InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I don't mean to be evil..."

jake_mackenzie (jake_mackenzie) wrote in kobols_legacies,
@ 2008-05-10 09:15:00

Current location:	Shangri-La
Entry tags:	(c) jake mackenzie

Morning Visit
Jake's life the past few days had been filled with work and nothing but. With the sudden removal of his deputy his workload had increased and there was much to do with the upcoming operation. Her own people were competent enough, but Jake was a hands on sort of person and it took a few days to make sure everything was up to speed.

By the time he finally had a chance to take a breather he realized that Anika probably interpreted his lack of communication as something very different than just being incredibly busy. The Colonel didn't like the idea that someone would think he was siding with Jilleen and her comments, which she'd had no proof for, but there hadn't been time to do anything about aside from sending a note over with Lt. Kypros-Gaither when she was evacuated off Avalon the day before.

After the daily briefing with the Admiral the next morning, Jake had caught a Raptor over to Shangri-La. He'd had to brief the marines training aboard a closed off portion of the massive ship on the mission, and it provided a perfect opportunity to check on Anika as well.

The briefing over, Jake went off in search of Anika.

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fly_baby
2008-05-10 08:52 am UTC (link)

It had taken a good hour that morning for Anika to make herself look less like the wreck she felt and not as likely to attract Bethany's attention. Despite Dani telling her to come clean with Bethany, tell her what had caused the whole scene over on Avalon, she knew she couldn't. It was bad enough it had started the nightmares again, she didn't want Bethany taking it further.

Bryn was dead. And nothing was going to change that.

She looked at the note again, for the umpteenth time. While it was probably the most welcome thing she'd seen or heard since the whole debacle started it didn't change how she felt about what had happened, but it did suage her anger ta not having heard anything from Jake since.

Of course he's got all her bloody work to do now, while she's swanning around here on holiday! She's probably laughing her head off, all the way to therapy! There wasn't much Bethany couldn't find out and their contacts around the fleet, especially the 'farm ships' were extensive.

She inhaled sharply, squeezing her eyes shut as she pushed the woman's red bloated face out of her head again, letting go her breath in a long hard exhalation. She quickly checked herself in the mirror and with a few small touchups to conceal the dark shadows under her eyes she left the small cabin and headed toward the place she'd left a message for Jake that she'd meet him. The tropical biodome, where she'd said she'd be, had a few spots where seats were tucked into small glades, the path winding through it to and then from the rockpool. It was also one of the few places Anika found she could relax, and feel human again, as if there was some sort of connection to Bryn's spirit in there, and it helped her more than she cared to admit.

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-10 09:01 am UTC (link)

Jake took a deep breath when he stepped inside the tropical dome, inhaling the warm, moist air and the heavy scents of green growing things. It was a welcome change from the air aboard Avalon, recycled though it was it couldn't help but seem a bit stale compared to the air in the dome here.

The young Colonel made his way along one of the paths and stopped to admire a particularly beautiful plant, the color of its flowers a brilliant pink. "I need to get out more often," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

That thought in mind, he resumed his search for Anika, who'd said she'd meet him here.

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fly_baby
2008-05-10 09:11 am UTC (link)

The seat she'd gone to was opposite the waterfall, across the pool. She sat down, the sound of the water soothing and steady. It had been almost eerie in here the months they'd turned it off, trying to fix the filtration when replanting the main biodome. It was like something was missing, and it was a huge relief when the water had started flowing again.

Again she found herself staring, this time at the water, the constantly moving whiteness where it splashed into the broad expanse of stillness where the tumult eased to every expanding and diminishing ripples.

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	jake_mackenzie 2008-05-10 09:31 am UTC (link)
	Jake found here there, staring at the water and clearly absorbed in her own thoughts. He almost hated to disturb her, but it had been the first time he'd seen her in more than a month now. She'd probably be annoyed with him if he simply stood there and watched her, so he continued toward her until he was right by the bench. "A cubit for your thoughts?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fly_baby
2008-05-10 09:38 am UTC (link)

She jumped, not having realised she'd become completely absorbed again in the sound and sight of the waterfall.

"A cubit?" She snorted softly. "Not sure they're worth even that," she told him, shifting along the seat to make room for him. It had been over a month and when she saw him standing there she really realised how much more she knew about him than she did last time. "How'd it go with the meeting?"

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-10 09:49 am UTC (link)

"That bad huh?" Jake asked humorously, and sat down beside her. He'd thought about giving her a kiss on the cheek, but wasn't quite sure where he stood in her eyes and decided against it. Instead he settled for taking on of her hands in his.

"The meeting went fine. Typical Marines." Jake shrugged. "You tell what they need to know to the best of your ability and they're happy."

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	fly_baby 2008-05-10 10:01 am UTC (link)
	That made her huff a dry laugh, her eyes darting down to where her hands now lay in his. "Sometimes that's all there is. Gotta be happy with it," she commented quietly before she even realised she'd said it, not just thought it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jake_mackenzie 2008-05-10 10:09 am UTC (link)
	"That's a gloomy thought," Jake frowned as he said it, looking at her curiously. As he took in the circles under her eyes and the rest of her body language the frown deepened. "You look tired, something keeping you from sleeping?" He wasn't sure if she were prone to nightmares, but she wouldn't be the only person in the fleet if that were what was going on. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fly_baby
2008-05-10 10:16 am UTC (link)

Automatically her chin lifted, a small fire of defiance sparking in her eyes, in a pitiful attempt to hide from him what he'd already seen. She bit back the retort that leapt up, the stiffness that had suddenly appeared in her shoulders already fading away.

"Nothing any different from anyone else," she told him truthfully, the nightmares she was having now not all that different to before, just with an added face flickering in and out.

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-10 10:28 am UTC (link)

"Something obviously sparked them off, I don't recall you looking this tired after the pyramid tournament."

He risked putting an arm around her shoulders. "What's got you so worked up that you're having nightmares? That argument on the hanger deck with Jilleen?" He'd understood that Jilleen had gone over the line right from the start and he was mystified as to why, but it didn't make sense for it to still be bothering Anika days later.

At least as far as he knew.

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fly_baby
2008-05-10 11:02 am UTC (link)

She even felt herself tense at the mention of the woman's name, despite her having tried very hard all morning to prepare herself for this moment.

She shrugged, an attempt to dismiss the suggestion combined with trying to relax her shoulders again. "Probably," she finally admitted, unable to lie about it. "But like I said, they're old, had 'em before, nothing I can't handle." She didn't even try and smile, her eyes just returning to the waterfall as she focused her attention on that to stop the anger that always threatened when conversation about that incident was looming.

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	jake_mackenzie 2008-05-10 11:30 am UTC (link)
	"OK," Jake was willing to accept that for now. Anika was an adult and he was going to treat her as such. If she wanted to talk about it, he'd be there for her, if not then they wouldn't. "This place looks completely different during the day cycle." He commented, looking out over the waterfall and the dense foliage. "I can see why you like coming here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fly_baby
2008-05-10 04:39 pm UTC (link)

After Rhys's behvaiour the day before, Jake's easy acceptance and the complete about face of subject threw her for a moment and she looked at him, a little surprised and confused and wondering if this was just some sort of game, but then she remembered his note. She swallowed hard and looked back across at the water, nodding slowly as the tension in her body, and the tighness in her stomach actually eased for a moment.

It was only then that she felt his arm around her shoulders as something other than a restriction. Still a little wary, but not on edge any more she murmured her agreement.

"Reminds me what we're running for," she added, knowing the meaning would be lost on him, but the statement being the simple truth of why she came there.

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-10 05:46 pm UTC (link)

Jake had sometimes wondered that himself, what they were running for. Three years now they'd been stuck inside these metal boxes, and he hadn't set foot on a planet since Vulcan's final port call a month before the Colonies fell.

There had been no sign of a world capable of supporting life, and the Cylons kept coming.

"How often do you make it over here?" As a resident of the ship he imagined she made it up quite a bit.

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fly_baby
2008-05-10 06:20 pm UTC (link)

"Usually every day," she replied, not adding that since the major had been swanning around Anika had hardly left her cabin. It was bad enough that she had to go through the nightmares again, but to have it all rubbed in her face everyday by seeing that woman being rewarded for her treatment of Anika had her convinced she'd been right to stop Bethany from registering an official complaint.

"It's my favourite part of the ship."

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	jake_mackenzie 2008-05-10 08:30 pm UTC (link)
	"I can imagine," Jake told her. "It's very peaceful here." He watched the light dance on the surface of the water and wondered what it would be like to live on such a ship every day. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fly_baby
2008-05-11 12:33 am UTC (link)

His bland response was both a relief and a concern to her as she nodded her agreement. She looked down at her hands, fingers of her free one outstretched and pushing together against the others that were entwined in Jake's, resting in her lap. Her level of discomfort rose dramatically as she stared at them, focusing on not clenching them but just letting them rest. Rest was good. She hadn't felt rested in a long while, and she knew it was going to start affecting her flying soon.

She wanted to ask why, why had this officer, his friend, been allowed to accuse her like she had, then given leave to come and rub it in her face here, on the ship Anika lived on. But she knew that sounded irrational, even to her own ears.

"How long... when does your shuttle go?"

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-11 07:35 am UTC (link)

"I've got a twelve hour pass," Jake told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as he continued to watch the water. "Everything seems to be running smoothly back in the Strike Group, I figured I could sneak away for a little while and not have things descend into chaos. I don't have to be at the shuttle for another..." he did the mental arithmetic in his head. "Eleven and a half hours."

He glanced toward her face. "Anything in particular you'd like to do in that time? I'm yours to command." It was said as a joke, but he really was prepared to let things go at her speed.

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fly_baby
2008-05-11 08:08 am UTC (link)

"That long?" She looked up at him, surprised, having thought it was only a few hours. "Well," she glanced at his clothes, grateful he wasn't wearing his uniform and wondering where it was. "Are you hungry? We could eat, or maybe go for a swim?" She didn't know what to suggest, even given the fact they were on the primary ship of luxury and entertainment of the entire fleet. "Or we could walk," she added, realising she'd been penned up in her cabin, or Bethany's since she'd returned from Avalon. "The orchards are starting to change colour..."

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jake_mackenzie
2008-05-11 08:28 am UTC (link)

Jake thought it over for a few minutes. "I wouldn't mind getting something to eat, then afterwards we could go for a walk through the orchards. We've got plenty of time to do just about anything I guess."

He'd changed out of his uniform in one of the compartments on the deck the Marines had taken over, and put his travel bag in a rented storage locker by the hangers.

"Where would you recommend we go eat? I guess you'd know which of your sister's places has the best food."

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