itstopped: (upset: down)
Felix Gaeta ([personal profile] itstopped) wrote2011-12-20 08:52 pm

01: Video

[The screen turns on to show Felix, new to the barge and newly free of the breach. He's standing in the middle of a metal room, the walls honeycombed with bunk beds -- industrial in appearance, but spaced with a certain military precision.

As with the breach, he's missing the lower half of his right leg. But now, he has a clunky-looking metal prosthetic attached, extending down to a black boot, and he leans on a single forearm crutch instead of the awkward things he relied on back in town. He's neat and trimmed and wearing some kind of uniform.

And he looks very, very confused.]


What the frak was that? I thought it was a dream, or maybe even one of those visions everyone keeps having. Some last flash before the end...

...But then, how could I possibly be back on Galactica? There's no way I'm a Cylon, too... if nothing else, I don't think they'd let me resurrect like this. [He taps his crutch against his leg, with a hollow metal sound.]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 12:54 am (UTC)(link)
[They're such basic things that he almost finds himself at a loss to answer. Who doesn't know what Galactica is? What kind of people are neither Cylons nor Colonials? He takes a deep breath.]

Okay... Galactica is a Battlestar. A military ship. We've been-- we were protecting the civilian fleet after the Colonies were destroyed. I'm from Picon. Where are you from, David?

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[The more this guy talks, the more confused he gets. Battlestars? Picon? And the last he heard from Heero, the colonies were still around. Inwardly he files that information away to ask the guy if he ever comes back.]

I'm from Earth, dude. Terra Firma. The little blue world?

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately for David, this is sort of like admitting that he killed Felix's dog and buried him under the house.]

What? That's-- that's impossible.

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
I've got pictures in my room if you don't believe me. Shoes that have plenty of Earth dirt on them. Unless I grew up living a lie, I'm from Earth. So why's it 'impossible'?

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
Because Earth is a dead planet. It was nuked over 2000 years ago! And before that... there weren't any humans living there. [OH GODS CYLON CHILD.]

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Earth was nuked? Okay, you're crazy. You're fucking nuts. I know we get people from the future here, but you can't just nuke a planet. That's not even possible! [You're not from the future, guy, you're just nuts. :|]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[What the hell does "fuck" mean?]

The Cylons did it to us. To twelve of our worlds. Every city, every settlement, every shipyard, from Picon to Caprica. And they did it to themselves, on Earth, 2000 years ago. I've been there! I saw it myself!

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-21 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Dude, you're... okay. There's only one Sylar, he left months ago. There's definitely not more than one of that guy, I'd know. And since when... when did we get twelve worlds? I don't know what crazy future place you're from, but it's nowhere close to mine. Humanity hasn't even started colonizing space yet in my time.

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Felix just stares at David for a second, because it's honestly like he's speaking moon language.]

But... Earth was a colony. And not a human one.

[And he's starting to think that maybe the kid hasn't been saying Cylon, this whole time, either... He shakes his head, swaying unsteadily on his crutch, rubbing a hand over his face.]

I don't understand any of this. There can't be two Earths, can there?

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Okay, that tears it. He's so interrogating Heero for more information when he comes back. He feels like his brain's about to explode from the sheer crazy.]

Earth's a planet, dude. Not a colony. Maybe there's a colony named after the planet, but... hell, if humans aren't on Earth, what would be?

[He folds his arms, inwardly wondering if maybe he should find this guy and have a more personal kind of talk with him. What he's saying is unsettling, and what he's saying that isn't unsettling is downright fucking terrifying.]

No... no, there's no way there could be two Earths. I don't understand half of what you're saying, but I do understand that much.
Edited 2011-12-22 02:29 (UTC)

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Okay. Okay. He's going to try to calm down, because either there really are two completely different conversations happening here, or the kid is on drugs.

Or a Cylon.

But he's trying not to think about that option.]


Colonies are planets. There were twelve Colonies, populated by the twelve human tribes. And the thirteenth tribe, the Cylons, went to Earth instead. It was all Cylons. And then they nuked it and...

[He laughs, but in a really exhausted sort of way.] I don't even frakking know what they claim happen next. But destroying their own planet wasn't good enough for them, so they had to come after ours, too.

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
No. No. Just... no! You're wrong, none of that's the way it is! Heero told me what colonies are, they're just... really big floating space stations. They're big, but there's no way they're planet big!

[He's not nearly so good at calming himself down as the other guy is. This might have something to do with the fact that the Earth as he left it was facing an alien invasion and a very real threat of annihlation.]

I don't know who you are or where you're from... but you're wrong, whatever world you're talking about, there's no way it could be true. I don't know what's going on with these Sylars or how you think they nuke planets, but... no. It's just... it's never gonna happen, understand?

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Oddly, the kid's panic makes it easier for him to get a handle on his own feelings. He's always been good and calm in a crisis; it was one of the reasons he got his job back after being tried for treason the first time. His voice goes, not steely, but firm, in control.]

Listen to me, David. It did happen. They destroyed Caprica, Saggitaron, Aerilon... everything. All twelve of our Colonies. My homeworld, too, Picon. Billions of people. And when we tried to stop fighting them, they enslaved us for months. We've been fighting them for four years.

It happened. It all happened. Maybe... [Here, he takes another deep breath, running a hand through his hair.] ...Maybe, somehow, your world is different. Like what we just went through. Maybe you really have an Earth that the Cylons never touched. But that was how it happened for us.

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Alright. Alright, he's got to get a handle on himself before he can deal with this. Any of it. He swallows, struggling to put the poker face back on, to restore at least the façade of calm. There's a possibility that explains what this man is telling him, but it's so grim he can scarcely even think about it, let alone believe it.]

These... Sylars. What are they? [And Sylar, the Sylar... could he have been one of them? Could they be Yeerks, this whole group of planet-destroyers? It would explain a great deal. But if it's true... if it's true, then it means he sentenced not just his backstabbing old comrades-in-arms, not even the human race, but the entire planet, to death.]

I want to know about them. Everything. ... Where are you?

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[Felix blinks and looks around.] My rack. On Galactica. [Wait, no. Think with your brain, Lieutenant Gaeta.] Hold on.

[He limps offscreen, leaning heavily on the crutch. There's the sound of a heavy door opening, then closing a moment later. When he returns, he looks a bit frazzled.] Level five, room fifteen.

[Spam]

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[David nods, biting his lip.] Level five, room fifteen. Got it. I'll be there.

[And he wastes no time in heading down there, because this is serious shit and he's already on edge after the Winchester mess. So about six minutes later he's knocked on room fifteen's door, uncertain of what to expect. If this guy's fought Yeerks, he'll probably try to make sure he's not a Controller first. Or a Sylar, if that's what they're called now. He's tense, uncertain, half-expecting an attack from whoever this guy is.]

[Spam]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, Felix is definitely concerned about the worryingly high possibility of David being some kind of oldschool Earth Cylon. Unfortunately, the one guaranteed method of testing for skinjobs -- i.e., killing them -- no longer works, and he doesn't think he'd have the stomach to try it on a kid, anyway.

But
what if that's why the Cylons made one?

Still, he reluctantly opens the pressurization hatch and lets David into the large, honeycomb-walled metal room. There's a long table running down the middle, and it's here that Gaeta sits himself down, peering up at David warily.]


So you're from Earth.

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[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[David's on his guard as he enters the room, keenly aware that he's on this other guy's home ground, and there's no better place for an ambush. But he hasn't tried hitting him over the head yet, and that at least is a small comfort.

For now, at least.

He looks around the soldier's quarters with undisguised interest, peering closely at the honeycomb walls. It's nothing like Heero's room. It takes a moment for Gaeta to pull his attention away, and when he does, he doesn't sit down. He does amble over to the other side of the table, though.]


Yeah. I'm from Earth. The planet Earth. It's 1997 where I'm from.

[Spam]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:49 pm (UTC)(link)
[He watches David watch the room, hands knitting together anxiously atop the table. The close attention is suspicious... although when he thinks about it for another moment, he realizes that the Cylons already know what Galactica's racks look like, given how many of the crew turned out to be toasters.

Still, he's not exactly warm and friendly towards David, right now. The date, which means nothing -- less than nothing, even -- just makes him frown.]


1997 what? Not... people? That can't be right.

[Spam]

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
You're telling me.

[Now David finally gives Gaeta his full attention, his hands twitching nervously at his sides. He wants to shove them in his pockets, but he doesn't dare - if this dude does flip out on him, he wants his hands free. For all the good it would do him.]

Forget the year. I wanna know what these Sylars are.

[He's not mentioning Sylar the inmate yet, or the Yeerks. Let the lieutenant show his hand first, that's his strategy.]

[Spam]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 01:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[In person, without the tiny background hum of the wireless, it's easier to hear what David's saying. Like an "r" instead of an "n."]

It's Cylon. The Cylons. They're...

[Again, that disbelieving head-shake.]

I can't believe there's anyone who doesn't know. They're machines. Robots. Software. And some of them -- the ones in charge -- look like people. They infiltrated us, and then...

[He grits his teeth.]

1997 what? There were about 39,600 left when I died.

[Spam]

[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 01:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[Infiltrators. They are infiltrators. Oh shit. Oh shit.

The blood's drained from David's face, but he doesn't notice. His hands clench the fabric of his jeans and squeeze.]


'Cylons'... okay. Cylons. [So does that mean Sylar's out? Maybe telling the lieutenant about the guy isn't a bad idea after all.]

1997's the year. There's almost six billion people in the world. And.. [He hesitates before forcing it out.] ... we are being infiltrated. It's just started.
Edited 2011-12-22 13:12 (UTC)

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[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 01:18 pm (UTC)(link)
But Earth... our Earth, it was a Cylon planet originally. The only Cylon planet. I don't think it was ever infiltrated. Just destroyed.

[It's like two halves of a different puzzle; there are places that almost fit, but not quite. He sits forward, eyes narrowing.]

Infiltrated by what? The machines?

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[identity profile] sixthanimorph.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 01:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[What does that mean? Is he looking at this the wrong way? It's making his head hurt just trying to put it all together.]

The Earth is know is where humans come from. I thought that was true everywhere.

[And if it's not, does that mean the lieutenant's 'Cylons' are really just humans? He did say he was human, right?]

No... not machines. Aliens. Parasites. They call themselves Yeerks.

[Spam]

[identity profile] itstopped.livejournal.com 2011-12-22 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Humans come from Kobol. Twelve tribes left Kobol and made the Colonies, and the thirteenth went to Earth.

[He sounds less suspicious now -- more distant, thinking, calculating. The odds of two human populations, and two planets called Earth...] We always thought they were humans, too, the thirteenth tribe. We didn't know until we got to Earth, and then the skinjobs -- the ones that look like people -- they figured it out. Or... remembered, somehow...

[...And two infestations. He blinks, refocusing.] ...Parasites?

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