Siblings, Part Two
Jan. 23rd, 2019 05:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiveofnoneAnother week passed, and Caspar found himself projecting more frequently. He had once vowed never to do it around Adia; it didn't seem fair to exclude her from the vivid images he could share with other Cylons. But on long nights while she was asleep and he had nothing but his own thoughts for company, he'd imagine himself on the beach. He could stare at the calm, blue water for hours and let the hypnotic repetition of the surf lull him into a temporary state of tranquility.
He was safe there. He could slip underneath the waves and never think about his past again.
He didn't have any other avenues for distraction. The Nexus was off-limits due to Winter's brutality. That, in turn, affected Adia’s mood, which made him even more reluctant to share his own problems. He tightened the mask and tried his best to pretend that nothing was wrong. He had to be strong for her.
What good was he, otherwise?
There was no one he could talk to about Ellen's visit, especially not the other Cylons. He didn't want any of them to try and convince him to give their creator a chance. So it was with extreme dismay that he saw the familiar blond head of the Two named Leoben waiting for him outside his lab at the end of a long work day.
The Twos were inscrutable to Caspar. They were the most spiritual of the Cylon models, and often kept to themselves. Even when following the Plan, they seemed to have their own agenda. Between that smarmy, holier-than-thou attitude and frankly atrocious fashion sense, the Fives wanted little to do with them.
During the War, the Threes and Fours served as a decent buffer between the Twos and Fives. Now their in-between siblings were dead, and Caspar had to deal with the remaining Twos all on his own.
He barely tolerated the religious talk and ugly clothes, but what annoyed him the most was how easily the Twos had managed to ingratiate themselves with the humans on Atlantis. They were friendly and unassuming. Humble. The humans, save for a few, had seen very little of the Twos during the War. They didn’t look upon a Two and see a torturer or betrayer.
It pissed Caspar off.
It especially pissed Caspar off that Leobon was giving him that "aw-shucks" smile right now, like they didn’t have an entire history between them. "What do you want?" he asked brusquely.
Two’s smile broadened, eyes twinkling with mirth. “What, I can’t pay my younger brother a social visit?” When Caspar’s expression didn’t change, he sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his orange puffer vest. "I need your help with some code. I'm doing archival work for the university's library and the multiple interfaces are giving me a headache.”
Caspar slowly relaxed. A favor over practical matters he could handle. “Fine.” He gestured for Leoben to lead the way. “Are you sure it’s the interfaces? Coding was never your strong suit.”
"As you were always so quick to point out, brother.” Two chuckled softly to himself, but otherwise remained silent as they made their way to a large marble building on campus, its facade glowing faintly in the late afternoon light.
Caspar instinctively followed a path to the basement, a bank of computer hard drives serving as data storage. He ignored the terminal and keyboard setup, placing his hands in a shallow fountain of back-lit water that served as a conduit for Cylon access. A sign of human and Cylon coexistence, to have such a convenience.
The code was a mess, as predicted. Caspar got to work while his brother leaned against the wall and watched. “How are you doing these days?” he asked casually. “I heard you got yourself a pet pig.”
“I thought this wasn’t a social call,” Caspar replied while he coaxed the servers to share their data with one another. “But yeah, I did.”
Leoben shook his head in amusement. “Never pegged you for an animal lover.”
“I guess I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?” Caspar glanced at his brother briefly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I have a pet cat, too.”
Leoben gave him an insufferable smile, one that said that he knew more about Caspar than he was letting on. "Oh, I know about the cat. Adia brings her to the library sometimes. I wish you’d introduced me sooner, your girlfriend’s aura is remarkable. It’s not often that I meet a human so in tune with the strands of Fate.”
The water, and the code it carried, slipped through Caspar’s fingers unacknowledged. He visibly bristled at the charmed, overly familiar way his brother spoke of her and Two quickly held his hands up in surrender. “Relax, brother. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s not my type.”
Caspar glared at him, not relaxing in the slightest. “I know. Your type is a lot more stabby. How many times did Kara Thrace kill you on New Caprica? Four?”
"Five," Leoben muttered, his gaze dropping. Caspar had struck a sore spot.
"Five," Caspar repeated firmly, staring at his older brother for several seconds before returning his attention to the servers. He let the silence hang heavy in the air until his curiosity got the better of him. “What’d you see in that Viper pilot, anyway? You were obsessed with her.”
Leoben stared off into space. Likely projecting, although whatever he was imagining, he wasn’t sharing with Caspar. “She was destined for greater things,” he finally answered. “I suppose I wanted to be a part of that…” He blinked and looked at Caspar, as if seeing him anew. “What’s it like to be loved by a human, Caspar?”
Caspar eyed him skeptically. “You can’t download one of your model’s memories and find out?”
“We don’t share that sort of thing,” Leoben admitted. “We remember how hard we fell for Kara, we don’t want to tarnish what a few of us have managed to earn honestly.” He pushed himself off the wall and dipped a finger in the fountain. “So, what’s it like?”
What was it like? Up until recently, he would have said that it was a warm, weightless feeling, like being buoyed by the ocean. But now every time Adia smiled at him, he remembered the small velvet case hidden in the back of a drawer and the question that he failed to ask her.
He was still in the ocean, but now he was treading water.
“…it’s nice.”
Leoben snickered. “You have a real way with words, brother.”
“Do you want me to fix your crappy code or not?” He batted his brother’s hand out of the water. “Stop screwing me up and let me concentrate.”
That earned him another laugh, but at least Leoben had to the good sense not to pester him again until he was done. “Thanks,” he said, when Caspar removed his hands from the fountain and wiped them dry. “The librarians think I know everything and I’d like to keep up the illusion.”
Satisfied with his work, Caspar let himself smile a little at that. “I’m willing to not take the credit, if only so they don’t come bothering me instead.”
He tucked away his handkerchief and turned to leave. Leoben walked him to the doors. “Do you ever miss them?” he asked suddenly, as they stepped outside. “Our sisters and brothers?”
“The Threes and the Fours?” Caspar blinked at the seemingly random question. He shrugged. “Sure, I suppose so.” They were models he got along best with, the Fours especially. “Why are you asking?”
“I was just thinking about how they were always between us.” Leoben smiled softly. “I miss them, too, but it meant that we never really got to know one another. I wish we had. I think you could have taught me a thing or two.”
Caspar had no idea what to say to that. Part of him wanted to bridge that gap, but his brother’s extended olive branch reminded him too much of Ellen’s overtures. He couldn’t let himself think about the past. He had to keep treading water.
Maybe Leoben never expected an answer, because his smile didn’t change. “Goodbye, Caspar. Say hi to Adia for me.”
And then he left Caspar alone with his own thoughts and a projection of the beach superimposed on the dark, sprawling campus in front of him.
He was safe there. He could slip underneath the waves and never think about his past again.
He didn't have any other avenues for distraction. The Nexus was off-limits due to Winter's brutality. That, in turn, affected Adia’s mood, which made him even more reluctant to share his own problems. He tightened the mask and tried his best to pretend that nothing was wrong. He had to be strong for her.
What good was he, otherwise?
There was no one he could talk to about Ellen's visit, especially not the other Cylons. He didn't want any of them to try and convince him to give their creator a chance. So it was with extreme dismay that he saw the familiar blond head of the Two named Leoben waiting for him outside his lab at the end of a long work day.
The Twos were inscrutable to Caspar. They were the most spiritual of the Cylon models, and often kept to themselves. Even when following the Plan, they seemed to have their own agenda. Between that smarmy, holier-than-thou attitude and frankly atrocious fashion sense, the Fives wanted little to do with them.
During the War, the Threes and Fours served as a decent buffer between the Twos and Fives. Now their in-between siblings were dead, and Caspar had to deal with the remaining Twos all on his own.
He barely tolerated the religious talk and ugly clothes, but what annoyed him the most was how easily the Twos had managed to ingratiate themselves with the humans on Atlantis. They were friendly and unassuming. Humble. The humans, save for a few, had seen very little of the Twos during the War. They didn’t look upon a Two and see a torturer or betrayer.
It pissed Caspar off.
It especially pissed Caspar off that Leobon was giving him that "aw-shucks" smile right now, like they didn’t have an entire history between them. "What do you want?" he asked brusquely.
Two’s smile broadened, eyes twinkling with mirth. “What, I can’t pay my younger brother a social visit?” When Caspar’s expression didn’t change, he sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his orange puffer vest. "I need your help with some code. I'm doing archival work for the university's library and the multiple interfaces are giving me a headache.”
Caspar slowly relaxed. A favor over practical matters he could handle. “Fine.” He gestured for Leoben to lead the way. “Are you sure it’s the interfaces? Coding was never your strong suit.”
"As you were always so quick to point out, brother.” Two chuckled softly to himself, but otherwise remained silent as they made their way to a large marble building on campus, its facade glowing faintly in the late afternoon light.
Caspar instinctively followed a path to the basement, a bank of computer hard drives serving as data storage. He ignored the terminal and keyboard setup, placing his hands in a shallow fountain of back-lit water that served as a conduit for Cylon access. A sign of human and Cylon coexistence, to have such a convenience.
The code was a mess, as predicted. Caspar got to work while his brother leaned against the wall and watched. “How are you doing these days?” he asked casually. “I heard you got yourself a pet pig.”
“I thought this wasn’t a social call,” Caspar replied while he coaxed the servers to share their data with one another. “But yeah, I did.”
Leoben shook his head in amusement. “Never pegged you for an animal lover.”
“I guess I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?” Caspar glanced at his brother briefly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “I have a pet cat, too.”
Leoben gave him an insufferable smile, one that said that he knew more about Caspar than he was letting on. "Oh, I know about the cat. Adia brings her to the library sometimes. I wish you’d introduced me sooner, your girlfriend’s aura is remarkable. It’s not often that I meet a human so in tune with the strands of Fate.”
The water, and the code it carried, slipped through Caspar’s fingers unacknowledged. He visibly bristled at the charmed, overly familiar way his brother spoke of her and Two quickly held his hands up in surrender. “Relax, brother. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s not my type.”
Caspar glared at him, not relaxing in the slightest. “I know. Your type is a lot more stabby. How many times did Kara Thrace kill you on New Caprica? Four?”
"Five," Leoben muttered, his gaze dropping. Caspar had struck a sore spot.
"Five," Caspar repeated firmly, staring at his older brother for several seconds before returning his attention to the servers. He let the silence hang heavy in the air until his curiosity got the better of him. “What’d you see in that Viper pilot, anyway? You were obsessed with her.”
Leoben stared off into space. Likely projecting, although whatever he was imagining, he wasn’t sharing with Caspar. “She was destined for greater things,” he finally answered. “I suppose I wanted to be a part of that…” He blinked and looked at Caspar, as if seeing him anew. “What’s it like to be loved by a human, Caspar?”
Caspar eyed him skeptically. “You can’t download one of your model’s memories and find out?”
“We don’t share that sort of thing,” Leoben admitted. “We remember how hard we fell for Kara, we don’t want to tarnish what a few of us have managed to earn honestly.” He pushed himself off the wall and dipped a finger in the fountain. “So, what’s it like?”
What was it like? Up until recently, he would have said that it was a warm, weightless feeling, like being buoyed by the ocean. But now every time Adia smiled at him, he remembered the small velvet case hidden in the back of a drawer and the question that he failed to ask her.
He was still in the ocean, but now he was treading water.
“…it’s nice.”
Leoben snickered. “You have a real way with words, brother.”
“Do you want me to fix your crappy code or not?” He batted his brother’s hand out of the water. “Stop screwing me up and let me concentrate.”
That earned him another laugh, but at least Leoben had to the good sense not to pester him again until he was done. “Thanks,” he said, when Caspar removed his hands from the fountain and wiped them dry. “The librarians think I know everything and I’d like to keep up the illusion.”
Satisfied with his work, Caspar let himself smile a little at that. “I’m willing to not take the credit, if only so they don’t come bothering me instead.”
He tucked away his handkerchief and turned to leave. Leoben walked him to the doors. “Do you ever miss them?” he asked suddenly, as they stepped outside. “Our sisters and brothers?”
“The Threes and the Fours?” Caspar blinked at the seemingly random question. He shrugged. “Sure, I suppose so.” They were models he got along best with, the Fours especially. “Why are you asking?”
“I was just thinking about how they were always between us.” Leoben smiled softly. “I miss them, too, but it meant that we never really got to know one another. I wish we had. I think you could have taught me a thing or two.”
Caspar had no idea what to say to that. Part of him wanted to bridge that gap, but his brother’s extended olive branch reminded him too much of Ellen’s overtures. He couldn’t let himself think about the past. He had to keep treading water.
Maybe Leoben never expected an answer, because his smile didn’t change. “Goodbye, Caspar. Say hi to Adia for me.”
And then he left Caspar alone with his own thoughts and a projection of the beach superimposed on the dark, sprawling campus in front of him.
