather seat with a sigh. "It was a cult... I forget the name, it was a long time ago, made up of mostly women. They would drink themselves into a kind of frenzy. They killed Orpheus, supposedly -- the son of one of the muses."

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

It looks like she needed a proper seat. He, however, does not sit. After all, someone needs to get the drinks, and she looks like she needs one of those as well as a comfy seat. "A good tale to keep someone from over drinking. Is there something in particular you would like to drink, or will I order for you?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Unless they wanted to be in a frenzy," Adia muses halfheartedly. "You can order for me, sure." Normally she'd have more of a preference of what she'd like to drink, but she's not really in the mood to make a decision, big or small.

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

"I could only imagine their train of thought." Even then, he doubts he would want to. It's probably a good thing, then, that the Cylons have a different religion.

He's only at the bar for a few minutes before he returns with a brandy for her and a pint for himself. When he sits, he relaxes a little and pulls his beer closer. "That won't send you into a frenzy, but it should help."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

Adia pokes at the water stains on the table top while Lich is at the bar, her gaze unfocused. Her mind is still stuck on religion, however useless it is to dwell on. She wonders how the cylons developed a religion in the first place. They certainly didn't need a creation myth, or even stories about the afterlife. Who needs Hades when you can just download into a new body?

She has a good guess what he chose for her, based on the shape of the glass and the color of a liquid. Her guess is confirmed when she takes a sip, screwing her face up a little as it burns its way down her throat, but in a good way. "Thanks," she says. "I used to drink hot toddies on Aquarion."

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

He watches her expression carefully, but once she thanks him he feels free to sip his own drink. "Hot toddies? Is drinking a big part of your culture? Other than the cults, of course."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Hot tea and brandy," she explains before taking another sip. The brandy goes down a little easier this time, but Lich does not have to worry about Adia chugging her drink. "Somehow the brandy doesn't taste so strong when it's warm..."

She blinks at his question, unsure how to answer. "I guess. I mean, it's something to be enjoyed, not overdone. Leonis had a lot of vineyards. We produced a lot of good wine. But we didn't have alcohol with every meal or anything like that. How about where you're from?"

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

He raises an eyebrow. That was not a drink combination he would have thought of. Then again, he doesn't think about drinks on a regular basis.

It's such a curious thought; that Leonis, this alien planet so far removed from his own reality, would have vineyards just like his world. The thoughtful look passes and he answers her question a moment later. "Where I come from, a pint is usually a treat that you get as often as you can. It's a business the economy can rely on sticking around. I'm certain that many would overdo it if they afford to."

He makes a thoughtful noise. "Perhaps that explains the insistence on having a sensible wife."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"I think I'd take that cake I had over the pint, most times," Adia comments, looking into her drink. "But I suppose there's always a market for both. People need treats, otherwise life can get very hard..."

His final comment makes her look up, a little confused by the change in subject. "Someone pressuring you to settle down?" If not for the burden of current events, Adia probably would have sounded more teasing, but she manages to muster up some amusement. "Isn't it your sister's job to keep you out of trouble?"

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

"Next time I will insist you have Black Forest gateau, or another alcohol infused cake," he offers as a compromise. "Presuming you find yourself in need of either again."

He blinks at her questions. "Yes, no. Ah... No. It's mine. I just thought it was a good explanation for the insistence of a nice family unit. It would keep alcoholics on a straighter, narrower path. Not that I am an alcoholic. Or being pressured to settle down for my own benefit." Much.

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Thanks." She smiles faintly. Her trip to Martel's world is a fond memory, one she cherishes, and not just because of the cake.

Adia gives his response some thought while she takes another swallow of brandy. "I've heard a lot of reasons to get married," she replies finally. "I guess that's one of them. But I wouldn't want the responsibility of keeping someone on the straight and narrow. Is that the main life path, on your world? To get married, have kids, that sort of thing?"

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

Lichtenstein nods in agreement about the responsibility involved. There are people who don't mind that responsibility, of course, but Lichtenstein always thought them strange. He takes a generous swig of his drink before he answers. "That would depend on who you ask. For my mother, it was. For my father, it was second only to professional excellence. For some people I have met, just surviving seems to be enough."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

It's the first time Martel has mentioned his parents that Adia can remember and she pauses a little before speaking. "That's how it is where I am, too. It's sort of expected that eventually you'll meet the right person, or people, and start a family, but since the war started, a lot of people have put that on hold." Another small pause, and then she asks, "What were your parents like?" It doesn't sound like it's a sore spot for him, but one can never tell. Very few people her age have living parents, unless their entire family was able to escape the destruction of the colonies.

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

It is always interesting to see how similar their world's are, despite the different culture and situation. Her question makes him hesitate and frown a little. In fairness to her, he was the one who brought them up and he is well aware that it is customary to ask about these things.

Lichtenstein sets down his drink and shrugs. "My mother was my sister's teacher, my father my own. My father was... He was like myself in regards to his fascination with medicine. Though for some reason, which I will never understand, continuously aspired to be regarded as Upper Class." He mouth twitches. "He was a good doctor, but a talentless socialiser."

He sighs and taps his glass absently. "My mother was a good housemaker, a good wife and a good mother. She excelled at keeping the family... stable."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

Adia doesn't miss the subtext of his reply, listening with an apologetic expression on her face for bringing it up. She can't help but wonder what happened to them, but she knows it'd be far too rude to ask. "Must have been frustrating, watching him try," she ventures tentatively.

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

"For everyone other than himself, it seemed," he remarked with the vaguest of amused tones. "I tend not to talk about him. That way Helena keeps her idealised image of him. She didn't know him well. It's best."

His brow lifts as a thought occurs to him. "Ironic that I don't talk of the dead, but I'll talk to them."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"I used to talk about my parents all the time," Adia muses after another sip of brandy. "I miss them so much. But almost everyone I know has lost their families." She adds, looking regretful, "Must be crowded in our afterworld..." How foolish she was, to try to contact Caspar when the chance arose. She should have tried to reach her parents.

"Have you ever tried to contact someone you knew? Or is that too awkward?"

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

Despite her mentioning her parents before, Lichtenstein had never considered that their passing might still upset Adia. The more he thinks about it, the more he realises that there are a few painful things in Adia's life that she keeps close. "Does it help? Talking about them."

Her question, as her questions often do, makes him frown. There's a long silence before he replies. "No. I wouldn't hold any value in it." He sits up and takes a breath before explaining. "When I contact someone, I... it is another plane, yes, but it's not an afterlife, exactly. I don't believe it is. I don't believe there is an afterlife. Perhaps that's why I don't enter one, or don't see it as one. Perhaps there simply isn't one in my world. I contact... To the average person they might appear to be souls, but they're only the gathered remnants of one, as far as I'm concerned. Like taking many echoes and getting a voice."

He relaxes back into his seat. "I don't believe I'm doing what people pay me to do. Telling people this is very bad for business." He pauses, his frown deepening. "You must understand, I know that perhaps I should have explained this to you before, but... It's the closest anyone comes to speaking to the dead. It almost always gets the expected result."

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes." Her gaze drops, almost guiltily. "I was very close to them. They were good parents. But when you're grieving, you don't always know what will make things better and what won't."

Perhaps it's her exhaustion, or maybe the brandy, but it takes her a few seconds for what he's telling her to sink in. It makes sense, of course, considering Martel's religious views, but she can't help but feel a little hurt. "Good thing Caspar isn't dead, then," she murmurs, too tired or too insecure to chastise him further.

[nevertrustcrows.livejournal.com]

"Better to not know what to do, and have lost little, than to know how to cope and lost much," he mumbles, then looks up from his drink. "Unless you have a different set of values, of course."

He doesn't know why he feels concerned about telling her now that he has. She deserved to know the facts as he saw them. That's what scientists do, isn't it? Share facts. "Mm, perhaps." A moment of silence before, "How would you know it was him? If he did find you, could you tell the difference between an imposter and the real Caspar?"

[chiron-survivor.livejournal.com]

"If only I had lost little," She replies with a sad smile. "Nobody else seems to know what to do with their grief, either, so at least I'm not alone."

That's a good question, one that keeps her quiet for a minute. She fills up the time with a long swallow of brandy and careful placement of her glass back on the table while she thinks. "If one of his model really wanted to deceive me -- I don't know. But I... I've passed a few of them, and when they look at me, it's like they don't even see me. There would be some recognition in his eyes." She hopes. It's a horrible feeling that he would just look right through her, like all the others.