Hedging Her Bets

Hedging Her Bets

Summary:	Jocasta goes to visit Micah the Major and ends up hedging her bets on what's really what.
Date:	62 ACH
Related Logs:	You Can Choose Your Friends and Crossing Lines (after the fact)

Players:

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Battlestar Genesis - Deck 13 - Recovery Ward

Sullen. That describes Micah pretty well at the moment. They haven't decked him out in one of those ridiculous smocks, so he can't be that badly off— he's still wearing his off duty fatigues. He's lounging at the moment, not doing a hell of a lot of anything besides waiting to be released. There's an oxygen machine nearby, and a couple of little Band-Aids where he got stabbed with needles, but otherwise… he's still alive. Unfortunately.

Eve comes in from Sickbay.
Eve has arrived.

Jocasta's arrival is heralded with a surprisingly gentle dose of sarcasm and a smile that might actually be more relieved than anything else: "I knew you were fakin'…" She, too, is in fatigues; duty shift for the day completed right around the time everyone else was just waking up.

Micah checks the clock for about the fiftieth time, before sliding his eyes toward the arriving Jocasta. "Yeah. Big frakkin' joke. Didn't you see me rollin' around laughin'?" It's mumbled with a trace of sarcasm, though no actual bite to it. There's a fleeting smile that says he, too, might be a bit happy to see her. "Everyone have a good laugh at me, then?" He reclines back, arms folding behind his head.

The swinging doors to the recovery ward are slapped open rather abruptly, probably caught on the back swing from Jocasta entering and pushed the opposite way forcefully. Evelyn is a little red faced, breathing harsh, and she's clawing at her dress blues to get them unbuttoned. "What happened?" She's asking, her voice preceding her before she even actually finds the recovery bay that Micah is in.

Well, so much for having a moment. Before Jocasta can actually spit out a reply to Micah, she's turned her head to take in Eve's abrupt arrival and her expression immediately flattens out and goes to the gravest side of neutral. Lips tightened into a thin line, she tosses the man on the cot something of a look before she steps away from his bedside and presents herself to the general waiting area wherein Eve has decided to wildly flail. "He's over here," she says, pitching a thumb-jerking gesture over her shoulder before evacuating post hasty.

Battlestar Genesis - Deck 13 - Private Room

At this particular point in time, Salin is laying in the bed, not really doing all that much. There's a look of pure boredom on his face, though he's managed to get his hands on his little PDA and seems to be reading through a couple of things.

There's another look towards the flowers and Salin is giving another smile before looking back towards Pepper. His shoulders lift in a slight shrug and he's giving a -very- soft chuckle, "Well, the Sheriff needn't worry about that. It was a fair much." Then, there's a smile, "As for sparring partners, I don't think it had anything to do with not liking lawyers and more to do with how long it went on and how she was finally able to pin me. Not to mention, I was still a tad sore from the last the previous days."

In uniform, Ensign Pepper Peters stands by the side of Salin's bed, grinning down at him. There's a small, very scraggly bunch of flowers in a vase next to the bed - probably the last flowers ever seen. She laughs quietly at whatever the man says and shakes her head. "Perhaps you need to limit your sparring to two days a week, at least until you heal up a little," she suggests, a brow arching delicately. But then the smile fades a bit, giving way to a little worry. "Is there anything I can get for you, Salin," she asks quietly. "When will you get released to quarters?"

Oh hi. Did someone order an off-duty Ensign from the Air Wing who doesn't know how to knock? Without so much as a 'anybody naked in there?' courtesy shout, Jocasta abruptly arrives and insinuates herself immediately to the side of the door and exhales a heavy breath she'd been holding. What? That must be one intense game of hide-and-seek she's got goin' on. When she realizes there's actually, you know, a legitimate visitor afoot her posture suddenly straightens and she says, "Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to interrupt."

Salin's lips curl into a slight grin and he's giving a quick nod of his head, "I think I'm going to have limit my sparring sessions. Won't matter for now, it's going to take about a month for the ribs to fully heal and I doubt Major Zaharis will let me in the ring during that time." There's a slight pause and he's shaking his head slightly, "No, nothing right now. I had some files brought down earlier, since I had a meeting with the Commander on a few matters. As for when I get out of here? Probably the next day or so. Then, I'm apparently still going to be under some restrictions. Not exactly the most ideal circumstances, for me." When the door opens again, Salin's arching a brow and he's looking over towards it. Jocasta's entry is garnered a smile and he's shaking his head slightly, "S'okay, Ensign."

Pepper looks over her shoulder as Jocasta comes in. There's a momentary lowering of her eyebrows, as if she's about to bare her teeth and dare the ensign to come another step closer - but it clears quickly. Apparently the sweet little aide has a protective side. She steps back a little, toward the table, and offers a small smile. "Evening, Ensign," she says quietly, then glances over toward Salin. The brow is arched in such a way that a multitude of statements are made and questions asked with just that one, tiny twitch. It's rather like the Chinese alphabet.

Jocasta looks to start out with a mild, "You mind if I —" but then she catches just a glimpse of the look that Pepper seems to be contemplating and she opts to correct herself with a wary: "Right. I'll come back later." For as contagious as recovery crashing may be, the countermeasures officer doesn't actually have rights to claim over anyone's time. Last in, first out.

Looking back and forth between the two Ensigns, Salin simply lifts a hand towards Jocasta, "It's alright, Ensign Maru." Then, he's looking towards Pepper, "Pepper, meet Ensign Maru. One of the Raptor ECO's in the Air Wing." Then, it's back over towards Jocasta, "Maru, meet Ensign Peters. Aide to the Commander and Colonel."

Pepper has the grace to look slightly abashed. "My apologies, Ensign Maru," she offers with a small, sheepish smile. "I'm used to guarding the Commander and Colonel. I seem to have included the JAG in that by default, while I'm on loan."

That's reassuring. After bouncing a look of confirmation between the Major and the other Ensign, she puts on half a smile and says, "No problem, Peters." She then gestures to the nearest piece of seating arrangement or unused machine that might hold her weight, "Mind if I…" The rest of the question goes unasked.

There's a soft chuckle at Pepper's reply and then Salin is giving a slight shake of his head, "Go ahead, Maru." He does cast a look back towards Pepper, giving another smile, "I'm going to need to pull you away from the Commander and Colonel for a few hours, Pepper. With me trapped in here, I need a hand getting a few things done, including getting a message to Mister Fulton." That done, he's looking back between the two, "Seems the both of you missed a decent set of wrestling matches, yesterday."

Pepper takes up post on the other side of the bed, leaning against the wall with her arms folded low over her abdomen. "After the beating you gave me the other night," she says, tone dry and teasing. "After that, I don't think I missed MUCH, except a demonstration of how badly I'm going to be hurting after I spar with some of those folks." She's grinning, though, and dips her head once to Salin. Given the expression on her face, she's already mentally rearranging his schedule.

"I heard about that," says Jocasta slyly while she does her best to get comfortable atop something sturdy enough to manage the burden of her not-too-substantial weight. After all, she's a little taller than most women and while she doesn't look very wide around the middle, odds are pretty strong that the old adage about muscle weighing more than fat makes her appearance deceiving. "Sorry I missed it. I had a date with Dionysus." Winknudge. So she was the initiate that accompanied the Chaplain down to the planet's surface, eh?

There's an arch of a brow at Pepper and Salin gives another soft chuckle, "I think you received as well as you gave, Pepper. My jaw is still sore from that session. So was my side. It was a good time, though." There's a pause and he's looking back over towards Jocasta, his brow lifting slightly, "You're the initiate that the Chaplain mentioned the other night? Looking at a career change, as you, Ensign?"

Pep settles back, smile relaxed and easy as she listens to the conversation.

If Jocasta wasn't tasked with entertaining a man with broken ribs, she might be tempted to comment on the off-color shade of innuendo that passes between the Major and his Ensign guardian — but, you don't do your best to make a man with broken ribs laugh. Instead, she tosses a wink over to Pepper and asks, "I'm sure you'll come out on top next time, Pep." Okay. So, maybe just one off-color comment. In regards to a prospective change in careers, the Raptor co-pilot says, "No, sir. I just… let's just say when I went through boot, I met a lot of interesting women."

There's a flicker of his eyes between Pepper and Jocasta as the lawyer offers a very soft groan. Beyond that, he says nothing in reference to the comment. There's a quick nod towards Jo and he's flashing a smile, "I can imagine you did. Seems to be the way with boot." A pause. "Oh, how did the rest of your proposals go? Get anyone to agree, yet?" Salin's lips curl into a slight grin and then form a slight 'O' before he's looking back to Pepper, "When the Commander issued his 'Procreation Directive' as I like to call it, the Ensign here …" He motions to Jocasta, "… came up with an interesting manner of approaching it."

Pep simply smiles, softly, and reaches up to brush some hair away from her face. "I did," she murmurs, grinning over at Jocasta. Then a brow arches as she looks between the pair. "Ask 'em all and see who bites first," she teases.

"Pretty much," Jo jokes, leaning back a little, a hand placed on the side of whatever it is she's sitting on to keep her balance in check. "I like to think of it as being proactive, figured I'd start at the top and work my way down." She then displays her naked left hand and wiggles the finger that might otherwise host a ring had she been 'successful' in her little endeavor. "You can see how well that worked, eh."

Alright, Salin can't help but offer a chuckle, but it's soft and short. Apparently, he's learned just how long and how loud he can do that, without making himself double over. "Well, it was certainly worth a try, I suppose. Noticed the lack of a ring, but it's not like everyone has access to it, so I thought I'd ask." He's offering another grin before looking back to Pepper, "One of the few times I was actually speechless. Caught me completely off guard."

Pepper opens her mouth to say something. The words are Right There. They're so close to the tip of her tongue but she manages to bite them back, just barely. There's skin left from those words on the edges of her teeth. "Have you met Cornbread," she asks Jocasta, finally. "He's looking for a nice young woman to spend some time with, possibly for something a little more long term."

It's Jocasta's turn to laugh and she does. Loudly. (Suck it, Salin.) Once she recovers, she pitches one eyebrow up slightly higher than the other and asks, "You tryin' to play matchmaker for the Air Wing now, Pep?" She shakes her head briefly from side to side in a 'gods no' gesture and adds, "No, thanks. I've already made that mistake once." However, she fails to specify if she's labeling 'Cornbread' as she mistake or something else. "I appreciate the thought, though." Not really.

There's an arch of a brow as Pepper tries to setup Jocasta and Salin's offering a smile to that. When Jocasta refuses and mentions the mistake, he's offering yet another chuckle, looking back over towards her, "Decide that it's best to avoid dating someone in the Air Wing, did ya? Musta got burned before?" If he's got an indication of as to whom, he makes no mention of it. He does look back towards Pepper though, "Seems like everyone on this boat is trying to play matchmaker, lately. I oughta start taking wagers on it."

Pepper heaves a quiet sigh, one that's almost theatrical in nature. "Damnit," she says softly. Yes, prim little Pepper Peters curses. "I'm trying to find someone interested in taking my place Friday night on the Destiny with him. While it would be lovely…" She trails off, nose crinkling a bit. "I don't want to give him false hope. If he even THINKS I'm going to lead him on, I frankly don't even want to pick up the leash."

"Now there's an idea with merit, sir." Jocasta has her eyes on the supine Salin when she taps at her temple and goes with the universal sign language for 'smart'. She then bounces a look back over to Pepper to see if she agrees, taking note of her desire to escape her inevitable doom. Poor thing. "I'm sure the Major could cook up an excuse for you to cancel gracefully if you aren't in the mood for a good giggle."

Both responses cause Salin to laugh, a little louder then intended and he ends it with a soft wince, followed by a shake of his head. "Frak. Can't be doing that." Then, he's looking to Jocasta, giving a slight nod of his head, "Yes, I could." Then, over towards Pepper, "How would you like to work Friday night, Ensign? There's a couple of key projects that came up during my discussion with the Commander, earlier, that are going to need some input and action taken."

As Salin starts to wince, Pepper steps over and places a hand gently on his shoulder. "We'll stop making you laugh," she promises, removing her hand after only a second. She then looks over at Salin as if he just offered her the chance to escape the Cylons forever and live on a planet populated by nubile young cabana boys, milk, honey and all the Caprican Brandy in the world Yes, she looks just -that- hopeful. But then her face falls slightly. "I gave my word," she says with a quiet sigh. "Though, if I could find someone willing to take my place…" Cue the Precious Moments look to Jocasta. She can't help but grin, though.

Jocasta isn't anything close to as much of a sucker as Pepper seems to think. Must be the accent. The Aerelonian pilot pitches a slightly stern look at the other Ensign and replies, "Not a chance." Absolutely not.

There's a smile to Pepper and Salin is giving a slight nod of his head, "Thanks. Any other day, I'd say have at it, but the ribs haven’t begun to heal. And laughing feels a lot like someone's punching me, at the moment." Then, he's falling quiet as Pepper tries yet again to get Jo to take her places, though he manages to stifle the laugh. There's a shake of his head and he's looking back over towards Jo, "So who is this guy, anyways? One of the new viper pilots? I don't remember hearing his callsign mentioned in any of the meetings."

Carefully, Pep moves to sit on the edge of Salin's bed, after adjusting the covers slightly. She's not so much sitting as perching. Once settled, though it's clear she's taking care not to jostle the poor JAG, she grins up at Jo. "Damn," she mutters quietly. "Ah, well. I tried. If he gets out of line, I'll just hit him. Though, honestly, he's very sweet and nice. I dare say he doesn't even know there IS such a thing as out of line. Now, his buddy Orion? WHOLE different story. I dare say we'll be getting reports of him charming the delicates off every woman on the Destiny." She grins over at Salin, clearly meaning the two of them in the "we." "Ensign Antonio Sloane, Viper Pilot. Cornbread. Flask is Ensign Orion Scala, also a Viper."

Jocasta takes a moment to pick at some invisible piece of this or that on the knee of her fatigues while Salin and Pepper exchange glances. She offers a few enlightening details, "Tony Sloane. Good kid, really." She then lifts her eyes and lowers her voice, "Look… you didn't hear this from me, but…" Uh oh. Since when have those words ever really prefaced anything good. "…some of the other flyers kinda have a running bet when it comes to getting Cornbread a girl." Mention of Orion's tactical prowess in panty-dropping earns a considerably wide grin. "You should go. Have a good time. Make him work for it."

Listening to both, Salin is merely giving a slight shake of his head before he's offering that very soft chuckle again, "I don't want to hear about anyone's exploits on the Destiny. There's more than enough paperwork that crosses my desk that I don't need anymore." There's a quick grin and he's looking back towards Jo, his brow arching slightly, "Oh… looks like the Air Wing already beat me to taking wagers, then." Then, it's back to Pepper, waiting to her response to that.

Pepper reaches out to poke Salin in the ribs, but pauses and looks up and down his side, finger pointing menacingly. Finally, she settles for a poke in his hip. "The only way EITHER of those flyboys is getting in my panties is if they're cutting them off my cold, dead body," she says with a laugh. "And somehow, it doesn't surprise me. Flask was working just a little too hard to get me to agree He made poor Cornbread sound as though he were totally socially backwards and as if the only way Cornbread would get a woman is if the rest of the squad chipped in for a professional and left her tied in his bunk. With a note. That had explicit instructions." She shares a grin with Salin before smiling over at Jocasta. "And diagrams. Step by step"

Judging by the way the Air Wing Ensign is slowly sliding into a smirk, Pepper's description must not be too far from the mark. In Jocasta's opinion, at least, for all that might be worth. She inclines her head and explains with one hand rolling in the air, "Look, Cornbread's not a bad guy, really. The rest of the wing just wants to see him happy." Aw. She's starting to make it sound almost altruistic now. Noble. "…and there's some cubits and a skinmag on the line. Smokes, too." Okay, maybe not so altruistic after all.

The menacing pointing finger from Pepper is met with slightly narrowed eyes and when she finally pokes him in the hip, Salin is offering a grin and a shake of his head, "Alright, those are not images I need to be thinking about, please." There's a pause and then he's looking back between the two of them, shaking his head again, though the grin remains on his lips, "Poor guy. He's getting setup to fail, from the get-go. And for what, some cubits and a skinmag? Frak, you folks are harsh in the Air Wing, Maru."

Pep tilts her head to the side, eyeing Salin again for a moment. "There's more where that came from," she threatens playfully. Of course, she doesn't specify WHAT. Her head tilts as she considers Maru for a long moment, lips pursing slightly. "Where are your cubits," she asks, the smile slowly forming. Uh oh. Pepper Peters is Plotting. "And what's the bet?"

Without any hint of malice or snarl in her voice, Jocasta replies promptly but without apology, "I don't bet on anything except cards and my life." She directs her brown-eyed gaze to Salin more directly and amends, "Just curious, sir… how many folks in the JAG office did you lose in the last engagement?" Point. "Us folks in the Air Wing are almost guaranteed to be the first ones to die if the Cylons manage to find us out here." Point the second. She's not bitter about making it, though; it's almost as if she's having a hard time trying to properly verbalize her thoughts on the matter without turning it into a sob story. Not that Jocasta has ever or will ever sob. Ever. Countermeasures officers don't cry, kk? "It's what we signed up for." Though, clearly, who could have ever anticipated that they would find themselves in their current situation — being one of the last twenty some-odd thousand human beings left in the galaxy — surely no one actually signed up for this. "So, you know, we appreciate every day for what it is. What's the harm in having a little fun while we can?" Did the mood just get oppressively heavy in here or what? Godsdamn, Jo, lighten up.

There's another soft chuckle to Pepper and Salin is giving his head a slight shake, though when Jo begins to speak, his brow begins to arch upwards, ever so slightly. He shifts slightly in the bed, more so to rise up just a touch from his laying position, which earns a wince, though he's quickly discarding it. "You don't need to quote who loses what and when, Ensign. I'm… intimately aware of which departments take the heaviest loses." His hands lift, moving to settle lightly on his stomach, fingers laced together, "And I didn't say there was any harm in the manner in which the Air Wing conducts their activities. If I thought, for an instant, that there was, I'd address it with Major Savannah. It was simply a jest, intended in the manner for which 'Cornbread' is being setup."

Pepper is quiet for a long moment, head tilting to one side as she listens. As Salin starts to sit up, Pepper reaches out to rest her hand over his folded ones, touch very light. It's clearly that silent female way of requesting the male not exert himself too much further, no matter how much posturing is needed. She looks over at him, doing one of those silently speaking glances, then looks to Jocasta. "We've all lost," she says quietly. "Air Wing, Marines, CIC, Engineering, Medical…it doesn't matter -what- branch they were from, they're lost. Did you know that CIC has one of the highest instances of suicide, traditionally? Studies have shown that it's because CIC officers are "safely" back in the comm center while the pilots and Marines and everyone else is out there in the field." Her voice has gone very low, very quiet as she watches Jocasta with a silent intensity. "Do you know why that is," she asks, rhetorically, of course. "It's because CIC officers are made to feel like utter shit for the fact that they're not the ones out there putting their lives on the line. It's because they're stuck in the comm center, listening as officers and enlisted, men and women, THEY sent out are dying. So please, the next time you feel tempted to bring up the fact that pilots are out there putting their lives on the line, working hard and playing harder, remember that there are other people who are doing their jobs as well, who are losing just as much and in different ways." There's a very tight, very quiet anger in her voice as she stares at the pilot for a long moment, then she looks back to where her hand is on top of Salin's, a hand that's squeezing gently.

Wow. Okay. It's obvious that Jocasta hadn't thought this would turn into one of those 'who's the biggest loser and therefore the bigger winner' debates even though, yeah, okay, she sorta started it. But only to make a good-natured point in justification of an otherwise ridiculous wager. It wasn't worth it. Instead of mustering up some long-winded retort, the flygirl merely widens her eyes momentarily as if to suggest being overwhelmed and she holds up both hands on either side of her shoulders in surrender. "Alright, alright." Aw, lookit. They're holding hands. How cute. Jocasta twitches momentarily and then tilts her chin, affecting a slightly chiding but baleful expression. "I never said anyone on this ship wasn't important and I certainly don't take the frakkin' see-aye-see for grant, okay? Let's not all get our locked-down panties in a bunch…" Gods.

There's a sympathetic smile to Pepper and then to Jocasta and Salin is slowly extracting his hands, so that one can lift upwards to rub at his face. "Alright. Truce time. This is a discussion that we can have at a later date, but it hurts too much to focus on this, right now." And still, the man is smiling. "I didn't mean to get us started on a subject like this. Maru, I find it funny what you folks are doing to Cornbread. Though, being of the male persuasion, I gotta pity him just a bit. He's getting led around by the nose and someone's gonna profit from it. Ingenious, in a way." The smile turns to a grin and he's looking towards Pepper. "I think we're all a little touchy when it comes to this type of a subject."

Pepper studies Salin for a long moment, then folds her hands in her lap. It takes her a second or two to recollect herself, but then she's giving Jocasta a wry grin. "The last time my panties were that tight, I was wearing a thong and heels," she says, tone a little dry. "I was just asking about the wager so that I could possibly…help things along."

[Intercom] Sergeant Dane Ramiro, report to the Marine Offices. Sergeant Ramiro to the Marine Offices.

After a moment of thoughtful consideration, Jocasta finally concedes to reengage the conversation at a casual level. "He's just looking for a date with a decent girl but he's been too busy to find one on his own, so the Wing's just tryin' to help him out. The one hooks him up proper is owed." The Raptor co-pilot shrugs her shoulders and leans back on her make-shift seat again. "So, some 'a the boys took it upon themselves to make bets on who had better taste and it just sorta…" Initiate hand rolling gesture here that's meant to suggest the standard 'snowball' effect.

There's a soft groan from Salin and he's giving his head a slight shake, his hand lifting back up to rub at his face for a moment before he's letting it fall away. Settling his eyes back on Pepper, he merely offers a grin, with a slight perch of a brow, "I don't think it's fair you knowing the plans, considering you agreed to a date with him." Then, it's over towards Jocasta and he's giving a -soft- chuckle, "Who's got the bet that none of them work out and he's no better off than before this whole thing?"

Pepper simply gives Salin a serene smile. "All's fair in love and war," she says simply.

Oddly, Salin's inquiry earns a brief eyebrow bounce and shrugs her shoulders in a manner that suggests she knows, despite the fact that she says, "No idea, sir." Guilty as charged. She then gives Pepper the eye from beneath dark lashes and asks, "So, Pep… you in or out?"

There's that soft chuckle to Pepper and Salin gives a quick shake of his head, "Good Gods. Remind me to make sure I stay out of these types of games. At least, from the receiving end." Then, he's shadowing a look towards Jocasta, lips forming upwards in a smirk, though he doesn't offer anything else.

"In," she says softly, smiling. "For now."

Sliding down from her less-than-comfortable perch, Jocasta puts on a slim smile and says, "Good." She dusts off her backside with a brief pass of her palms and then barks out a slightly staccato, "Well then. I think I've harassed both of you enough for now." More directly to Pepper, she pipes up with a seemingly genuine, "Enjoy your date." She then makes her way the few short steps over to the door, puts her hand on the latch, pauses, then turns her chin slightly to toss over her shoulder. "Oh, and do me a favor, eh?" A beat. "Try not to ride the Major too rough. He's delicate, ya know." And away she goes.