28 March 2013 @ 10:00 pm
078  
[Public | Audio]

Deal with this however you deem necessary. I don't care. I don't have any information that I can give outside of a functioning warden item and the assurance that there is still food available. What I do care about is that the people demoted, some of them worked hard to get there.

I sometimes have doubted my abilities as a warden, but I don't doubt that my inmate needs me. That as an inmate, there were intolerable conditions that no one should have to go through. And it wasn't the torture of alternate histories, it wasn't a lack of food or necessities, it wasn't the conflicts that we had to rise to. It was the indifference. We were disposable, we knew we were disposable. Many of the wardens here- new wardens that fought their way up from that -that gave their own lives meaning again rather than just hoping that they would find a permanent death.

They have to stand here and be told that was for nothing? Just because they know it's hard. Just because they have to look at their inmate and face the same odds that they faced, they have to be told that they don't deserve what they earned? These people are not punch clocks. None of us were.

Most of us had some warden that believed in us, even if it wasn't our own. So those of you that were demoted that worked hard to get here, those of you that feel guilty and worthless, or remotely incapable, this judgment is absolutely false. If you have it in you to disagree with any of this insanity, that's just as flawed. And to the current Admiral, I think you know it as well as I do.

[Spam for Ben]

[Rhade knows that Ben needs him, and he's not got the capacity to do any bridge raids. So it's Ben's room that he goes to next. He thumps on the door, and has a look either way down the hall.]
 
 
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Gaheris Rhade: rhade - bitchbitchbitch[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 29th, 2013 06:54 am (UTC)
[Private]
And an angry one. How are you?
hunt4commonwealth: placid[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 29th, 2013 07:00 am (UTC)
[Private]
Hey, sometimes angry is good, too.

I'm holding up. Kind of missing having my own bathroom, though. Mind if I crash at your place for a while?
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - suit leaning in[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 29th, 2013 08:28 am (UTC)
[Private]
You were demoted? You? The pinnacle of everything the Commonwealth was striving for?

...What do you feel guilty for?
hunt4commonwealth: handface[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 29th, 2013 09:29 am (UTC)
[Private]
I feel guilty for...probably more things than I can name. And most of all I feel guilty because I'd do it all the same way again if I had to. Mobius. Witchhead.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - by door[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 29th, 2013 09:46 am (UTC)
[Private]
Witchhead was... the most difficult decision anyone could make.
hunt4commonwealth: looking down[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 29th, 2013 10:43 am (UTC)
[Private]
I'm sorry for bringing it up. It must have been even worse for you.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - thoughtful[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 29th, 2013 10:47 am (UTC)
[Private]
The fact that you ultimately made the same decision I made makes it easier for me.

It would have been a grim discussion, but we both would have agreed.
hunt4commonwealth: listening[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 30th, 2013 06:11 am (UTC)
[Private]
It may not have been the right thing to do, but it was the necessary thing. We both knew that.

Still doesn't make it feel very good, though.

[Dylan forces himself to brighten.]

But, hey, on the upside I get to see all the fun and excitement that goes on in the inmate filter.

Ben looks like he's keeping calm wants to be helpful. And not go on a killing spree. [Dylan shows him this conversation]
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - pounds of hate[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 30th, 2013 07:20 am (UTC)
[Private]
I... was careful not to send him into a military crackdown. Instead, I made him listen to Mozart and look into alternate methods of telling stories.

[He's glad about that.]

Well, Dylan. You know what will happen if you assist in an extraction. With the outrage, it will go wrong. There are few neutral parties left.
hunt4commonwealth: pic#2360696[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 30th, 2013 07:46 am (UTC)
[Private]
It looks like it worked. He's acting more sensibly than a lot of people right now.

[He sighs at the mention of extraction.]

I've been thinking about that. I want to help; I hate sitting back and doing nothing, but with all this anger I think a military effort could get real ugly real fast.

I'm starting to think that the best thing I can do is...basically what Ben said. Stay here and protect the most vulnerable and frightened.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - hallway[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 30th, 2013 07:51 am (UTC)
[Private]
I don't trust myself not to do anything. There are people suffering in Zero right now, and one false move can place any of us there.
hunt4commonwealth: hmmm[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 30th, 2013 08:12 am (UTC)
[Private]
What we do is help who we can how we can, but we stay non-violent so that this imposter Admiral doesn't have an excuse to lock us up.

I wonder if there's any type of civil disobedience that could get the imposter Admiral's attention but wouldn't get people thrown in Zero. They seem interested in the idea of fairness, even if they don't have a strong grasp of how to actually go about it. Maybe calling attention to how unjust and cruel all this is will make a difference.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - rhade & dylan[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 30th, 2013 08:26 am (UTC)
[Private]
So far even property damage seems to pose a threat. Zero worthy offenses have risen significantly.

I'm... sorry to admit that it will be more difficult not to return home after this. [He hates admitting that to Dylan, because he's still mostly convinced that this is the only place they have.]
hunt4commonwealth: sadface[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 30th, 2013 08:49 am (UTC)
[Private]
Hmm. And a sit-in only works if we had a place to sit where it would be passively disruptive. And there isn't any.

[Dylan's face grows solemn.]

I won't keep you here if you really want to go. I can't imagine how hard it must be to be away from your family for so long.

But...you being here with me has meant the world to me. If you go, this place is going to be a lot more lonely.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - contemporary quirk[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 30th, 2013 09:24 am (UTC)
[Private]
It's always been much easier for you to convince someone to stay for a cause than it has been for just you, hasn't it?

I've never wanted to stay, but I don't want to leave you or Ben. I don't want to leave the uncertainty of my friend's child to chance. I want her to have her family because I think she would be an exceptional mother. I don't want to watch you from the far side of 300 years again just yet.

...That Ben is coping adequately is helping, and that I'm certain I'm a good warden for him.
hunt4commonwealth: looking down[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 31st, 2013 08:46 am (UTC)
[Private]
The cause is always more important than me personally. It has to be. Otherwise I probably would have just settled down on Tarazed and started a family.

I'm glad you've got good reasons to stay. And I'm honored that I'm one of them.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - your move[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 31st, 2013 09:03 am (UTC)
[Private]
What else would you want personally? I've seen you go after what's expected of you and filling roles around you as human tradition dictates is normal, but not much of what you want.
hunt4commonwealth: brooding at the moon[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 31st, 2013 09:23 am (UTC)
[Private]
Kids. [He says without hesitation.]

I always wanted to be a dad. It's not even about passing on my genes. I'd be happy being a foster dad. I've just always loved kids, the way they think, their funny logic, how, when they're happy they're really happy, screaming at the air happy, how easily they laugh and love. And having a little person to protect and nurture and watch grow up has always appealed to me.

Kids and being around people I love. That's all I really want for myself.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - a little bothered[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 31st, 2013 09:29 am (UTC)
[Private]
Dylan... I know this may sound horribly crass, but I aspired for great things. I still do. But I forgot the most honored titles were husband and father, and I was a little... confused, for a while.

I wanted great things, but when I went I decided to choose the great things that mattered, the other things seemed to come along with them.

Perhaps you should go for what you would prefer out of life, and the examples you would set and people you meet would help accomplish everything else. We won't damage a timeline again. We can do it right. Neither one of us will be trapped in the idea of "the One", we can be part of a family. [Though at that moment he's thinking two respective families, because he's still a cynic.]
hunt4commonwealth: amused[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on March 31st, 2013 09:55 am (UTC)
[Private]
The crew's almost like a family. ...But no kids. I'm pretty sure Beka would hit me if I suggested she have a baby just so I could play with the little sprout when I was off duty. And I don't think Rommie and Trance can even have kids. It's probably just as well; I can't expose a child to all the dangerous things we go through anyway.

Sometimes I envy you, Gaheris. Maybe I should let Beka try being "the One" next and go live with you in the past. It could be like the retirement home for former Ones.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - turtleneck[personal profile] truth_is_cold on March 31st, 2013 09:49 pm (UTC)
[Private]
I didn't even recommend that Beka would be a good matriarch because I have some sense of self preservation. [If only he knew.]

I think she could do it. She would be wiser than to assume she could do it on her own, and Trance has faith in her. However... she walked away from the cause when I was there.

That, or she walked away from me. [It was probably that.]
hunt4commonwealth: pic#5700742[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on April 1st, 2013 05:41 am (UTC)
[Private]
She could do it. She may not think she can, but I know she could if she was determined. I don't know if she'd want to, though, and I can't blame her. Being "the One" kind of sucks and I think she knows it. Sometimes it's only a thin thread that holds her on the team.

She walked away from me, too, at the end. For a while. [And came back again, but Dylan doesn't add that. He doesn't want to rub it in.]
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - mouthpiece[personal profile] truth_is_cold on April 1st, 2013 07:35 am (UTC)
[Private]
It's alright. I know your relationship would have remained professional because you're a decent man. Completely outside of her usual type.
hunt4commonwealth: impish[personal profile] hunt4commonwealth on April 1st, 2013 08:47 am (UTC)
[Private]
Hey, you're a decent man, too. You're just also enough of a bastard to still be her type.
Gaheris Rhade: rhade - listening[personal profile] truth_is_cold on April 1st, 2013 08:55 am (UTC)
Re: [Private]
Thank you, Dylan.

[what is a compliment, Rhade?]
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