Say something, I'm giving up on you.
Mar. 4th, 2017 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chiron_survivorIt is the smallest of blessings that they don’t come for her in the night like the others.
Instead, she’s greeted in the morning by a masked police officer and an armed Centurion. The police officer is polite, informs her that the Cylons only want to ask her a few questions about her neighbor, a suspect in the most recent Resistance bombing. He waits for her to get her coat and gently herds her towards the detention center.
She thinks about running. She thinks about the PINpoint hidden under her mattress.
She thinks about the shiny metal robot with machine guns for arms following a pace behind her and she lets herself be guided without protest.
By the time she is led into an interrogation room and told to have a seat, her heart is ready to hammer out of her chest. Nobody has threatened her yet. Nobody needs to. This is already her worst nightmare.
A Three walks into the room. It’s a Cylon model that Adia doesn’t have much experience with, which only worsens her anxiety. The Three is brusque right off the bat, grilling for what feels like hours, probing her for any information about her neighbor.
Adia doesn’t know anything about her neighbor or the bombings. But she’s still nervous. She thinks about Will, and her PINpoint. She has secrets, even if they aren’t the ones Three is asking about.
The Cylon seems to sense this. She hovers over her with a small, sadistic smile on her face. Maybe there’s something Adia would like to get off her chest? She’s been such a good girl so far, why not do herself a favor and tell the Cylons what she knows? Withholding information is a felony, after all. Punishable by all sorts of nasty things.
It’s a credible threat, and Adia feels herself buckling under the pressure. Hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes in shame. The one time she needs to be strong, and she’s failing.
The door opens and in walks a Five, one of Caspar’s model. He is wearing the ugliest suit that Adia has ever seen. “Can I see you outside for a minute?” he asks Three. Three’s expression sours, but she follows her fellow Cylon out the door, closing it behind her with a loud click.
Adia squeezes her eyes shut in the resounding silence. She should be using the time to herself draw from her reserves, to harden herself against another round of interrogation, but all she can do is dig her fingernails into her palms and mouth frantically, Don’t cry, don’t cry don’t cry.
Five returns into the room, alone. “Ms. Costas? Follow me, please.” She stands up, but hesitates, afraid of where she’ll be led to next. The Cylon sighs and adds, “You’ve been dismissed from questioning. I’m going to show you out.”
Her chest expands in a wave of relief and she looks up, meeting his gaze.
It’s Caspar.
She doesn’t know how she knows. Maybe it’s because he looks at her, instead of through her, like every other Five she’s seen. Maybe it’s because the hard lines of his face soften slightly before he turns away to hold the door open and politely usher her through. But it is him, even if he’s dressed like a used car salesman and won’t acknowledge her otherwise.
It’s a maze of corridors back to the exit. Caspar doesn’t say anything, just walks in silence with a neutral expression on his face. Adia doesn’t say anything, either, but she can’t stop looking at him. It’s the closest she’s been to him in years. He’s still so handsome. She doesn’t bother to deny it. She self-consciously wishes that she didn’t look so unclean. Her hair is a mess. Her coat is filthy. She stares at his cheekbones, the curve of his lower lip. He doesn’t glance her way, not once.
They turn a corner and the exit is straight in front of them. Adia’s heart starts hammering again, out of nervousness and something else. She should say something while she has the chance — that she misses him, or that she forgives him. She should tell him that even if things didn’t work out, she’s glad that he’s alive.
But doubt creeps in and keeps her quiet. What if it isn’t him? Wouldn’t he have said something by now? Given her a clue? What if she’s wrong and makes a fool of herself?
They are at the exit. Caspar has his hand on one of the main doors. Adia swallows down her fears. It’s now or never. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, of course.” Caspar opens the door and steps through. He doesn’t look at her.
Adia steps outside. There is a pair of Centurions at the door with several more stationed outside. A dozen humans are milling about, either waiting desperately for the release of a loved one or silently protesting the detention center itself. She looks back at Caspar and forces herself to speak, the words coming out in a stuttered jumble. “I knew one of you once. A Five. His name was Caspar Millen. Do you know what happened to him?”
It’s not the question she wants to ask, but it’s close.
Caspar frowns in disdain. “He died,” he answers quickly, still not looking at her.
Her hears sinks. Maybe it’s not him. She should let it drop. But she can’t, now that’s she come this far. “I know, but… but you resurrect, don’t you?”
He finally looks at her. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but for a brief moment she sees something broken and tender flash behind his eyes.
And then he’s nothing but a cold, hard mask.
“That’s none of your concern,” He snaps. “Question time is over, go back to your quarters.” He shoves her away, hard enough that she loses her balance and falls into the dirt. Her arms brace her impact, but she can feel her heart shatter into a million pieces anyway. The tears she worked so hard to keep hidden spill out of her like a flood.
Out of the corner of her blurry vision, she sees Caspar step towards her and hesitantly offer a hand. “Don’t touch me,” she sobs, or maybe she just thinks it. He backs off.
Other hands take hold of her, gentle ones that belong to an old woman with kind eyes. She pets Adia’s hair and murmurs comforting words while a boy barely in his teens offers Adia a clean cloth to wipe her face and dirtied hands. Together they help her to her feet and walk her back to the settlement.
She doesn’t look back, not once. She won’t give the Cylon wearing Caspar’s face the satisfaction.
((tl;dr -- Adia is unjustly questioned until a Five comes to her rescue. Adia works up the nerve to talk to him, thinking that it's Caspar. It doesn't go well.))
Instead, she’s greeted in the morning by a masked police officer and an armed Centurion. The police officer is polite, informs her that the Cylons only want to ask her a few questions about her neighbor, a suspect in the most recent Resistance bombing. He waits for her to get her coat and gently herds her towards the detention center.
She thinks about running. She thinks about the PINpoint hidden under her mattress.
She thinks about the shiny metal robot with machine guns for arms following a pace behind her and she lets herself be guided without protest.
By the time she is led into an interrogation room and told to have a seat, her heart is ready to hammer out of her chest. Nobody has threatened her yet. Nobody needs to. This is already her worst nightmare.
A Three walks into the room. It’s a Cylon model that Adia doesn’t have much experience with, which only worsens her anxiety. The Three is brusque right off the bat, grilling for what feels like hours, probing her for any information about her neighbor.
Adia doesn’t know anything about her neighbor or the bombings. But she’s still nervous. She thinks about Will, and her PINpoint. She has secrets, even if they aren’t the ones Three is asking about.
The Cylon seems to sense this. She hovers over her with a small, sadistic smile on her face. Maybe there’s something Adia would like to get off her chest? She’s been such a good girl so far, why not do herself a favor and tell the Cylons what she knows? Withholding information is a felony, after all. Punishable by all sorts of nasty things.
It’s a credible threat, and Adia feels herself buckling under the pressure. Hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes in shame. The one time she needs to be strong, and she’s failing.
The door opens and in walks a Five, one of Caspar’s model. He is wearing the ugliest suit that Adia has ever seen. “Can I see you outside for a minute?” he asks Three. Three’s expression sours, but she follows her fellow Cylon out the door, closing it behind her with a loud click.
Adia squeezes her eyes shut in the resounding silence. She should be using the time to herself draw from her reserves, to harden herself against another round of interrogation, but all she can do is dig her fingernails into her palms and mouth frantically, Don’t cry, don’t cry don’t cry.
Five returns into the room, alone. “Ms. Costas? Follow me, please.” She stands up, but hesitates, afraid of where she’ll be led to next. The Cylon sighs and adds, “You’ve been dismissed from questioning. I’m going to show you out.”
Her chest expands in a wave of relief and she looks up, meeting his gaze.
It’s Caspar.
She doesn’t know how she knows. Maybe it’s because he looks at her, instead of through her, like every other Five she’s seen. Maybe it’s because the hard lines of his face soften slightly before he turns away to hold the door open and politely usher her through. But it is him, even if he’s dressed like a used car salesman and won’t acknowledge her otherwise.
It’s a maze of corridors back to the exit. Caspar doesn’t say anything, just walks in silence with a neutral expression on his face. Adia doesn’t say anything, either, but she can’t stop looking at him. It’s the closest she’s been to him in years. He’s still so handsome. She doesn’t bother to deny it. She self-consciously wishes that she didn’t look so unclean. Her hair is a mess. Her coat is filthy. She stares at his cheekbones, the curve of his lower lip. He doesn’t glance her way, not once.
They turn a corner and the exit is straight in front of them. Adia’s heart starts hammering again, out of nervousness and something else. She should say something while she has the chance — that she misses him, or that she forgives him. She should tell him that even if things didn’t work out, she’s glad that he’s alive.
But doubt creeps in and keeps her quiet. What if it isn’t him? Wouldn’t he have said something by now? Given her a clue? What if she’s wrong and makes a fool of herself?
They are at the exit. Caspar has his hand on one of the main doors. Adia swallows down her fears. It’s now or never. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, of course.” Caspar opens the door and steps through. He doesn’t look at her.
Adia steps outside. There is a pair of Centurions at the door with several more stationed outside. A dozen humans are milling about, either waiting desperately for the release of a loved one or silently protesting the detention center itself. She looks back at Caspar and forces herself to speak, the words coming out in a stuttered jumble. “I knew one of you once. A Five. His name was Caspar Millen. Do you know what happened to him?”
It’s not the question she wants to ask, but it’s close.
Caspar frowns in disdain. “He died,” he answers quickly, still not looking at her.
Her hears sinks. Maybe it’s not him. She should let it drop. But she can’t, now that’s she come this far. “I know, but… but you resurrect, don’t you?”
He finally looks at her. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but for a brief moment she sees something broken and tender flash behind his eyes.
And then he’s nothing but a cold, hard mask.
“That’s none of your concern,” He snaps. “Question time is over, go back to your quarters.” He shoves her away, hard enough that she loses her balance and falls into the dirt. Her arms brace her impact, but she can feel her heart shatter into a million pieces anyway. The tears she worked so hard to keep hidden spill out of her like a flood.
Out of the corner of her blurry vision, she sees Caspar step towards her and hesitantly offer a hand. “Don’t touch me,” she sobs, or maybe she just thinks it. He backs off.
Other hands take hold of her, gentle ones that belong to an old woman with kind eyes. She pets Adia’s hair and murmurs comforting words while a boy barely in his teens offers Adia a clean cloth to wipe her face and dirtied hands. Together they help her to her feet and walk her back to the settlement.
She doesn’t look back, not once. She won’t give the Cylon wearing Caspar’s face the satisfaction.
((tl;dr -- Adia is unjustly questioned until a Five comes to her rescue. Adia works up the nerve to talk to him, thinking that it's Caspar. It doesn't go well.))
