There's gonna be a Tonal shift here, the last three chapters have been a bit of a downer for me to write, so thing will be more light-hearted for the next three or so.

Hopefully...

Chapter 12: Pool paddling Beasties.

BlackWasp Phi-42
Caprican Airspace.

The steady rumble of the BlackWasp's engines changed pitch, the shift enough to wake me from the nap I'd taken. I still expected to feel the stomach-dropping feeling of losing altitude, but once again, the gravity plating nullified it. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I watched the others remove their straps and start gathering what equipment we'd taken with us. Considering that was only what we could carry, I hoped this new base had stuff waiting for us, a girl needs her blankets after all.

"Thirty seconds people, welcome to our home for the foreseeable future. The weather is a balmy 0c factoring in the windchill, better hope you packed a coat." The announcement over, we prepared to disembark, though the warning about the cold was a bit concerning.

For all that my body was a powerful, lightning-fast killing machine, it really wasn't designed for cold environments. With how hard my body operated, I leaked heat like a sieve, which wasn't an issue in the higher average temperatures of Sonnie's home dimension. With a thumb, the transport landed, the engines spooling down once we settled. The blast of freezing air as the ramp dropped had those in lighter gear cursing, myself included. When it was my turn to leave, I had to duck away from the light. As the glare faded, I saw the platform we'd landed on abruptly ended at a safety railing. Brilliant white peaks rose into the sky in the distance, the sun shining clear in the frigid air.

The view was breathtaking, wherever we were must be built into a mountain range, the valleys shrouded in clouds. The blistering wind dug into my flesh with sharp needles of chill, my body forced to take larger breaths in the thinner air. I wasn't the only one captivated by the view, even the prat Hatch gaping at the scenery. Turning from the stunning sights, beyond the BlackWasp a set of hanger doors trundled open to disgorge a pair of wheeled tugs and a soldier bundled up in winter gear. The tugs quickly hooked up to our transport and began to drag it into the hanger, our cue to follow it and escape the biting cold.

The soldier gestured at us to follow, a move I was happy to oblige. Once inside the hanger cored into the mountain, the impressively thick doors rolled shut. Ceiling lamps thumped into life, banishing the gloom. The cavern reminded me of Echo Base, reinforcements, and scaffolding covering excavated rock walls and ceiling. While still chilly, our greeter shed his hood, flashing pearly white teeth from beneath his goggles.

"Welcome to Defense Array Rho! If you'll follow me we can do proper introductions downstairs. I'd do it here but you folks look like you need a warm-up first." Huh, wasn't expecting an Irish accent. With that... enthusiastic greeting over, our little group followed him to an aircraft lift, the BlackWasp occupying the second lift I could see.

Unusually, he showed no discomfort being near me, a refreshing change for sure. The lift began to descend, plain rock the only thing to see for the few minutes it took to reach the bottom. I'd been expecting an actual hangar/maintenance bay for aircraft and the room... was, before being converted to what looked like a spacious training hall, filled with milling figures. With a crunch, the lift stopped, our guide waved the mix of humans and Cylons in construction gear out through a pair of large double doors. The entire place felt... old, the equipment I could see around lacking the sleek look of the modern Caprican technology. The guide finished ushering the last few workers from the hall, coming back and offering Major Matos a salute.

"Captain Idrian Scheer, It's a pleasure to meet you, Major! My apologies about the conditions, we only got the order to reactivate this place three days ago, hence the workers. Array Rho was built during the height of the last Imperial War, so the amenities aren't great. Bunking for your people is through the doors, as is everything else you need, including hot showers." If I had to describe this guy in one word, it would have to be chipper. Funnily enough, he was even shorter than Jess, though not by much truth be told.

The thought of showers brought cheer to the humans, the long flight, and subsequent freezing arrival putting them in the mood for some downtime.

"Meet me at my office in an hour, Captain. I'll need to know how soon the work will be finished before we can start doing our job." With that, the Major strode off through the doors, the rest of our unit following him. The doors looked large enough to let me pass on all fours, but a cough stopped me following Jess and the others. Captain Scheer had his hand out, offering a handshake...to me? What the hell, if he wanted to, might as well humor the guy.

A sub tail gently met his hand, the short man pumping it with surprising enthusiasm given the bone spike a couple of centimeters from his fingers. Bemused, I let him shake the tail a moment before pulling it back, that grin still on his youthful face.

"You must be the reason command requested the tunnels be expanded along with this hall and the pool! Trying to do all this was a fantastic challenge, so as an Engineer, you have my thanks...Miss is it?" God, this guy had to have balls of steel, first time seeing me and he wants a handshake.

"Miss is fine, Captain. After a week of having to crouch indoors was a pain, being able to move freely will be a treat."

That got a laugh from the Captain, looking proud that at least to me, his work was sorely appreciated.

"Well then, Miss. Follow me and I'll show you your bunking area. Given the space constraints, I hope you don't mind it being in the hall, but I couldn't work miracles!" Leading me through the plastic strips sectioning off a third of the hall, I beheld something wonderful.

One half was taken up by a pile of blankets and mattresses, large enough for me to curl up on without cramping. Shelves were affixed to the two walls on each side, high enough that an errant tail swipe wouldn't knock stuff off. But it was what filled the other half that had me overjoyed.

An honest to god pool was here, the water milky but from the steam, nice and hot! My first urge was to leap right in, forcing the urge down as doing so would soak the entire place. The chuckle from Scheer had me turn to see him still smiling at my antics.

"I can see you want to give it a test-run Missy, but give this humble Engineer time to explain it first." Humble my scaly ass, the man wasn't even hiding the grin on his face.

"Y'can likely guess that didn't start life as ah pool, this whole chamber used to be a hanger like its twin. In that pit, there was an immersion bath for the aircraft engines they used back when this place was first built. Big piston types, so they needed a bath like that to help with the wear operating in these mountains caused. Of course, nowadays the stuff we use doesn't need these setups anymore."

I nodded, the explanation making far more sense than these people building a pool just for me.

"The water's discolored thanks to these old pipes, but it only traces, nothing harmful. Rho, like her siblings, is powered by Geothermal power, hence us all havin hot water so high up. Took a bit of finagling, but we got the Array's excess water heated and piped into here. An ingenious solution if I do say so myself... which I do." Scheer wasn't being a braggart, but I didn't blame the guy for being proud of his work.

The urge to test it got too much, so I gave in and prowled over to the edge, experimentally sticking a paw in. I had to resist a shudder, the warmth was just... perfect and made me want to soak in it right now. Before that, a burning question needed answering. The engineer perked up as I actually looked at him, that easy smile not even faltering from my stare.

"I'm sorry if this comes across as rude, Captain. But... how the frak are you so bloody comfortable being near me? Most people get freaked and back off if I get close, but you went for a handshake when you first saw me."

Laughter wasn't what I was expecting, the noise so unexpected it had my hackles raised. Scheer noticed my reaction, calming down with a hand raised placatingly.

"Ah didn't mean to come across as mockin you Miss, It's just that sort of reaction is something I get all the time at home when people see the family pets. I'm not comparing you to a pet, it's just you look kinda similar and just as scary as the Tauron Fire Lizards we have."

It said a lot the expression I'd got best at expressing in a way humans could understand was confusion. What did some lizard from Tauron have to do with all this?

"Ah can see you're confused. So, imagine a hulking lizard, maw full o teeth, and the like. Now make it the size of a horse and amphibious and you've got a Tauron Fire Lizard. Sweet as all heck but a fright ta those who aren't familiar with em." Correction, this guy was insane by normal standards, what sort of person kept a horse-sized Komodo Dragon as a pet!

"And you keep these things as... pets? Though that does explain why you didn't run screaming at seeing me..." I guess he must be the Colonial equivalent of those people back home who kept Tigers and such.

"Aye, when you grow up around em, someone like yourself ain't really scary, though you're a damn sight larger than a Fire Lizard." Scheer pushed off from the wall, walking over to the pool edge, waving towards the milky fluid. "Go ahead and try it, so I know it works."

I wasn't going to get better permission than that, Scheer jumping back with a laugh as my body entering the water splashed droplets in his direction. I was far too busy luxuriating, the warm water soothing my skin in a way showers never could. All those little irritating spots disappeared on contact with the water, muscles I never knew were tense standing out in their absence. The pool wasn't large enough to swim in, but it was deep enough to submerge completely. Taking a breath, I dunked my head under, membranes over my eyes keeping them clear of particulates in the fluid. Khanivore I knew was part aquatic, octopus I think? So the love of water was to be expected, though how good it felt was certainly a lovely surprise.

I lost track of how much time I spent just soaking in the pool, by the time I surfaced to check, Captain Scheer was gone, leaving me alone. The prospect of leaving the water to search wasn't worth losing that amazing warmth, so back under I went, having actual fun for the first time since I woke up on Caprica.

-

Drying her hair as she emerged from the showers, Jess spotted Hadrian leaning against the wall, his sensor flickering when she came into view. She made to walk past before stopping, figuring he could answer the question best.

"Hadrian, you seen Nike about? I figured she'd want a shower to wet her skin after that flight." The draw of a hot shower had made the Marine forget Nike hadn't actually followed them out of the repurposed Hanger.

"Friend Nike is currently utilizing the Hydrotherapy Suspension Tank, Corporal." Jessie sighed, the U-87's propensity of speaking technical to mess with her was a quirk she'd eventually gotten used to.

"In plain Caprican, please?" Jess rubbing the last of the water off her face as she spoke, throwing the towel into a nearby basket.

"I believe Captain Scheer called it a Pool, attached to Nike's quarters in the hall. Does that answer your question?" And now he was back to being sassy, before what he said registered.

"Nike has a pool in her quarters? You're messing with me you wind-up lug, aren't you?" The shake of Hadrian's painted head had Jess brush past him and out into the hallway leading to the Hall.

She heard his thumping strides fall in behind her, but her attention was on finding out if he really was telling the truth. The double doors leading to the hall were easily slipped past as the woman made a bee-line to the plastic flaps cutting off part of the chamber. Jess heard splashing coming from behind the strips, the sight of Nike nearly submerged in an actual frakking pool had her laughing in disbelief. Here she was thinking them having hot showers was amazing when Nike had been given her own pool!

"I swear on the Lords, this universe has a thing for cruel and unusual punishments. We get showers and you get your own frakking pool, how is that fair!"

The only response from the oversized lizard enjoying the water was a rattling hiss, Nike's clearly enjoying the chance to one-up Jess. With a cheeky tail wave, the Beastie sank under the surface, the only evidence she was there a trail of bubbles. Jessie walked up to the edge, trying to see how deep Nike went. She never noticed the tail sneaking up behind her before it gave her a tug into the pool. Her scream of surprise trailed off as the expected plunge stopped short of going underwater, giving Jess time to get afloat.

Nike surfacing a second later with what could only be an incredibly smug expression was the final straw. The Beastie snorted as Jess splashed some of the milky water over her snout, both women fighting grins.

"As repayment for pulling me into the pool, I get to use it whenever I like, deal?" Nike nodded, throwing Jess a thumbs up.

Standing on the sidelines, Hadrian observed the two mess about. The occasional splash of water hitting his feet got no response from the U-87 Commander, the Cylon content in letting the two women de-stress.

Besides, the water would rust his servos if he jumped in after all.

-

The last few chapters haven't been the brightest, so as a balance, you get Nike playing in a pool and Jess being totes jealous.

The next couple of chapters will be lighter in tone as I narrow the focus to just the unit, there's been enough heavy stuff for the moment.

I'll have an informational on the history of Defense Array Rho tomorrow.