Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Oh Pool Boy...[Fin]

[Forge]

[The night of his promotion.]

Vinny emerged from the men's locker room and walked into the pool area, his eyes glazed, consumed in his own thoughts. He was determined to tire himself out so that he could sleep more than an hour at a time. He was wearing a black speedo and had a towel over his shoulder as he approached the rinse showers, his flip-flops clacking on the concrete pool decking.

He turned the knobs on, not noticing the coolness of the water as he let it run over his body, watching the drops fall away and down the drain.

Needlessly down the fuckin' drain, like the lives of my teammates.

He let the water run a few minutes over his body, satisfying the pool gods that he would not contaminate the pristine body of chlorinated water.

Fuck right, everyone pisses in the thing.

Throwing his now moist towel over to a bench, he walked around to one end and pulled his goggles down before diving in, dolphin kicking his way towards the end of the pool.

Now Captain Wright, you have to look out for your own.

[z028 Riley]

Kyria was sitting under the diving board this time, having learned her lesson on her thinking place with Jaunt. Sure enough, the splash of a diver interrupted the quiet calm of the water that had so reminded her of sitting on the outside of Lorean while she was in orbit around Earth. It took her until he was nearly halfway across the pool before she pegged who it was.

My new team leader. I wonder if he's anything like what I've heard.

Given most of what she 'heard' around the base were the thoughts of baseline Airmen screaming at the top of their minds, she was pretty sure she could give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, she was going to be working with him at least until they decided to switch up teams with them again. She decided to see if he could handle her better than General Oneill.

*Hello.* The thought was definitely not his own, was feminine, and was laced with mischief.

[Forge]

Fucking shit-on-a-stick!

He floundered, instinctively headed to the surface, even if he didn't need to and looked around, trying to find the mind-reader.

He tore his goggles off, wiping water from his face as he yelled, "Hey, you fuckin' in here?" Water droplets were flung as he jerked his head around searching until he saw the dark form under the diving board.

Don't care if you're in here, but its fuckin' scary, so watch your goddamn step.

Getting used to having an exceedingly hot woman who could read his thoughts was nigh-impossible, so he had decided to just let her read what she wanted and let her be the one to go insane. He was trying to think what he was trying to say, but how the hell did it work anyhow? He wasn't a fucking mind-reader after all.

[z028 Riley]

Her mental chuckle was just on the edge of giggles. *Don't worry. I can just keep it to talking with you. Like a walkie-talkie without all the wires and plastic. So, I guess you're responsible for me now?*

She kicked lazily up to the surface, breaking the surface without an hint of an instinctive breath once she was back in a breathable atmosphere. She looked him over with an appraising eye, "I don't know whether to congratulate you, or offer my condolences." She swam a little closer to him, kicking into a lazy circle around him. "What do you think?"

[Forge]

"Think there's gonna lots of fuckin' headaches." he responded, spinning as he treaded water.

Fuckin' gorgeous. Welcome to the fuckin' team. Have a seat, take your clothes off...stay awhile.

He had warned her, so the rack of inappropriate images that went through his mind, he made no effort to qualm as he watched her. Being around Vinny she would have to get used to it or stay out of his head. He was okay with it either way.

"Also think you'll do fuckin' better on my team."

*Lots more images* Even if you are a damn soul-stealing alien bent on the enslavement of Earth. *Yet more images, mostly dealing in leather.*

[z028 Riley]

"Soul eating alien bent on the enslavement of Earth?" She laughed. "Huh. That's sort of a new one. Trust me, if I wanted to be in charge of the human race, I'd've stuck with my father and been there already. As it is, I think I like just being in charge of myself right now." If she'd picked out any of his more promiscuous thoughts about her, she didn't seem surprised or offended.

She pulled herself over to the side of the pool, pushing herself up onto the edge of the concrete with a lithe ease. Feet kicking in the water, she said, "I don't know you. I've heard rumors and things about you. Like that you tried to blow up SG8 and that you've got some bet riding on a barbeque or something, but all that's just other people's thoughts. So, is there more to you than a leather fetish and cigars?"

[Forge]

"Why do you bother, you can get the answers yourself." he replied with a smirk as he started to gently do laps again, easing his arms in and out of the water gently as he practiced his backstroke and stared at her perfect body.

SG-1 can kiss my hairy white ass, she is waaay better than T.

"Conversation with you would just be a waste of fuckin' time. Look for yerself, not ashamed of my shit."

Yeah, sure, not bent on dominating the planet my ass, you got the Gen to accept you into the SGC with barely a word against, we'll fuckin' see.

[z028 Riley]

"I can do that, if that's what you'd want, but you don't necessarily think all that clearly most of the time, so it's like trying to hear one channel when someone's babbling across half a dozen. That and it gets tiring after a while. Talking works too, and the only reason the General put on a team I'm pretty sure is that it's easier to keep an eye on me through other people that way than to have a bored nova that can mess with your head and resents being locked up underfoot all the time." She shrugged, "You'll believe whatever you want, everybody does."

She let silence fall between them for a beat, then asked, "What kind of missions do you think they'll send us on? The last one was.....I don't know. Short. A little violent. I hope the SGC intends to go back and at least rescue the humans the Jaffa had as slaves. Or capture them, since I guess they used to work for the Goa'uld."

[Forge]

Touchy, touchy

"Missions vary widely, from first contact to infiltration to all-out attacks. Don't know about your last ride, so can't say much, but the SGC tends to get involved as little as fuckin' possible lately as far as incubators go, the rebellion shit and all."

He taped the wall and flipped pushing back off the wall into another dolphin kick, not surfacing until he reached her. He rested his arms up on the pool deck next to her to keep himself out of the water. The quick furtive glances at her form were far from inobvious, but he managed to drag his eyes up and look her in the eye. "So assuming you are stuck here for whatever reason, do you like what you're doing? On the team, what function do want to perform?"

Aside from fuckin' arm candy.

[z028 Riley]

"Hmn.....well, I'm pretty good for gathering intelligence, and on the mission with Major Hawke I basically acted as a scout warning system that didn't have to leave the group to find the bad guys. I can also be the communication hub for the group, if we can't use the walkie-talkies for some reason, though again it does get tiring after a while especially with more people. I'm good enough in a fight that Sgt. Declan likes sparring with me, and I seem to be good at grabbing attention again." She grinned at him at the last bit, glad to be feeling more like her old self than she had since the Watchers sent her here and stripped her of so much of herself.

She tilted her head thoughtfully at him, legs still kicking rhythmically in the chlorinated water, "Is there something you want me doing?"

[Forge]

The images that flashed through his mind made it quite clear as to what he wanted her to do, most of them involved being wrapped around him in one form or another.

That's a fuckin' loaded question.

"Yeah, saw you spar Beast awhile back, but I asked what you wanted to do, not what you did with Hawke." he replied.

"Rather the people on the team do something they fuckin' enjoy. You seem to like teasing the shit outta me, maybe you should be the talker. Fuck knows, it ain't gonna be me."

Man she is fuckin' hot in that bikini.

[z028 Riley]

She giggled at his thoughts, enjoying this game immensely at the moment. "I could do that. Who else is on the new team? I remember them getting listed off, but I wasn't really paying attention. It seems like the best idea would be just to have me do whatever I'm the best at doing in the group."

She grinned, "Do you think they'll send us out on like first contact missions? That would be more fun than stalking a Jaffa base."

[Forge]

"As it stands; you, me, Courier and an open slot they haven't filled." he answered, his eyes narrowing at her obvious enjoyment of teasing him.

"Fuckin' said, they'll send us on whatever they feel like, with me in charge, doubt O'Neil will be sending us on many diplomatic shit. Though you are more than fuckin' welcome to ask for 'em." he said, a tad harshly.

For someone who can fuckin' read minds...sure does forget fast.

He let go of the deck and sank into the water, kicking off from the wall to resume his swim. Vinny swam beneath the surface, lapping the pool a couple times, his gills burned from the chlorinated water, but he didn't care. As fast as they were damaged, they healed, maintaining nothing more than an odd shortness of breath.

Why you bait'n me?

His thoughts up until that point had remained oddly silent, as if he were deliberately not thinking as he swam.

[z028 Riley]

*The question was mostly rhetorical and asking your opinion, not any facts you knew.* Her brow furrowed as her smile slipped away. *And I was baiting you because you seemed to enjoy it. Just because I can read minds doesn't mean I know you so well I'll never make a mistake or misread something. I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just being playful.*

Her tone was defensive and hurt as she pulled her legs up out of the water, putting more physical and mental distance between them. Major Hawke may not have been particularly attentive or close to her, but at least he had never been intentionally rude or mean.

[Forge]

Alright. His mental tone apologetic. Chalk it up to bein' an ass, you'll get use to it... Or go bat's-ass crazy trying.

He finally surfaced again near her, grabbing the wall and pulling himself up to take a seat beside her. The gill slits along his ribs flared a few times before settling down, the irritated redness around them quickly fading. He rubbed his face and head with his hands, squeegeeing away the water before looking down at her.

"Realize command is not something I'm fuckin' used to, let alone caring what other ass-tard's think. Until my feral thoughts are beat a few times, yer just gonna have to give me the benefit of the doubt. What goes on up here," he said tapping his head, "is not fair to fuckin' judge me by, and I'll try to avoid knee-jerk reactions like the fuckin' cafe's tater tots, kapeesh?"

[z028 Riley]

"I wasn't judging you. Thoughts are one thing, actions are what matter. I learned that before I learned how to speak." Her gaze was clear and serious, all teenage banter banished for the moment.

After a quiet moment she reached out to brush across the healing gills on his side, her eyes flicking up to his curiously, "How do you like being a nova so far?"

[Forge]

Her touch caused a small shiver at the odd sensation, "Have to admit, it's pretty fuckin' cool. Though, wish the body art hadn't disappeared, and bein' able to see buildings catastrophic flaws is unsettling." he answered.

He waved a hand at the pool, "There are five different places leaks are gonna break throuh within the next two years."

"What about you?" he asked, looking over at her, "How'd you deal with becomin' Wonder Woman?"

[z028 Riley]

Her brow furrowed as the deciphered the 'Wonder Woman' comment. The cultural difference between here and her homeworld were just enough to make most pop-culture references tricky for her. From context she understood what he meant, though, and shook her head, "I was born a nova. A 'Specialist' here, I guess. And don't worry, they'll get to the leaks before there's a major problem." She frowned, "Except maybe the one on the bottom corner near the diving board. We should probably say something about that one. It's pretty hard to spot and is thin but deep."

Another comment caught up with her, "You had body art? Tattoos, right? What were they of?"

[Forge]

"All sorts of shit....somethin' for every shithole I was sent to when I worked for Northrup Grumman, well most anyway." he said shaking his head a little.

He started gesturing to various parts of his body as he listed off some of the tattoos. "Polynesian arm-band here, Arabic writing here, atomic model of C-4 on my back, acme bomb over here, prairie dog over here, don't fuckin' ask. Even had a couple done by off-world natives, but those were more brands or scars than tats."

Vinny looked back up at her to gauge her actual interest, wondering why he couldn't stop going on and on in attempts to impress her.

"How bout you darlin'? You sportin' any ink under that skimpy piece?"

[z028 Riley]

She shook her head, not quite blushing. "Nope. I tried once, when I was six. I wanted a little tattoo on my ankle of this blue and green jeweled butterfly that lived on the island I grew up on. My father was away and would be gone for several months, ensuring that an economic summit would have the right people at it and wouldn't interfere with Steve's businesses or Ulric's current political webs. So I ordered a kit from the 'net and bribed the mail checker to bring it directly to me instead of passing it through my governess. There was enough ink in the kit to try it over a dozen times; by the time my father got home I was crushed. I hadn't spoken to anyone in weeks. He figured out what happened and explained to that while I can't have tattoos, I'll never get sick or stay hurt for long." She grinned at a happy memory. "He bought me a henna kit for my seventh birthday, though. I spent most of that year covered in brown lines from head to toe."

She looked curiously down at her bikini and asked, "Skimpy? Is this not appropriate for here? I'm not used to swimming with anything on, but everyone I've seen in here has had some sort of bathing suit, so I looked them up on your 'internet'. Ones like this seemed to be the most popular."

[Forge]

Naked?!

"Darlin'...you wanna swim in the buff, don't let me fuckin' stop ya." he said grinning, "Though you do look fucktastic in that piece. It's more than adequate." he said, looking her over.

He was having very inappropriate thoughts about the person he had decided to be the likely choice for his 2IC, envisioning a nude version of her covered in henna designs, frolicking in a small waterfall.

"So...where is your Dad these days?" he said trying, but unable, to steer his thoughts away from her insane beauty.

[z028 Riley]

"Well, the last time I saw him he was the de facto leader of the human race on my homeworld, which at that time was continuing it's expansion and colonization of a good chunk of the Milky Way galaxy. He'd also married and had some other kids. And everyone was either a nova, a psion, or cybernetically augmented and hooked into like a central human knowledge and communication core. That last part was actually pretty cool."

She started giggling hard enough to roll onto her back and clutch at her sides. "Sorry," she gasped out after a minute, "I just remembered the look on everyone's faces when that guy came up and asked us if we wanted to join him and some others for an after dinner orgasm. That was priceless."

[Forge]

The look on Vinny's face said she was out of her mind and the thoughts in his head weren't far behind. Though his suspicions of her world domination plot came back full-force.

"Sounds like my kinda guy." Vinny said smirking and huffing a laugh. "You take him up on that offer?"

[z028 Riley]

She shook her head, her cheeks pinking. "No, we were more concerned with the whole my-dad-took-over-humanity thing. That and Andrew and some of the others were pissed about him doing something to suppress their taint and using what they'd set in place to do what they'd been doing for the past 80 years, just more directly. It was a really.....tense....day. Besides, I had a boyfriend then. Not really that kind of sharing guy."

She laid back on the concrete, arms spread out and legs kicking in the water again. "I don't want to talk about my dad. Or Cody. I came here to get away from him. My Dad - not Cody. He stayed on Atlantis to become a Watcher." She was quiet for a minute. "Hmn. I wonder if they're here, like Steve is. I mean, Dad would be in his eighties or hundreds here, without a nova lifespan. I'm not sure when Cody was born. Even Max would be old or dead here." There was a soft note of regret in her train of thought that deepened at the end.

[Forge]

"Sorry to drudge up the muck darlin'." Vinny said genuinely as he reached down towards the water, apparently to rinse his goggles. "Sure you'll find some new bro's & ho's to have dinner parties. First though, think you need to..."

Letting his goggles drop into the pool, he cupped his hands and hauled the water out and over the prone girl, soaking her.

"...cool off." he finished, chuckling.