[AU] Sleepover, Man-Style

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 11:08pm by Cailus Griffin & Captain Nycolas Temple
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:01pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Captain’s Ready Room

A Mission Post by Captain Nycolas Temple & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Captain’s Ready Room
Timeline:
Wed Aug 8th, 2018 @ 6:14am

The mission was simple but its execution was difficult, its chanc es of success low. A clear plan of attack had been laid out, but the enemy was an insidious and resilient foe that had prospered during the past year inside the Bubble. Cailus and Shae had long been concerned about the enemy’s influence on Captain Temple and Lieutenant Vecon, and so just over a year after the incident had occurred that had ripped the Pandora fragment from their home universe, Cailus and Shae planned their counterattack.

Thus, early one evening, Cailus departed their quarters with purpose, a modest duffel bag slung from one shoulder. Clad for once in casual clothing, just an ordinary blue shirt and brown shorts that seemed somehow criminal on the eternally uptight security chief, Cailus made his way to the turbolift shaft, meeting only a red-shirted young woman who smiled nervously as he passed. Curious; even among a group of less than thirty, the Asian girl still managed to not stick in the memory. Cailus couldn’t even remember her name off-hand.

Climbing onto the dimly-lit Bridge, Cailus exchanged a polite nod with the half-awake Yugrid (who had inventively made the CO and XO chairs face each other so she could plop her feet on the XO chair) before he moved to the ready room, knocking on the door.

Nyx opened the door though his face was concentrated solely on a PADD. “Yes?” He asked, only barely flitting his eyes up to the Lieutenant before returning them to his reading.

Stepping inside promptly, Cailus opened his duffel bag and pulled out a small isolinear chip, waiting for the doors to close behind him. “Watney Pioneers vs Houston United, Sol Superbowl of 2301,” he said simply, holding the chip up. “I’ve been told that it was the best game for decades.”

The Captain looked up and gave a quiet nod, his eyes twinkling just a little at thought of some actual entertainment. "Sounds like a very good idea." Just before the doors closed, Nyx stuck his head out of the doorway and gave a stern look to Yugrid, his eyes focusing on her feet on the XO's chair. It was one of those silent requests that didn't need words to convey his thoughts.

It took a moment for the young Tellarite to cotton on that the captain was looking at her, but upon realising, she jumped, then sheepishly returned her feet to their proper position on the deck. “Sorry, Captain,” she apologised in a whisper before flicking on her own PADD to find something to do besides doze off.

Walking back inside his office, Nyx tossed the PADD onto his desk on his way towards the couch. He rolled himself onto the soft cushion and allowed himself to relax. "You're saving me from a tension headache after reading far too many reports."

“And you’re saving me from an all night pyjama party with Shae and Fick,” Cailus retorted wryly, moving to the large screen on the bulkhead opposite the couch. While normally used for mission briefings or the captain’s personal communications, the screen also doubled perfectly as a way for the CO to watch 2D entertainment, something that Cailus had always suspected was intentional on the part of the Luna-class designers. Inserting the chip into a slot underneath the screen, Cailus soon joined Nyx on the couch, depositing his bag on the deck with a loud and suspicious clink.

“Computer, play recording,” Cailus ordered curtly, and the large screen duly flicked on, showing two human men and a Vulcan woman sitting around a table, all talking with very serious expressions. Glancing at Nyx, Cailus shifted a little into a more comfortable position, relaxing with relish. “Damn, we don’t have a couch as comfortable as this.”

Nyx gave a chortle, "It was originally in the Counsellor's Office. But after Doctor Oakley was transferred, I... well, obtained it." He winked with a devilish grin. "But that's between me and you."

Cailus rolled his eyes, even as he privately rued that he hadn’t thought of doing the same thing. “Captains,” he grumbled in half-feigned irritation. “Always finding the best way to get ahead.”

The Captain relaxed back into the lounge and looked to the screen, as the talking heads from the panel continued to discuss the game. It began to feel like a regular Sunday afternoon at home, just relaxing and watching sports. After a minute, Nyx's gaze started to peer around the room as if searching for something. "You know what's missing? Snacks."

“I can do one better,” Cailus remarked with the faintest of smirks, bending forward to open the bag, and upon coming back up, he held the most impossible, invaluable treasure: two bottles of ice-cold beer, with a label that brightly announced them as ‘Greens: 100% Martian lager’. Opening the bottles with deftness, Cailus handed Nyx one of the beers.

“I replicated this kit just after we fought the Ravagers at Salvaxe,” Cailus explained casually, watching the screen, which now showed an immense stadium under a red sky, filled to the brim with enthusiastic spectators. “I’ve been saving it for the right time. There are six more bottles in there, and a bag of chips.”

Nyx let out an enthusiastic cheer. "You marvellous, crafty man!" He exclaimed, looking over the beer's label with careful consideration. "If we weren't both married, I'd have to propose to you right now for this. I think this is the best thing I've seen in months."

“You’re welcome,” Cailus grunted as he clinked his bottle against Nyx’s, keeping an eye on the screen, although truthfully, Cailus was stopping himself from smiling. It really was good to his lonely friend happy, even if that happiness had required a considerable bribe. “Just do me a favour and don’t tell Shae about the chips. She doesn’t particularly like this beer, but if she learns that I had chips and didn’t share them with her, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Nyx paused mid-drink, the bottle held tentatively to his lips as he stared back at Griffin. He slowly lowered his beer again and said with utter concern, “You do remember that your wife has an incredible sense of smell, right? If she hasn’t already picked up the scent of those chips, I’m sure she will eventually. I’d hate to have to file your divorce papers right next to your marriage licence.” The Captain was joking, of course, for the most part. Though he had gotten an insight into Shae’s potential instability during her cycles and didn’t fancy being in Cailus’ shoes if she detected the contraband snack.

Now Cailus couldn’t resist a subtle wink at Nyx, his lips curling into a small knowing smile. “That’s why I stored this kit in a sealed cabinet,” he explained quietly, “and why we’re having beer as well. The smell of the alcohol will mask the more subtle scent of the chips. Shae’s sense of smell has its limits.”

Temple laughed. “It was nice knowing you, my friend.” He took a long sip of the beer and swallowed it with a smirk. He glanced back up the screen as it displayed the team lists for the match. “Watney should have played Takayashi on the right wing. He had the speed.”

“Like grease lightning,” Cailus agreed, taking an indulgent swig of his own beer. “I saw him in ‘98, the semi-final at Utopia Planetia. He was a complete package. Great ball-handling, beautiful long throws, excellent from corners and dives in the penalty box like an olympian’s.” He grunted in irritation. “Damn Pioneers. For thirty two years I waited for them to get another to another Solbowl, so of course they wait until I’m stuck in a bloody stasis tube.”

"Wow, you saw him play?" Nyx asked with childlike curiosity. Sometimes he forgot that Cailus had come from another time, and it took his brain a second to catch up when the Lieutenant made a remark about his past. He was never sure whether to broach the subject more, but talking to someone who had actually been there was far more fascinating than hearing it from the Computer. "Must have been amazing."

“Not so much,” Cailus said with a nostalgic smile as finally, after much hubbub, the game kicked off, the bulky players in red advancing up the pitch in a carefully coordinated line, throwing the ball between them. “Vic hated it. I could barely watch the game inbetween Vic’s little protests, but damn, the Pioneers were magic for the half that we saw. Still, it’s just as well that Vic begged us to go at half time. The Pioneers blew a 3-0 lead in the second half after Takayashi lost his head.”

Quiet for a moment afterwards, sipping his beer and watching a dull couple of minutes of the game, Cailus glanced at his friend with his habitual penetrating gaze. “How are you dealing with it, with Emilie and Katrine?” he asked softly. “And before you give me the bulldust answer, Nyx, bear in mind that I’m the only person in the entire universe who knows what you’re going through.”

Nyx smiled, though it was rueful and tinged on the edges with sadness. "It's hell, of course. The emptiness is palpable. Every day I wake up and there's a thirty second window where I hope I'll turn over and Em will be there in bed with me, or that I'll hear Katrine playing in the lounge. And I just want to stay in bed with my eyes closed, because for as long as I do that, there remains the possibility that it might happen... Then there's other days where I don't want to go to bed at all, because I know I'll have to face that moment in the morning." He breathed in a deep, staccato breath and sighed. "I think it's worse because all their stuff is still here, just as they left it the day of the accident. Katrine's bunny, Emilie's robe. How could a particle wave create an alternate universe that is so... detailed? It's like an exact copy. As if we're being deliberately tortured by their absence."

“I know,” Cailus said gruffly. “Shae and I have been going through the same thing with Aoife’s toys and clothes. It’s horrible, sometimes. I can see it in Shae’s eyes, when she catches a whiff of Aoife from something. It’s killing us.” He paused, his eyes losing focus. “But take it from me, my friend. Having that bunny and robe is better than being without. As much as it hurts, at least it bloody hurts. At least Emilie and Katrine are still with you. In a way. It’s infinitely better than being empty. And eventually you can...oh come on lad...yes...OOHAH! GET IN MY SON! IB-AlAHED, YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!”

Cailus was on his feet, roaring and pumping his fist in joy, as on the screen, a crowd of red players celebrated together in collective ecstasy while 70,000 supporters went wild in the stands. The score on the top left corner changed: Watney Pioneers 1-0 Houston United.

"Oh clearly an offensive foul!" Cried the Captain angrily, waving his hand at the screen as if it had any effect on a game played ninety years ago. "Talk about obstruction!" He complained. It was within this moment, of course, that Nyx realised he was barracking for the opposite team of Griffin.

Cailus took the realisation in good spirits, however, smirking at Nyx as he sat back down. “No Earther team had won the Solbowl in 62 years before this game, and it won’t change there,” Cailus declared with safisfied arrogance. On the display, a replay showed a red-shirted bulky player leaping high into the air with the egg-shapes ball in his hands, somersaulting three times as he seemed to hang up there for eternity before landing and throwing the ball powerfully into the large rectangular net. “You can train all you want, but nothing can beat someone who grew up in Martian gravity. No Earther can pull a jump like that!”

"Ah so unfair advantages are okay?" Nyx scoffed, shaking his head. "Glad they brought in those regulations in '06." He took a deep handful of chips before leaning back into the couch again. "So, how's married life treating you?"

Glancing sideways at Nyx, Cailus hesitated before replying. “It’s good,” he said simply, taking a hearty swig of his beer as the game continued apace. Realising that the answer was inadequate, he continued reluctantly, “It’s about what you’d expect. We’re happy, or at least as much as we can be without Aoife.”

"This is quite a... difficult start to a marriage." Nyx said knowingly. "Emilie and I lost our home not long after getting married, and we had to return to Earth with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Ended up living with my mother for a year." He snorted with heavy derision. "The life I thought we were going to have together completely changed. And we changed as a result."

That prompted a intrigued glance from Caiius before another great celebration of noise erupted from the monitor, this time for the Earth team’s goal. Scowling in irritation, Cailus waited for all the hubbub to subside before speaking again. “Changed from what?” he asked curiously, taking another beer from the bag and opening it with an expert flick. “I know that you did work with SI, but nothing more. Emilie never seems to talk about her past either, just the present and the future.”

Nyx shrugged, "It's not the life I thought we were going to have. I thought we'd live on Lucis, Ems would be Governor and I'd handle Colony Defences. There would be days at the park, kids going to a proper school, fresh air, and peaceful living. We don't talk about it much because there's a part of us still grieving the future that was taken away from us. We were trying to adjust to life on the Pandora, it was a big change from Lucis and Earth, and we struggled, but we were trying to make it our new future. Now even that's been taken away from us." He sighed once more. "I guess you'd know a lot about that too."

Cailus grunted in grim agreement. "We're a miserable pair of buggers," he grumbled, taking a hearty swig of beer to drown his sorrows while the Solbowl game went on. Pausing, he continued reluctantly, "Harriet and I had plans like yours. She'd run for the Federation Council, maybe get on the President's staff, then after that last tour on the Churchill, I'd be up for promotion. I was going to join General Wei's staff in Afghanistan at a new training facility, and with me back on Earth permanently, Harriet and I were going to have more kids. Give Vic a brother or sister."

He swallowed, scowling, but it seemed as if a dam had broken and he couldn't stop talking. "Shae and I had plans too. Aoife was so close to walking, to getting the surgery for her legs, and I was about to propose. We were even talking about more kids as well. Seeing you and Emilie so happy about being pregnant got us excited, and we were finally starting to look forward to our future."

Now the Watney Devils scored, but Cailus showed no reaction this time, just drinking his beer with a distinctly surly look. "Fate is a sadistic and capricious mistress," he finished grumpily.

"Amen." Nyx rejoined, taking a sad little swig of his drink as well. He shook his head and let out a small laugh. "Aren't we a sorry pair? Didn't take long for this game night to turn into a pity party. Let's change the subject. So hey, your wife is kind of scary, right? Kinda threw me across the room."

Looking at Nyx, Cailus slowly raised one deliberate eyebrow, his beer suspended below his chin. "You are just now realising this?" he asked with skeptical amazement.

"I've never seen her like that before!" Nyx replied, "Is that what you have to contend with every time her cycles occur?"

"Not precisely," Cailus said, still dumbfounded, but carefully vague on that particular aspect of Shae's tendencies. "Nyx, she jumped from the Pandora to the Carnage in nothing but a spacesuit, with minimal armaments, found a way inside and captured their engine room. Alone. And she convinced me to authorise the op because it was so damned normal for her. So yes, Shae scares the hell out of me. I wouldn't want to take her on with anything less than a heavily armed platoon, and I'd still lose most of that damned platoon taking her down."

Nyx let out a slow whistle, which echoed into his nearby bottle. He took a breath, imagining this diminutive scientist somehow unleashing pure hell on a group of well-armed Security folks. He then couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to Kaleri that day in the Observation Lounge, and he paused. "So.. it's not just her cycles then? She could be lethal at anytime?"

"She has the skills for it, just like you and me," Cailus protested tartly, scowling as the Earth team levelled the score. "But you know her, Nyx. She's the most gentle and kind-hearted individual you'll ever meet, hormone-induced mood swings notwithstanding. Regardless of capacity, she is less likely to harm anyone than can be imagined unless the situation is dire. It's simply not in her nature."

"Fair enough." Nyx nodded, "That argument in the Lounge certainly threw me. And, literally threw me. Because I genuinely worried about what Shae would do to Krysia, it was so at odds with the kind-hearted, thoughtful officer I'd seen before. We'll just have to be better prepared for when those mood swings hit."

"We will be," Cailus answered curtly, not willing to further discuss an deeply uncomfortable subject. He and Shae had discussed it, of course, had already dismissed the possibility of trying to have another child given the limited resources onboard, but it was still painful when Shae had to suffer as a result. Fortunately an incident onscreen soon distracted him, bringing Cailus to his feet in angry indignation.

"Referee, what the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted at a screen and a referee who was likely long dead. "It's a red card! A RED CARD! Where's your professionalism, you idiot! HE KICKED HIM IN THE ASS!"

"He was aiming for the ball." Nyx replied nonchalantly, choosing to remain seated and taking a handful of chips. "Totally accidental."

"Like hell," Cailus grumbled, sitting back down, casually grabbing some chips for himself. It was as thus that the two men continued throughout the evening, shouting and cheering at various points as the game ground on, slowly draining their supply of beer and chips, striving to forget their own heartbreak and the grim reality around them. The game ended in a dramatic last minute win for the Martians, but at the end of night, neither man really cared. When they went to bed, Nyx in his bunk and Cailus on the couch, they did so with the comfort a friend nearby.

The next morning, when a bemused Shae went to retrieve her husband from the ready room, she found both him and Nyx laughing over breakfast.

Mission accomplished.