nexus_crossings | Scorched Earth Policies

Scorched Earth Policies

Blaze tends to treat the Plaza as one stop on her patrol route through the Nexus - and usually the last stop, at that. Today, however, she’s not going anywhere else. She didn’t even stop to repair the burns and blade-marks that mar her white armor before she showed up, and she doesn’t sit now. When her boots hit the paving stones she strides a little way further in and just stands there, metal face locked in a frown. Her tiny silver Ghost materializes beside her shoulder, shell spinning as he studies his troubled Guardian.

"If you found out someone erased part of your history from the records, how would you deal with that?” she blurts out, never one to hold back on her thoughts. Her helm’s gripped in her left hand, and she taps it against her leg uneasily. “You think there are any stories that just shouldn't be remembered?"

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Well.

Well, damn. That's not the answer she was expecting. It's also way too similar to how things went down in her universe for her liking. "Were they erased from the records because they stopped protecting the City?" she asks, her surprise turning to concern. One would think that their memory would be kept as a lesson in loyalty.

Unless they had good reason to cut ties...

She nods a little at Ghost's addendum. That's good, that her commander is at least letting Blaze pursue the matter. "How many years ago was this? And there's been no sign of them since?"

Blaze opens her mouth to answer immediately, then actually checks herself, painfully uncertain. "I don't know. We've had exiles before. Even Guardians who turned from the Light. But I've still heard about them. No-one likes telling the stories, but we all know they happened."

"

It must have been a few decades ago. Zavala said they haven't made contact, but he pointed us in the direction of a potential sighting...

"

"Kinda hard to imagine a bunch of Titans staying hidden so long," Blaze admits. "But there was a long stretch there where we didn't really travel beyond Earth. Guess they had the run of the system up til the last couple years."

"Do you think it has something to do with their special abilities?" It's what made them different from other Guardians, it stands to reason that it might have something to do with why they were removed from the record books. Of course, her friends know the situation better than she does, but she offers the idea anyway, wanting to be helpful.

Blaze's answer makes her visibly nervous. Nothing good comes from exiled robots who have had a few decades on their hands and no one to keep tabs on them. "Blaze," she says, before hesitating and glancing at Ghost briefly. "I, um... I know this is important to you, but be careful, okay? You may not like the answers you get, once you find them."

"Hmm." Maybe? Could that be part of it? She folds her arms, thinking it through aloud. "Their powers were drawn from the Light, same as the rest of us. Different kind of Light to mine or the commander's, sure. Solar Light. Hunters and Warlocks use that all the time. There's nothing wrong with it.

"But... the form your Light takes depends on the Guardian. You following me? Takes a different kind of mindset to call flames instead of the void or the lightning. That's why I can't do it yet. Most Titans can't. The Sunbreaker order would have a whole philosophy around it. Maybe that played a part somehow..."

She looks up at Adia's worried request. "No. Maybe I won't like it. They didn't got on my commander's bad side for singeing his crochet. But I have to know, Adia. They're still my brothers and sisters in the Light. I want to know who they are. What they've done, good or bad. And besides-" She lifts a fist, glaring at it in concentration as she clenches it. There's a little whisper of flame over her gauntlet before it scatters into blue electric sparks. "I think I've already got an invitation."

Adia nods when Blaze asks if she's following, although truthfully it's a lot of information to process. Having Blaze as her only example of a Guardian, she hadn't realized that there were different abilities, let alone that they depended on the individual.

With that new context in mind, the tiny breath of flame she's able to summon in her hand becomes far more meaningful. "It's important you find out," she agrees, her expression still one of concern. Blaze knows what she's getting into, but there's always the chance of being blindsided by unexpected news. That gut-wrenching drop of your version of reality being tossed out the window is not something she wants her friend to experience, if she can help it.

"How many Sunbreakers do you think there are now?" She glances at Ghost again. "Do they have Ghosts, too?"

Little does Adia know that the Exo's already encountered that sensation once or twice before. Blaze certainly isn't keen on repeating the experience, but if that's what the truth brings...

"Good question. He called them a legion- must be a few tens of them at least. Maybe a hundred, two hundred?" Blaze puzzles over the probabilities. How many mystery Titans could be out there? How often could they recruit new members?

"They'll all have Ghosts," the little bot confirms. "

We can guarantee that much. You can't become any kind of Guardian without one. But I wonder what they think about being exiled like that...

"That many?" she responds in surprise. It's true that the Cylons were able to hide in far greater numbers, but they were outside the star system, the bulk of their population dormant in a large resurrection hub. "It's troubling that they were erased from the records, but it doesn't sound like they wanted to be remembered, either..."

Guardians with fire powers keeping to themselves for their own purposes. She really hopes Blaze approaches this situation cautiously.

Her gaze remains on Ghost while he answers, curious how he feels about this. Again, he's her only example of a Ghost, but he's always struck her as level-headed and cautious. "If their Guardians don't talk to Blaze, will they at least talk to you?" It's what she would try, if she were him, but she will always choose diplomacy over demanding answers.

"It's a lot, yeah. Even for an upper estimate. Zavala did say they go way back, though. Back to before there was even a City. There used to be far more Guardians in the old days. They'd mass in hundreds for some battles. And I'd guess, if any new Titans were raised on Mars or Venus for the last few decades, they'd probably join the Sunbreakers before they got back to the City."

Now she's thinking about it, that puts a more sympathetic spin on at least some of them. What if the City's near-abandonment of the wider system angered them? It's hard not to sympathize with that.

"They might. I can try and talk to their Ghosts, at the very least. I'm sure the worst thing they'd do is ignore me." He looks between them. "

You know, Zavala mentioned they were involved with a Warlock called Osiris. He... caused a lot of dissension, in the old days of the City. Maybe this is all just an old philosophical argument that's never been resolved.

Adia listens keenly to both her friends, the information they offer putting the situation into greater perspective. But while Blaze might now be viewing the Sunbreakers in a more sympathetic light, Adia only looks more nervous. A philosophical argument is still an argument, and several decades is more than long enough to build up a grudge into something vengeful.

Taking a deep breath, she tries to tamp down her worries. Blaze's world is not her own. And regardless of how the Sunbreakers feel towards the rest of the Guardians, they do not have the baggage that her own people are saddled with.

"I hope it works out for you," she tells Blaze sincerely. "And that you're able to learn their ability, at the very least. Your City needs all the help it can get."

"Thanks. Just from the things we've seen out there, every edge counts. Whatever they're doing out there, it's about time their fire came home. One way or another." Her voice is softer than usual, there, but she shakes off whatever thought is on her mind and looks back at Adia.

"Should've asked how you're holding up already. Are you all right? Any change in your situation?"

The softness in Blaze's voice doesn't go unnoticed, but before she can think to ask about it, the conversation has turned around to her and the subject of her own problems.

"Well..." She trails off, uncertain where to start. Technically, nothing has changed, but an awful lot has happened, and she'd rather not worry Blaze over events that are already over and done with.

She did ask, though.

"There was a mutiny. The vice president and one of Galactica's lieutenants attempted a coup and took control of Galactica for about 24 hours. Commander Adama and his crew regained control, but not before Zarek shot the Quorum. That's our legislative body. They wouldn't support the coup."

She can see Ghost's optic widen, Blaze's flaring brighter in concern. "Light! That's every damn thing you need. Everyone else all right? How many were in on the mutiny?" Ugh, that kind of schism in the ranks is like a nightmare to her. Especially given her current concerns about how her fellow Guardians handle conflict...

"It's a good thing you weren't stationed there," Ghost adds, just relieved their friend is safe.

"Everyone else is fine," she says, quick to reassure her friends after their understandable reaction. "The Cylon basestar blocked Galactica's access to the rest of the Fleet." As for how many sided with Zarek, she can't help but look a little disappointed. "About a hundred people? Civilians, mostly. President Roslin pardoned them all, except for Zarek and Gaeta. They were executed."

It's hard for her not to have mixed feelings over the fallout. In an ideal world, the ringleaders would serve life sentences, and the others punished according to the severity of their crimes. But even on the Colonies, treason was a capital offense. And what good would it really do to execute anyone else?

Hearing the relief in Ghost's voice, she smiles softly. "Yeah, good thing." And then she stands a little straighter, a determined expression on her face. "But I will be stationed there tomorrow. And after my shift, I'm meeting with Captain Agathon. I'm going to tell him about the Nexus. Jim offered to find an abandoned planet in Federation space that the Fleet can relocate to. I'll present my plan, and hopefully Commander Adama and President Roslin, too."

She's nervous. But hopeful, too. "I've been downloading some photos and blueprints onto my PINpoint to help support my case."

"Executed, huh? That's a viciously sharp line to draw." Blaze sounds troubled enough herself. What's done is done, and Adia had no hand in any of it, but surely that's a lot of open wounds left there.

Adia's other news is more immediate, though, something to catch her attention and move them on. "Now that's a real plan! You're going to single-handedly give your people a shot at a new home!" She laughs. "I just hope they can stop gaping long enough to listen to you!"

"That's huge!" Ghost zips a circle around her in excitement. "Good luck, Adia! Whatever happens, I'm sure in the end they'll be thrilled."

He's cautious, because the little bot can foresee emotions running... high, in that situation. Moreso than Blaze does. But this can only save her people now, and that's what matters.

"This war's been nothing but sharp lines," she murmurs, before catching the exhaustion in her voice. "On the bright side, the rebel Cylons have formally joined the Fleet. It's only the enemy Cylons that we have to watch out for now."

And hopefully not for much longer, if the plan to relocate works. She smiles again, relaxing a little when her friends shower her with enthusiasm. "That's what I'm most worried about, but honestly? At this point I'd teleport all three of them to the middle of the Plaza if that's what it takes to get them to believe me."

More soberly, she adds, "Captain Agathon is a good person. And open-minded. His wife's a Cylon, you know. The first Cylon to join the Fleet. If there's anyone who'd listen to an idea about jumping to a different universe, it'd be him."

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Scorched Earth Policies

eerily familiar? :D

at least for once their universes have some mistakes in common...

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