Before We Sleep

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OOC Date: April 4, 2011
IC Date: November 21, 2122

Final thoughts are shared between the Commander and Chief of Security before they report for stasis.


The EAV Genesis, between Jupiter and Saturn


Armory - Deck Two

While comparatively small next to engineering, hydroponics or the stasis hold, the armory is by no means small. Neither is it strictly just an armory. Much of the chamber is taken up with racks of military issue weaponry, from lighter automatic handguns to combat shotguns and assault rifles to heavy weapons like auto cannons. Body armor can also be found here, well above the grade that even the Marines are regularly outfitted with. In addition to all of this, nonlethal weaponry is also present, from beanbag shotguns and pistols that fire rubber bullets to stun guns and tear gas canisters along with riot shields and batons. A vast amount of ammunition for all of these is stored in a seemingly endless series of compartments built into the walls.

There is also an area of the room set aside for strategy and defensive planning. A large table capable of projecting deck by deck holograms of the ship is surrounded by a number of high stools that give those gathered a bird's eye view of the battleground. The table is also capable of projecting a holographic star map of the ship and its surrounding space, along with any other craft in the area. Defensive routines can be programmed in from this area, directing the ship's defenses or controlling them in realtime.


Thirty minutes since First Lieutenant L'Anse was due to report to be turned into a popsicle and one can find him in the Armory instead. He holds a data pad in his hand as he looks through the weapons in the open locker in front of him. He then enters some information on the pad before he squats down to get a better look at the lower shelves. He's softly singing an ancient song to himself in a hushed tone. "…And it burns, burns, burns… the ring of fire… the ring of fire…" He enters some more information on the pad before he closes the doors to the locker, making sure it's locked before moving to the next locker in line. He doesn't seem to be expecting anyone to find him considering the Armory door is locked to the lower ranks.

And who do they send to round up the errant CSec? Oh, that's right; the ship's senior babysitter. The XO's work is never done, clearly, even now when she too is supposed to be reporting to a pod for ten years' worth of beauty sleep. No door on the ship can keep her out, which is both a blessing and a curse. With great power goes great responsibility though, including this one… once more rounding the last Marine standing. Thus, the doors whisper open and boots sound on the deck, the measured cadence maybe familiar by now, given how many jailhouse floors it has covered already. The Commander stops a few steps inside though, crosses her arms, and clears her throat.

Dominic hears the locks on the door disengage and sighs as the doors open, but keeps his eyes forward as he presses his thumb to the lock of the weapons locker and opening the doors, starting his count. The familiar pace of the footsteps are recognized, acknowledged only by a small smirk on his lips. Of course they'd send the XO. "Busy. Please come back later." He says after she clears her throat as he continues counting before recording the data. "Gotta get this inventory report finished." He raises the pad for a second before returning it to it's previous position.

Of course they would. Almost everyone else is asleep now. "Everything in this room has already been inventoried, L'Anse. Twice." At least. This doesn't keep the Commander from looking about though, giving one slow, sweeping glance that encompasses all of the visible planes and lockers, not really catching on anything or lingering anywhere. Eisley echoes his sigh then, but belatedly. "Putting it off isn't going to help, you know."

Dominic's smirk grows bigger at her words, his eyes finally moving away from the locker and focusing on the woman before him. "I know that, Commander." He says, offering a smile now as he sets the pad on top of the locker. "I figured a third inspection and inventory would provide enough time that I can assure that things go smoothly before I get sent under. Besides, you know that I prefer to show up fashionably late to all my appointments." He chuckles as she looks around, his eyes starts doing the same. "Welcome to my home away from home… away from home…" He offers after a moment, looking back to her.

"…far, far away from home," Eisley finishes the thought, though she has no smirk. If anything she is now just a touch melancholy, serene and sober and maybe, possibly, somewhere back behind that stone blue stare, a tiny bit sad. The last is carefully guarded, deeply buried, but Dominic there has seen the real person behind the XO often enough to maybe recognize it. "Almost everyone else is tubed up already. They're waiting on you, and me, and one or two of the engineers. The Captain is still up on the bridge, but it is his ship." Apparently he is not the only one eager to turn in for a long nap.

Dominic does notice and his smile vanishes and he seems to become a bit more serious. "Yeah, it's far, but not from home. Each new day that passes will be one day closer to my home. For the first time in my life, I'm going home." He moves towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder for a moment, trying to comfort her the best he can. His eyes move to the table that usually displays the holographic star map, but now displays a cycling view of each camera in the Statis Hold. He watches the images for a few moments before he nods. "I'll report to the hold after I finish. Might as well finish what I've started." He says, moving his hand from her shoulder. "I'm just not ready to lay in a tube of goo for ten years. The idea of it makes me feel…" He pauses as he tries to find the right word. "…off."

Eisley doesn't shy away from the touch, but she also hasn't uncrossed her arms. That too-thoughtful stare gets turned on him as he closes, and she watches for several more moments in absolute silence before nodding, though slowly. "You'd best hurry," she murmurs. "They are - kind of - waiting on you, and the waiting is getting somewhat uncomfortable. It's best not to think of it as laying down for ten years. You won't notice the passage of time. You'll close your eyes for a moment and when you open them again, we'll be…" Even she cannot bring herself to invoke their destination. Not now; not this close to the final moments that will stretch out across time and space toward it.

Dominic looks back to her, meeting her gaze a second too late before hers turn elsewhere. He frowns and looks at the ground as she nods, finishing her sentence for her. "…we'll be able to go get that long deserved drink." He says, looking up to her with a smile in an attempt to cheer her up somewhat. "I know it's been a long day and we've got a bottle of Whiskey that we have long earned I think." He says before he moves to the data pad. "I'm on the last locker now. You're welcome to stay and chat while I finish up and we can go back together?" He asks, his eyes looking up towards her.

This finally provokes the familiar smile, sharp, wry; it almost banishes the ghosts, or whatever it is that plagues the Commander. "I will be certain to take you up on that offer later, Lieutenant. Very well; as you were." He can go back to counting. She moves off to the other side, to circle around the holo table. Things displayed there are watched, endless corridors, empty rooms, a vacant ship devoid of movement save for one or two bodies in aforementioned or hinted-at places.

Dominic smiles himself as he sees the smile, even though briefly. "Aye, Commander." He says, going back to the inventory of the weapons. He is quiet for a few minutes, lost in his thoughts before he finally speaks again. "Commander, what is it that's bothering you?" He asks without looking up from the count. "I understand if it's above my pay grade, but I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't ask." He enters the data into the data pad.

Eisley slowly circles the table in the meantime, patient and content to wait for the conclusion of the inventory.
He can count; she keeps a strange vigil over the rest of the ship, here but not and mentally somewhere else completely. By the time he speaks again she has reached the far side of the table once more and there stops to look up, frowning a little bit. "…this just doesn't feel right," she answers. "There'll be no one on watch. I suppose I feel hard pressed to give all into the care of the AI, but." Really it is something deeper, though this seems to be the best way for her to communicate it just now.

Dominic sighs and nods as he continues his counting. "I can see how that'd cause some ill ease."He says, looking up at her. "If you can find a volunteer or two to stay awake for the ten years, then it may make you feel better. Since I'm already awake, I'll volunteer." Whither or not he's serious is the $100,000 question.

She smiles, but thinly. "I'm afraid, Lieutenant, that won't be possible. In this case orders hold, and in this case orders are that -all- of us have to go into the pods. Besides. I don't think it would be humane to allow anyone to stay up for that long while the rest of us are out. After a while, rolling my office chair around the decks would get quite boring." There. She must feel a little bit better; she's teasing now at very least.

Dominic lets out an exaggerated sigh before he brings the back of his hand to his forehead. "Oh no. That means I'm destined to experience the goo." He shakes his head and smirks at her joking. "Rolling chairs never get old." He corrects her with a raised finger. "I can get Eve to rock the ship back and forth and ride it around. It'd be great. The Navigator will wonder what the fuck I was doing when he wakes up and sees the course logs."

"I'm sorry, L'Anse. You're destined for goo. If you want to register a complaint you may do so, but until such time as the complaint can be formally processed, you are obligated to comply with the order…" The biggest misfortunate of all here is that Eisley studied the UCMJ pretty closely. She -might- be making that up, but she might also be able to quote article, section, and line of the text. "…I don't think you want to spend the next decade in the brig. I'll be napping; I won't be able to bail you out this time." Of course, she's smirking again, moment of levity seized and embraced.

Dominic shrugs. "Well, looks like I have little choice in the matter. I'll have to have Eve wake you up from your nice little nap and then you'll have to come bail me out of the brig." He says, nodding and smirks. "I'm sure there's a protocol for that." That makes him remember something and he stands, moves to his deck and picks up a chip. "Here. This is a chip containing every protocol programmed into the Genesis." He says, holding out the chip. "As well as a program to search through the civilian records looking for keywords that should identify them as the infiltrators. At least that's what Mono said."

Eisley still can only smirk, not in protest but in visceral amusement at his expense. It melts away when the chip is brought to her attention, and she reaches over to pick it out of his hand for inspection before responding. "Really? How clever." It's studied still, turned this way and that as though she could discern its contents simply through visual effort and didn't need a data port to plug it into. "That ought to make our job a hell of a lot easier later."

Dominic nods his head as he smiles. "That's what I thought as well. In fact, I'd like to suggest that Ms. Mono join us at the meeting with the Captain. She's a very smart woman and her advice could be invaluable." He looks at her for a moment before he returns to the locker to finish up the counting, taking up the pad once again. "If the Captain approves, that is." He adds the last bit in before he returns to the counting.

"…I will inquire," says the Commander after a moment. The chip is shifted to her palm, which moves up and down as though she were weighing it. When satisfied with that she moves to set it back down on the desk, as it will not be needed for a time and is safe here. "I suspect that will not be a problem, however, provided she can clear up her busy schedule for the meeting." Pause. "You counted that row already, Lieutenant."

Dominic nods his head and smiles. "Thank you, Commander." He says as he enters the data on the pad. When she mentions the recounting he's doing, he looks to her and chuckles. "Right. I was just making sure you were paying attention. I swear." He says, before he moves to the last row and starts to count then enter the data. "There. Finished." He says, closing the locker and making sure that it's secure. He then takes the pad and sets it down on the desk before looking to her again. "Well, shall we? I believe we've got a date with some goo…"

Eisley straightens and squares her shoulders, then lifts her hands. The left slides to her right wrist to activate her comm unit, which is brought nearer to her mouth. "Commander Eisley to stasis team; has everyone else checked in?" She waits for acknowledgment of this, for the brief, detailed accounting of who remains out and about and the reminder that she - and he - still need to report for gooification. "Very well. We will be down in a little while." This concludes communication with them, and a wan smile gets turned on Dominic. "I would like to do one final walkthrough. Would you care to join me?"

Dominic smiles and nods his head. "I'd love to, but what will everyone think when they see us together taking a walk?" He teases before he starts to head to the exit. "Eve, reengage Armory lock down upon our departure." Upon the confirmation, he turns to the Commander and motions for her to lead the way. "After you, Commander." He stops at the entrance to the room, looking back once more before he finally steps out into the hallway.

And…. out she goes. As indicated by the holoviews, the ship is virtually deserted, empty and silent and -still- brightly lit. There is no need to conserve energy, and no need to dim the afternoon sunshine effect in all of the hallways. Even the busy intersection near the lifts is vacant, though it is there that Eisley pauses first for reflection. "Somehow I don't think anyone will care," she answers. "Anyway, I hardly doubt I need to excuse an inspection of the ship with its Chief of Security."

Dominic follows the Commander outside the Armory which then immediately goes back into lock down mode. He walks with his hands clasped behind his back, holding onto his wrist. He looks over the space that they walk past, pausing once she does and scans over the area, doing some reflecting of his own. "I wouldn't ever underestimate the power of the scuttle butt. You'd be amazed at how quickly it can spread and just what can spread." He smiles slightly to himself at the pure silence that fills the moment compared to the time since they've come aboard, savoring it.

"L'Anse, if anyone is going to start rumors, it'll be because you take every possible opportunity to try and get me drunk." This is given with a smirk, granted as Eisley begins this tour, hands also settling behind her back, the fingers of her right hand around her left wrist. There's quite a bit of ship to explore, after all.

Dominic can't help but laugh at her retort. "Well, any opportunity to get you drunk is an opportunity for me to get drunk to. So there's some mutual benefits there. Besides, you're fun when you're drunk." He jokes before he moves along side her as she starts to move again. "You're one of the few squids I don't mind being around, to tell you the truth."

"…and you're one of the few jarheads whose company I have entertained for more than a few weeks." Walking, walking, teasing. The tour is going to be an uneventful one, but for all intents and purposes it seems to put Eisley more at ease than she was back in the armory. Though there is little to see that hasn't already been seen, seeing it -again- is calming. Soothing.

Dominic smirks and fakes wiping a tear away from his eye. "I think that is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me." He says, chuckling softly as he continues to walk along side her. He seems to be more relaxed as if he was just taking a stroll on any random day. He looks over to her and smiles. "I didn't take you for the nostalgic type, Commander. You continue to surprise me."

"Try not to get used to it," adds Eisley with a visceral smirk, sharp as a razor blade. "I'm not the nostalgic type. At any moment I will grow bored with your company and have to select another jarhead to entertain me. There are so few of you on the ship; I'm trying to ration myself." Teasing? Maaybe. There might be a grain of truth in there too, but under the circumstances it is hard to take much of anything too seriously.

Dominic smirks and chuckles, releasing his hands from behind himself and clutches his chest. "Ow. That one went straight for the heart. And here I thought I was a friend and not just some pet for your amusement." He stands up straight again and continues to walk along side of her. "Though, you must admit that the other Marines would not be as amusing or capable to match your wit jab for jab." He stands up straight and grins. "Admit it. You need me to keep you sane."

Eisley pauses when he does to look at him, still smirking. "If you were a pet, Lieutenant L'Anse, I'd have brought along a leash and a collar with your name on it." Gives a whole new meaning to the idea of dog tags, doesn't it? Her attention lingers for a moment as if that thought had gone elsewhere for an instant, but she reels it back in and resumes her walking. "I will admit that the pool is dangerously shallow. As for the maintenance of my sanity… sadly, only time will tell."

Dominic nods his head once. "See. I knew it. You only keep me around out of convenience. How will I ever come to terms with this dramatic discovery?" He follows her along the hallway, stopping briefly to return a panel to it's standby state after being left on by someone then continues on. "Any idea just exactly what this goo stuff is? I really hope we won't need a second date with it.

The eerie quiet doesn't seem to bother Eisley nearly so much as the idea of stasis. She pauses when he does, answers when he questions, teases as appropriate. It isn't until this question comes that she hesitates again, schooling her expression back into neutrality. "It's a biochemical synthetic designed to preserve carbon based organisms. We're effectively going to be embalmed. Temporarily." Reason #447 why this process has her uncomfortable, nevermind that 100,208 people have already undergone this exact procedure, seemingly without incident, this week.

Dominic nods and frowns slightly. "Well, that's a lovely image, thank you for that." He says, chuckling a little to try to shake off some of the nerves that have just popped up. "I think two walkthroughs might be necessary before we return to the stasis hold. Maybe swing by my office where I left my bottle to age ten years overnight."
Eisley exhales. "If only." She stops for a moment, then wields her smirk again, turning it sidelong on the man. "Look at the bright side; if you go down to the stasis block with me, you'll have the opportunity to see me in my skivvies." Gotta wonder who had the bright idea to pack people in gel in nothing but their knickers. Sadly, all 100,208 people have consented to that little feature as well and it's far, far too late to fight the fashionistas.

Dominic nods and smiles as he looks back at her, catching her look. He chuckles and stops at her suggestion, turning to face her. "Well, that is a VERY tempting thought." He says, tapping a finger against his chin as if thinking it over, but who knows where his mind went to. A smirk forms over his lips. "And I don't have to buy you dinner either, huh?" He asks after a moment, a grin fully visible.

"…you can owe me," Eisley decides, nodding toward the lift which looms now at the end of the hallway. "It's a shallow, shallow pool, L'Anse." This comment likely hearkens back to an earlier part of the conversation, several rooms and a deck or two prior to this one. Whether she recognizes where his mind went or not, no further comment is forthcoming about that. Not now, anyway. Her communicator blips again, the tank technicians beginning to get antsy about her whereabouts.

Dominic smiles and nods his head. Since they're alone and about to be frozen for ten years, he speaks. "Alright. Maybe when we get to New Australia, I'll take you out for a night on the town." He pauses for a moment before he continues, his eyes looking to the ground as he speaks again. "Make a date of it?" His eyes look back up at her after he speaks. Then her comm starts to beep.

Eisley is taken aback by that. She stills to look at him, very somber again; pensiveness comes and a breath is inhaled, prelude to a sharing of at least one small slice of those thoughts… it's interrupted by the beeping though and she lets it out in a quiet sigh, bowing her head to look at it instead of him. "This is Eisley," she verifies. "I'm on my way." And so this is one answer that will not be given here, now… ever. There is only a smile - sad again, somehow - before she turns toward the lifts. "I said you could owe me, Lieutenant." Deflection! Point to Dominic.

Dominic smiles as she answers her comm then looks back at her after she speaks again to him. He nods once before turning to the lift. "Of course, Commander. Let's go see you in your skivvies." He say before following her back to the stasis hold.


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