Cisco Ramon (
franciscoramon) wrote in
riverviewlogs2017-11-25 03:38 pm
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[open] try to tell the difference
who: cisco + anyone!
what: catch-all post
when: the rest of november through december
where: various places
warnings: will add as needed
[use a prompt from the tdm or come plot with me @
platoapproved. ]
what: catch-all post
when: the rest of november through december
where: various places
warnings: will add as needed
[use a prompt from the tdm or come plot with me @
⚡️ beverly
He's sketched out a map to the building in question; it is possible to get most, though not entirely, the way there in a vehicle, so Cisco had called in a favor with the Perimeter Guard and gotten a jeep and a driver. It's all feeling a bit Jurassic Park, which is an analogy he doesn't want to think about too much or else he'll start to worry.
He arrives at the agreed-upon meeting point a few minutes early, with coffees for everybody, and a bright smile which is only mostly covering up his restless, nervous energy. When he sees Beverly arrive, he waves her over, holding out a coffee for her to take. ]
Hey, Dr. Crusher. Thanks so much for... all this.
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So she's full of energy this morning, making the coffee rather unnecessary - not that that stops her from drinking it.]
It's my pleasure, really.
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Cisco makes sure to get a seat next to Beverly; during the drive he says (although he's pretty sure he'd told her as much in their initial conversation about the place). ]
So, it was sealed up tight until a few weeks ago. I'd tried to get in a couple times, but the vines over the door were super thick and there were easier buildings to scavenge so I just left it. When Rey and I went in there weren't any signs that any animals had got in since it was locked up. That's like, really rare, out here.
[ He doesn't know how much cause Beverly has had to come out past the wall, so he is trying to be as thorough as possible. His hands are twisting together in his lap as he talks, but he's really trying his best to not worry. Trying being the key word. ]
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Beverly unobtrusively reaches a hand over to rest on Cisco's. Her hand is steady and warm, hopefully offering some reassurance.]
That's good, for us. Whatever's in there should still be intact then.
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Should be. I think it was just a warehouse, that they converted during the plague 'cause they ran out of room at the hospital or whatever. The building doesn't look like it was designed for it, you know? It's just sort of one massive room that had to house the overflow.
[ He's choosing his words carefully, wanting to get across as much information as he can without necessarily admitting to the fact that he had gotten a lot of that information from a vision, rather than from just looking at the empty room. ]
Did you ever deal with stuff like that, in Starfleet? Epidemics or whatever?
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His question, however, gives her pause. It's not that what she's about to say is any particular secret, or something she is unwilling to talk about, but it's a difficult topic. So her answer comes slowly.]
I have.
[Her smile now is soft and sad, not really a smile at all.]
Not just in Starfleet. I lived through one, as a child. It's why I became a doctor.
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He just didn't realize how much of one, until she speaks, and it's pretty much the worst case scenario, as far as answers go. Cisco's nervous agitation halts as he sits still, the only sounds for a few moments the hum of the jeep's engine and the chatter of the rest of the medical team. After a moment's hesitation, he turns his hand over so he can hold hers, hoping that will bridge the gap of how ineffective words seem. ]
Sorry. I didn't know.
[ She'd lived through something like that, and he'd just texted her out of the blue asking for her help with this place, without ever considering that perhaps it could have a personal resonance for her. He'd slipped into that unhelpful pattern of thinking that she's from the distant future, so surely they've solved problems like that by then. But that's not how life works, not how diseases work. ]
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It's all right. How could you know? It's not something I talk about often.
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You don't have to, now.
[ Some awful part of his mind is curious about the details, in spite of himself, but Cisco isn't a monster. He changes the subject, quickly and decisively. Best not to dwell on that, particularly considering where they're headed. ]
So, you got any engineers on that starship of yours? You must have, right? I mean, just to keep everything running...
[ Surely that'll be an easier topic - a question about her crew mates, something to do with her adult life as a badass doctor and not the awfulness of the past. ]
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Still, she doesn't let go of his hand quite yet.]
Of course! The engineering department consists of about fifty people, with Commander La Forge at the head. [She smiles.] I think the two of you would get along very well, actually.
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[ There's fondness in her voice, when she mentions this LaForge, so Cisco follows that up. They are nearly to their destination, now, but that doesn't stop him from being curious. ]
My best friend back home was a doctor, too. I bet you would've loved her.
[ And Cisco feels a pang of homesickness, then - quick but sharp. He doesn't regret his decision to stay here, but god, he misses Caitlin sometimes. He's gotta put more work into figuring out how to use his powers to get some kind of message back to her, explaining, telling her not to worry about him, telling her he loves her and knows she'll have a brilliant life. ]
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[She notes the flicker of emotion across his face when he mentions his friend. Homesickness, no doubt. No matter people's decision to stay or to go, it's something everyone here has to wrestle with at some point or another.]
It's hard, being away from them, isn't it?
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[ He means that more as a compliment to Beverly than as a dig at himself, though it kind of works both ways. Cisco had given up on coolness a long time ago. He's perfectly comfortable with being an embarrassing, enthusiastic, not-fitting-in goofball. That's just who he is. ]
Mostly just her.
[ Cisco missed Barry, too, but he had known Caitlin years longer, had helped her through her grief when Ronnie died. They two of them shared science, shared the desire to do good, shared so much more, though on the surface they were so different. He can feel himself starting to get sucked into that sadness and gives a little shrug. ]
We went through a lot together.
[ He is relieved, then, when the brakes of the jeep squeal as it comes to a stop. There is a huge tree blocking the road, and no other way around. They're as far as they can get - the last little bit will have to be on foot. Cisco sits up straighter, shaking off gloomy thoughts of home and announcing brightly: ]
Nearly there. You got everything?
[ And he's climbing out of the vehicle himself, tightening the straps of his bag, checking that everything is as it should be. ]
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Other than getting over this tree, that is.
She meets Cisco at the front of the jeep to examine tree more closely.]
What do you think? Should we try to climb over it or go around it?
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[ The tree is at about chest height, for Cisco. Awkward to climb over, true, and the surface is mossy and slick with dew, but there are plenty of branches to use for leverage. He's gotten pretty used to scrambling over trees and boulders and debris, combing through the abandoned city for salvageable tech. It's not exactly graceful, the way he scrambles up onto the tree, but it works, at least. He offers a hand down to Beverly, to help her up after him, so she doesn't need to put away the tricorder.
Once they hop down on the other side, and the rest of the medical team and their Guard follow, Cisco points in the direction of the building. It's a little taller than the buildings around it; Cisco feels a small drop in his stomach, but holds his chin high and keeps moving. ]
What's that thing do?
[ He gestures to the tricorder. ]
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Hmm?
[She looks down at the device. Of course! Cisco would certainly be curious about it!]
Any number of things, really - but primarily it's a scanner. Right now I'm taking environmental and life sign readings.
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[ Cisco absolutely is looking at the tricorder like he would very much like to open it up and dig around inside it, see what makes it tick and all of the awesome futuristic tech inside. But they need to stay on task. So he starts walking, though he keeps casting glances at it as they make progress. After a few moments he can't help but exclaim: ]
It's so... retro looking!
[ Must be one of those style things: where enough years had passed between his own time and Beverly's that what looks to him to be an outdated aesthetic is in style once more. ]
Lemme know if that thing picks up on anything incoming. We're definitely in, like, monster territory, now.
[ Saying it out loud seems to work as a kind of reminder to himself, and Cisco stops staring so much at the tricorder, keeps his eyes and ears alert for any signs of trouble. However, they are undisturbed as they close the last half mile to the building. When they come up to it, Cisco gestures for the others to follow him around back, to the door that Rey had carved a path to through the thick vines with her lightsaber.
Now that they're here, Cisco falters a little: ]
Uh, maybe... do you wanna scan before we go in...?
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She cocks her head curiously at his comment.]
Retro?
[The tricorder continues to hum as they move around to the back of the building, scans not showing anything out of the ordinary. Seeing Cisco's nervousness, Beverly easily takes charge, stepping up to the door and motioning one of the perimeter guards to follow her with his gun drawn, just in case. She scans the door.]
Nothing unusual here... I don't sense anything beyond the door either. Still, we should move with caution.
Um... [She turns her head slightly to address Cisco.] How does this door operate?
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[ But he trails off, leaving that thought unfinished. He waits as Beverly uses the tricorder to check inside the building. It's a small reassurance, that she says there's nothing unusual. Still, Cisco feels a twist of uneasiness in his stomach. ]
Here... let me.
[ He comes up beside Beverly, pulling a knife from one of the pockets of his vest and using it to saw through the vines he'd used to tie the door shut. He crouches down, then, and with a little bit of twisting and persuasion, pulls free the old crowbar he'd used to try to wedge the door shut at the bottom. Cisco stands up, then, reaches out to pull the door open. But he pauses, with his hands halfway there. Chewing on his lower lip, he draws his hands back, tugging at his sleeves so that they are covering his hands completely. Hopefully, Beverly will take that as some kind of slightly childish attempt to avoid getting his hands dirty. The truth is, of course, that he's going to try to avoid touching anything in the building directly, lest he have another rather awful vision of what went on there when it was still in use.
With his sleeve-covered hands he pulls the door forward, opening a path through to the building. ]
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Noting Cisco tucking his hands into his sleeves, she waves over one of the other medics, who has a medkit in hand.]
We brought gloves, if you think we'll need them?
[It is an abandoned medical facility after all. Better safe than sorry.]
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[ Cisco feels a twinge of guilt at that, because he's pretty sure that from a medical standpoint (as far as he knows anyway) the gloves are probably not necessary. But there's no good way to say "not you guys, but I should wear some" without coming up with some bullshit lie that Beverly will probably see through in an instant. So he bites his bottom lip, hopes that that feeling of guilt and self-consciousness just comes across as nervousness, and he takes the gloves from the medic, pulling them on and heading inside.
They head inside, and Cisco pulls a flashlight from his vest, flicking it on and looking around the entryway. There's not much there: dust particles getting caught in stray beams of light, a few crates full of old papers and x-rays, and in the back of the room, a staircase leading up. Cisco moves over to it, looking over his shoulder to check that Beverly is following him as they go up to the main room. ]
This is it.
[ It looks just as Cisco had remembered it: one big room, with various old pieces of high-tech looking equipment, and rows of chairs that look like they would belong in a dentist's office. The thick layer of dust on the floor has been disturbed by two sets of footprints - Cisco's and Rey's. From the sight of it, there's really no indication that this was a place that had been involved in the outbreak of plague. Cisco clears his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot. ]
It doesn't look like much...
[ He realizes right then that he should have come up with some sort of lie, some reason he could give Beverly that he'd known this place was a makeshift hospital. He'd been too specific, in his descriptions to her of how this place was used, and now there's here and there is no real evidence around to justify him knowing all that. ]
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Beverly circles some of the old crates with the tricorder and once it's confirmed there's nothing in there but documents, she waves at a fews of people to give them instructions. She leaves a couple of guards posted on the main floor, by the door and at the foot of the staircase, while a med tech starts prying open crates to see if there's any useful information to be had. The rest of the team follows Beverly and Cisco up the stairs.
The dust makes Beverly sneeze upon entering - which, weirdly enough, is an unusual experience for her. With the common cold cured long ago and with living on a ship with highly filtered air, Beverly rarely has to sneeze and she looks kind of surprised about it for a brief moment.]
Excuse me!
[Despite the dust, she walks over to the nearest piece of equipment and starts to examine it.]
Have you tried to boot any of these devices up?
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[ Cisco, far more accustomed to sneezing than Beverly, tosses off the response automatically. He doesn't notice her surprise over the experience, however; his eyes are fixed on the rows of chairs. He swallows, remembering the vision. How they had looked when they were filled with people dying, in very not-pretty ways. ]
What? Oh. No, we didn't. Once I realized what this place was, we left right away. We didn't touch the equipment.
[ He stands a little out of the way; he'd been here to guide Beverly and her team, and to answer any questions he could, but this part of the mission isn't something he can help with. He understands tech, but he's not a doctor. He doesn't know what he should and shouldn't touch.
When he'd been putting on those gloves, Cisco had been making an assumption - that if he kept himself from touching anything, especially with his bare hands, that he wouldn't vibe. But, as it turns out, that conclusion was incorrect. As he takes a few steps back, Cisco feels a familiar dropping in his stomach, and once that happens, there's no stopping it. From the outside, it will appear that he has merely gone still, staring off into the middle distance, not hearing or seeing anything around him. ]
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Cisco!
[Gently, she lays a hand on his arm.]
Cisco, can you hear me?
[When he doesn't move or respond, she turns to another doctor.]
Looks like it could be an epileptic seizure...
[She sounds uncertain though. Did Cisco have epilepsy? He never mentioned it but then why would he? There was no occasion for it before and she's not his regular doctor. The other doctor nods - it's the best guess. "I'll start timing it," they say. Everyone else clears a space around him, in case he collapses.]
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Where's the fire?
[ He watches as one of the doctors opens the door to something that looks like a mini-fridge, except that it doesn't seem to be plugged in anywhere, and there's a strange glow coming from the inside. Magic? Cisco can't tell. All he sees is the doctor shoving in a rack of vials - samples of something? - and slamming it shut, then pulling a canvas over the whole thing. Then he stacks some random items on top, trying to hide the thing and whatever was in it. ]
What are you up to?
[ Cisco looks around the room for clues, notices with a lurch of his stomach that some of the people coming and going aren't taking equipment - they're removing large, heavy bags that are stacked near to the stairs. Body bags. Before Cisco can even properly wrap his head around that, the vision is flickering around him, the tinted blue fading out as the lights and colors and sounds of the present come back. Only they come back a bit different than before. Beverly is closer, her face on him, worried and intent. The faces of all the medics are on him, watching, expectant.
Cisco is all too aware of his own thin, panicked breathing, of the fact that they must have noticed something wrong with him. There's no pretending he had just zoned out. This has clearly gone way beyond that. How long had he been out? What had he missed.
He looks to Beverly, eyes round. Makes a split-second decision not to try to hide it with smiles and jokes, but instead just gasps out: ]
I'm fine. It's all good.
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