nexus_crossings | Cleaning up after chaos: A post Khan event question

Cleaning up after chaos: A post Khan event question

Not everyone who frequents the Nexus was unfortunate enough to be caught up in Khan's attack. Reynard had ended Winter in his own world and engaged in his usual annual seclusion that, as it always did, ended once he had run out of alcohol. The sight of an obliterated Nexus was not the pub crawling paradise he'd remembered it as. It seems that he's missed the action and stumbled into the aftermath. People are tired, disoriented, upset and in shock, or powering through their emotions by helping organise everyone else. Without much of a thought, Reynard falls into a group that is already working to set everything right again. Or as right as things can be set. As it turns out, an atmosphere of destruction and tragedy does wonders for a Spring-sick Winter spirit.

He looks as awful as he feels, and far more sober than he'd like to be. He's forgone his coat, but kept his gloves on and a makeshift mask for the work at hand. Reynard has volunteered for the grim task of working with the dead. In a shaded area he helps move bodies to rest side by side, covered in shrouds that have started to vary in colour as they run through their supplies. These are the ones who have not, or cannot, be identified.

It's been a long day, and it's been hard graft, and everything feels hotter than it is, especially with the cloth around his face. Reynard takes his gloves off, leans against the edge of a table, and pulls away the mask, revealing an unkempt beard. "What would you like to happen at your funeral?"

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It's not difficult for Adia to imagine the trouble it would cause him. The concern does not leave her eyes, even when she returns his smile, flattered that he would include her in his favored conversational partners. "Do you feel like you do better here, when it comes to technology?" He texts, after all. Adia knew a few people from her grandmother's generation who refused to do even that.

"Ah, it depends." She wishes she had her biology textbook with her, it's been a while since she's dealt with the basics. "A chicken egg isn't technically one cell. But some single-celled eggs are visible without a microscope. They don't get any bigger than the period at the end of a sentence, though."

Best that he keeps that thought about Steve silent, not unless he wants Adia to start crying. She has been putting all her emotional energy into caring for Steve's pokemon, but her worry for her friend is always there, threatening to ruin her mood. "I know." Her smile is small, but sincere. "It's okay. I'll be warm enough for the both of us." There's no regret in the fact that she stayed to help during the invasion, only the wish that she could have done more.

It's an interesting question she poses, and he takes a minute to think about it. "No... I think that perhaps the technology does better with me. I can take my time to use the things here, and that makes all the difference. At home technology and the people who use it want everything to be fast. Here I can take as long as I like to compose a message."

His brow furrows some more and he rubs an eyebrow as he figures this out. "So cells, microbes and organisms are all different things?"

"As long as you stay safe, Adia." His shoulders slump as he looks at her and sighs. "Don't be afraid of running, or of saving yourself. Keeping yourself alive isn't something to be ashamed of." Eyes turn to their hands, clasping each other, and he squeezes again gently. "I worry that in this place you won't know that, and you'll get yourself hurt."

"I'm glad. Technology is... well, it's like anything else, I guess, it has its positives and negatives, but I'm glad you can use it here at your own pace." Even Adia hates to be rushed, she's certain that it must be that much worse for him.

"That's right." She beams at him, as if he has solved a clever riddle. "All living things are made up of cells. Microbes are single-celled organisms, and organisms are... well, anything biologically alive. Microbes, plants, animals, and fungi." It seems important to modify her definition of alive, for Reynard's sake.

So used to being the one who worries most, she's touched and a little tongue-tied by his admission. "I will... I mean, I am, Reynard, I promise. I've never taken the anti-violence field for granted." Her gaze also turns to their clasped hands, her grip warm and reassuring. "And I know when it's time to run. I've done plenty of that, too."

The understanding is something he's grateful for. It's a little embarrassing to be typing one index finger at a time while everyone around him has their fingers flying. "I'll get better at it. In time. I have plenty of that, at least."

Again, he takes his time to absorb this information. It's bizarre enough that he doesn't stop to question whether he's asking silly questions or not. Otherwise he might not follow up with, "Living things... So... Not rocks, or air, or water. They're not organisms? They're... not made up of cells?"

"Good." He takes a deep breath and strains out a smile, but he's troubled by all of it and that much shows in his eyes. "Good."

Deep down, she thinks that Reynard would do a lot better with technology if he was a little less stubborn, but everyone has to learn at their own pace. "I'm sure you will. You've had to learn more than just about anyone on your world."

She nods, pleased that he's come to that conclusion on his own. "That's right. Rocks are made of minerals, air is made of gases, and water is... well, water molecules. But none of them are made of cells, and none of them contain DNA, which is what cells use to replicate themselves." Anticipating his next question, she adds, "DNA is a long, long chain made up of molecules called nucleotides in the shape of a double helix. It's inside the nucleus of every cell, and it's like a blueprint. It tells the cell how to make another of its kind." Technically, some viruses contain only RNA, DNA's hard-working cousin, but she can explain that exception later. One thing at a time.

There's not anything left for her to say that would ease his mind. The Cylons are always a few jumps away from her ship, and the Nexus is full of hidden dangers. How fragile her life must seem in comparison to his. But looking into his eyes, she feels compelled to reassure him somehow. So she slips her hand out of his, then gets out of her chair so that she can give him a hug. As awkward as it is with him still sitting, it's the best she can do.

"Careful," he warns, a smile playing at his lips then. "You'll make me sound a smart as a scientist, talking like that."

It's back to frowning, the depth of his wrinkled brow being directly proportional to how much thinking he's doing. He almost asks what a double helix is, but since it's a shape it's probably quite a simple thing so maybe he can find out without letting Adia know he doesn't know.

"Molecules are blueprints, but they're also alive?" This is proving to be a bit of a stretch for him to follow. He tries, and fails, to find a comparison he can latch onto. The best he can come up with is, "Are molecules... supervisor organisms...?"

There's a surge of alarm when she pulls away and he straightens, readying himself to apologise for whatever he did to offend her. When she comes close and hugs him, he freezes and then relaxes, gripping her as best he can in the awkward position. After he releases her he looks up with a grateful smile. "I don't suppose I could tempt you to come and live on my world?"

"I don't think that would be the worst thing in the world," she says, her smile far more open.

It's endearing, how hard he's thinking, but she can tell when he speaks that she's perhaps said too much too soon, because her words have led him astray. Shaking her head, she tries to find an analogy that will make things plainer to him. "DNA is within the nucleus of the cell. It's part of the cell, not its own separate organism. The nucleus and other structures within the cell... they're like organs. They each do specialized things so that the cell can function."

There is relief when he hugs back, knowing that she's done the right thing. She looks down at him warmly before taking in a sharp breath. Yes, she can be tempted, if the look on her face is any indication. His Earth... his very real, beautiful Earth, with him in it. If he had asked her at her lowest point, drunk and heartbroken, abandoned by the man she loved, she might very well have agreed...

And then she would have lost her ship for good, returning to an abandoned planet, never knowing the glory of finding her own Earth. That, more than anything, holds temptation at bay. "Not now, no." She touches his shoulder once, something akin to regret in her smile, before returning to her seat. "But I'd like to visit again... maybe those sailing lessons can be on your world? Unless you already have a place in mind in the Nexus."

Even with her further explanations, it doesn't look like his puzzlement is going to go away any time soon. "I thought DNA was made of molecules, and that molecules are organisms. Isn't it... more like an ant colony, then?"

The look that passes across her face takes Reynard by surprise. Somehow he'd thought that her decision to stay with her people was complete and unwavering. It's a small thing in a fleeting moment, but it's reassuring to see a tiny glimpse of uncertainty. Doubt means she doesn't simply take the path expected of her, not without considering the alternatives.

He smiles at her gently. "I know my world better, and that makes it easier to teach." His head tips to one side and his brow lifts. "I do wonder if I shouldn't be teaching you survival techniques if you're going to insist on being so close to danger."

"No, molecules are just building blocks." She pauses, then waves a hand as if wiping clean a slate. She has to backtrack a little if she's going to get Reynard past this miscommunication. "Have you heard of atoms? They're the most basic unit in the universe. Atoms combine to form molecules, and molecules combine to form everything else, including organisms. I think I should have held off on telling you what DNA is made of, it's not really necessary to understanding how it works."

Adia struggles with her decision to stay with her people every time she visits the Nexus. But the moment has passed, and she listens to his reply with an eager smile, delighted that his lessons will be on his Earth. "Oh... well, I suppose that would be more practical," she says thoughtfully, although she would argue that it's danger that insists on being so close to her, and not the other way around. "I'd like to know more advanced first aid, to be honest. I wouldn't have had to rely so heavily on healing magic, which we don't even have on my world."

The further into this they go, the more there is to remember. It's a little harder to backtrack and relearn what he's been told, but he takes time to try and set it right in his head. "I've heard of them... They're used to make bombs. You're saying atoms make molecules and molecules are used to make everything?"

That's a reasonable thought. It can be just as frustrating as it is helpful to have a magical solution to your problems. Reynard can definitely respect wanting to be more self reliant, and he nods his agreement. "What do you know?"

She pales at the mention of bombs. Of all the references to an atom, that one is difficult to move past. "Atoms are made of even smaller things, but the force that holds them together is one of the strongest in the universe." She says it quietly, with none of the enthusiasm of her earlier explanations. "That's why they make great bombs. When you break that bond, it releases a massive amount of energy. You can destroy an entire city with just one."

By contrast, the topic of first aid is downright pleasant. "Let's see... I can clean and bandage wounds, make splints and tourniquets, treat burns, perform CPR or abdominal thrusts if they're choking... I know what to do for hypothermia and heatstroke, in theory, but they've never come up in practice."

Her words seem so implausible. Even having lived through that period in time where nuclear weapons were the hot topic, it was from the safety of Europe. He never really understood how they worked, only that, as per usual, humanity had excelled in creating destruction. "You mean to say that something smaller than invisible germs was used to make the most destructive weapon in the world?"

"That's a good foundation," he says and strokes his beard thoughtfully. "I could expand on that with dealing with brain, spine or abdominal injuries, as well as fractures, dislocations, amputations... There's a lot that I've been taught that you won't need to think about, like snow blindness or mountain sickness... Improvised medical kits are useful to know, and different ways of carrying people."

Adia simply nods. She can see the skepticism on his face and wishes briefly that she had his ignorance on the subject, to be unaffected and unaware of the fallout of a nuclear strike. "It took a long time for people to figure that out," she notes. "It was the unfortunate by-product of harnessing atomic energy as a fuel source. But the colonies had come to an agreement to keep those weapons pointed towards space, as a defense against Cylons..."

Reynard's list sounds a lot more gruesome, but it'd be useful knowledge to treat those injuries, and she's already seen the worst of it. At least she could help if she's confronted with those types of injuries again. "I'd be glad to learn whatever you want to teach me. Even if you don't think it's relevant... we might be climbing mountains one day, who knows?"

Lips press into a thin line and he shakes his head. "It's unbelievable." A moment later his frown becomes thoughtful instead, his head tipping to one side. "But it must be like tearing apart Nature. I suppose then that makes sense that it would unleash power like that."

"I really want to teach you how to fend for yourself so that nothing can hurt you," he admits. Then he smiles at her so his words won't drag her too deeply into seriousness. "But that list is far longer. How to keep the human body running is one of the most important." He eyes her up and down then. "Do you have a strong stomach for that kind of thing?"

It's a fitting analogy, one she'll think about long after their conversation is over. "Maybe that's why I prefer biology," she muses quietly. "I'd rather study life than try to tear it apart."

His admission gives her a warm feeling, one that makes her smile shyly and pick at the crumbs on her plate. But that smile is lost when he asks his question, her expression uncertain. "I... I don't know. I've seen some horrible things. When Caspar died, it... it wasn't pretty." Her grip tightens around her fork as she tries and fails to suppress a shudder. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes. But... I don't pass out or get sick at the sight of blood, and... and I want to help. That's more important than my discomfort."

"And that, my dear, is why we should all try to be more like you," he says with a smile.

Reynard nods solemnly. Seeing someone you love kill themselves is no small thing, even if they did later come back from the dead. "Nightmares are normal, no matter who you are or how much you've seen. Even I have nightmares. But if you don't pass out or get sick, that's a good sign. When someone is wounded, you need to be the steady one. When you're working with flesh and bone it helps if you can focus on flesh and bone, and not get distracted by the thought that you're dealing with a friend or a lover. You probably have steady hands, too, do you? You work with such small things."

Leave it to Reynard to snap Adia out of her melancholic thoughts with another well-timed compliment. She blushes, unable to think of a way to deflect his flattery. "I suppose the multiverse could use more microbiologists," she says instead, but at least she is smiling, no longer dwelling on the grim topic of nuclear warfare.

It surprises her to learn that he has nightmares. She almost asks what about, but doesn't want to interrupt his advice. At his question, she looks down at her hands, as if assessing them for the first time. "I suppose I do. Lab work requires fine motor control... I haven't had to perform first aid on any friends yet, that's probably helped me stay so calm." She lifts her gaze and asks, "What's the worst injury you've successfully treated?"

The way she tones down the compliment is met with a knowing tilt of his head, his smile taking on a light, playful edge. "Mm. Kind and generous microbiologists, definitely."

"Hm. Let me see." He moves their plates and cups to one side so that he can reach over for her hands. While she asks her question and he considers it, he raises her hands out flat so that he can inspect for himself how steady they are. "That's a difficult question. I've managed to amputate trapped limbs once or twice and get the man to a doctor who could save the rest of him. That's always... an ordeal." Conveniently, inspecting Adia's steadiness gives him a way to keep things casual. "But the doctor is the one who treats them in the end. I think people with plague are the worst thing I've cared for. It's the fear of getting it, and the uncertainty of knowing if a change is good or bad. That's what makes it the worst of everything. I can see a bone sticking out of someone's arm. I can't always see where a disease is. But that goes a little beyond first aid."

"You're going to give me a swelled head," she complains, her protest negated by the bashful grin she's trying to hide. Reynard seems determined to flatter her, but she's not giving up so easily.

She lets him take her hands and examine him at his leisure, bemused as she is by it. Her hands are warm and steady, but a comfortable cafe date with a friend is a far cry from a situation requiring first aid. She listens to his answer with a thoughtful expression, eyes widening slightly at the mention of the plague. "Do you mean the bubonic plague? That's a tricky disease, it presents itself as the flu at first... you're right, diseases can be difficult to diagnose. The one that scares me the most in bacterial meningitis because it progresses so quickly. You can be dead in a few hours if you don't seek immediate treatment."

His grin only broadens. "It will go wonderfully with the cake."

"The bubonic plague, typhus, cholera, smallpox... and flu, of course. It's as deadly as the rest." He inhales deeply and nods, letting her hands go. "You have wonderfully steady hands, my dear." He sits back again, smiling briefly for her benefit before turning thoughtful. "I don't know if I've come across bacterial meningitis... but I've seen people snatched away in what seems like a few hours. It's terrifying to watch." When you're eon the mortal side of it, that is... His eyes glaze over and it takes effort for him to refocus on her. "Do you have plagues anymore?"

She bursts into laughter at his nonsensical response, loud enough that the employee behind the counter glances over, but only to smile at the sight of their customers having a nice time.

The list of diseases he recites is a morbid reminder of his longevity, tempered by the compliment he gives her when he releases her hands. "Thanks." She smiles back, also briefly. Diseases are serious business, despite her professional fascination with them. "It's an infection of the membranes lining the brain and spinal cord. It starts out as a headache, with a stiff neck an fever. People mistake it for the flu or a migraine, and end up dying in their sleep." She wonders at the distant look on his face. Is it memories or something else? "It sounds terrifying," she agrees softly before shaking her head. "We have vaccines, and clean water. That takes care of most diseases that would spread rapidly through the fleet." She shifts awkwardly in her seat and adds, "Some of those diseases... they're on my ship. For research purposes... they think maybe Caspar was going to unleash one of them, but he didn't get the chance."

All he can do is smile broadly, pleased and proud to have made her laugh so heartily.

Adia's description of meningitis is met with a sympathetic pinching of his face. What can a person do to cure something like that? That she follows it up with the mention of clean water and vaccines is a relief… until she mentions that they can be used as weapons too. He shifts in his seat, trying to imagine just how much that might have affected her people. Eventually he turns to her to find out. "What would have happened? Would your vaccines have saved you?"

He should be proud, he's one of the few people who can get her to laugh like that most days. Unfortunately, the topic of biological warfare is a sobering one. "We don't have vaccines for everything, unfortunately. It would have caused a pandemic if Caspar had released one of the viruses that causes hemorrhaging..." Her expression hardens for a moment, but not out of anger. "He didn't, though. The only life he took was his own."

So far as she knows, anyway. She doesn't want to think about what he was up to in the detention center before he saw her. "Do you get vaccinated?" she asks, wanting to get off the subject. "You mentioned being in a doctor's office."

It makes sense that there should be a limit to even Adia's space faring civilisation. With a disease such as the one she describes it's no wonder her military fears its use as a weapon. He nods, slowly and somberly in agreement with her certainty.

There's a hint of guilt in his expression and he shifts in his seat before settling on an answer. "I... try to. When they mention a new disease, a new illness. Old ones... Winter seems to have hardened me against them." He looks uncomfortable for a minute and then admits, "I don't like being in hospitals or doctors offices if I can avoid it. If I'm going I'm usually there to accompany someone. A friend, or colleague."

It's a relief that he agrees with her, but she's a little embarrassed, too, having made a discussion of plagues a little too personal. "We're okay, now. I, um, volunteered to continue to administer vaccines and minor medical coverage. It will let me visit other ships on occasion."

She smiles, reaching over to pat his arm consolingly. "I understand. I think it's kind of you to go with someone who needs it." She looks him over thoughtfully, intrigued by the rest of his answer. "I wonder if it's Winter itself, or if you've acquired immunity through exposure. Have you ever had the flu? Anything else serious? You must be chock full of antibodies..."

It's no wonder that Reynard wishes to avoid hospitals. Even a doctor as benevolent as Adia would be tempted to poke and prod him and run all sorts of diagnostics.

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