She had always liked to dance, and that was why it all happened; little Connie had never learned to let go. It's why it all started, and what had ended it all, the damn dancing. Playing with positions, learning moves and techniques, it's why she ended up as she was; in the army, fighting with the smoke.
It's all one big stage.
"Connie?" She snapped the screen of the data pad out of view, her face more guilty than a child whose cheeks are smeared with chocolate. It was only Wash; she had to remember her character, who she was playing. Her eyes snapped into something much more menacing.
"What do you want?" It was an accusing growl she threw at him, even though the good guy really shouldn't have to be taking abuse from the other good guys. That's all this was, the performance of her life.
"Can I come in?" He was nervous...or was he just playing a nervous character, the one about to fight the dragon?
"Why?" Did that make her the dragon? His hand slowly raised to show her what it gripped. Her helmet, the mask that she had accepted before gliding into place. It was her part, and she would have to play it well; there was no understudy in life. That didn't mean she couldn't ask for help.
"I- I thought you might want this back..." His statement ran out, like he had forgotten his line and didn't have the nerves to ask for it. But that was it; he was playing his part well. She on the other hand, well, CT didn't have anyone to compare to. She was to be alone in this.
That's the thing about plays, they have so many parts and characters in them, that sometimes, the same person had to play more than one. That's why she was sometimes the Dragon, and sometimes a good guy, but more often than not, she turned out to be the bad guy. It was only when she rolled her eyes and put the datapad away that Wash entered, cautiously. He was scared to step on her toes and get this act wrong.
He seemed to have forgotten that she loved to dance, and nothing would stop her from the way of her life.
"What you said, about the lines..." He was nervous, scared of her; that meant that right now, she was playing the dragon. "Do you actually believe all of that?" He stood, right next to the closed door, as though completely ready to bolt if he needed to. The thing is, she had exhausted all of her fire the last time they had spoken. The dragon was finally turning back into the normal person it once was.
She took her time to look at him, evaluate his face. "Can I trust you Wash?" She leaned forward to tug her helmet from his hands.
"Of course." He sounded insulted that she would even need to ask that.
The dance had started.
She needed to be careful with her steps, each word could be a successful move, or a stumble towards the edge of the stage. "You promise to listen and not interrupt?" An eyebrow was raised as she made her first move.
It went well enough. Wash moved, away from the door and sat himself on her bed, pulling a face at the crinkles in the sheets. He wanted to fix it. She tried not to notice it, how he squirmed and fought the need for it to be taut across the bed. She remained standing, despite his insistence. CT moved and gathered her data-pad into her hands again.
"How much do you know about Sigma?" Her next movement was more complicated than it ought to be; like starting out with some sort of flying maneuver.
"Carolina's A.I?" He lifted his own helmet of, just to make the surprise and confusion evident. Then he shook his head. "Not a lot. It's apparently a fragment."
That was it; Wash knew the dance too, and he was about to join in. "As are all the others to come." Her smile towards him was weak, but supportive; like he was a child grasping a concept years beyond him.
"What do you mean?"
"You've never questioned where the A.I's are coming from? How he's getting them, when clearly the oversight committee gave him permission for one.?" The move was far too ambitious, at least for the character Connie. She slipped, stumbled, and paused.
It turned out that Wash didn't know this dance after all. It was the wrong one; or she was making the wrong moves. "you know what...?" She halted, along with the track, and waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it." Was all CT said before opening the door to allow Wash out. He looked at her for a moment, trying to understand the sudden change of heart.
The sad tale was that as much as Connie loved dancing, CT never learned how. She was willing to try, but Wash wasn't. There was no way she dance something magical that required teamwork. Not when they weren't willing to join in.
It was a long time before he too sighed and made his way to the door, shooting an apologetic look; one full of sympathy and confusion that she did not want.
CT was left to perform this dance, solo.