Day 092: Frustrations Of An Emissary
Summary: Fiona finds Grey to talk about several situations she's run into, and one that he has.
Date: 29 August 2016
Related: Bridges, Seeing Eye to Eye, and Not a Simple Situation
Grey Fiona 


Gideon & Grey's Residence, The Row
In sceneset
92 Days After Landing

There are rough floorboards in place, and four walls, something approaching a roof, and even a couple of viewport windows, but… that's about it. There's also a tent set up inside, since that actually offers some privacy. The door to the dwelling — a salvaged panel from high up Alpha Station — rests against the exterior wall, Grey frowning as he apparently tries to figure out how hinges work, or at least, how they work in this situation.

There's a sudden rapping vibration on the opposite side of the door, and then a petite brown head pokes into the gap between the door and frame. "Hey." Fiona gives him a little grin. "Was hoping to catch up with you. You look like you're not busy?"

Grey looks up at the rapping, frustrating fading away from his face a little as he drops from a crouch into a sprawl on his butt, "Ugh. I could do with a little less busy. I ain't cut out for buildin', shit, Fi." He gestures her in past him, "Watch out for splinters, we're still workin' on smoothin' out the floor, but have a seat. Been meanin' to talk to you too. What's up?"

She ducks in, looking about gingerly. "It's coming along, at least?" she offers with a faint grin, but it diminishes significantly when he asks her what's up. "I've been trying to help with finding the people to put before the tribunal for Thripoda." she says. "Someone I talked to…may have information, but refused to be forthcoming." She's struggling with that.

"It is. Slowly. Too many experts workin' on too many other things. But Dee's got a clue, anyhow, so that makes up for me." Grey seems perfectly willing to throw himself under the bus there, although her more serious news causes him to frown, "Yeah? Could always send 'em to Lieutenant Wexler. She's a good cop." Which Grey certainly isn't, as his tone suggests he knows. "Anyone I know?"

Fiona admits quietly, "Natalie. She won't tell me anything she knows about the people I'm looking into. She's been interrogated before and it hasn't worked, so why shuld it now? It just felt…ugly, knowing I could probably have called the Guard on her and it would have been perfectly reasonable. I'm not sure it would have been right, though."

Grey blinks at the name given, then snorts a laugh, "Oh, shit, Fi. No, you don't go for the Guard with Natalie. Not after what her parents did. That'll just get her back up. She's been shit on for her dumbass idiot parents since Arkfall, and it ain't exactly made her want to work with folks."

"I didn't threaten her or anything. I just asked. I mean, I almost begged. But she wouldn't talk. Told me she understood if I had to send the Guard after her. I don't want to, but I also don't know if I should. I'm not sure why I came to you about it, but that's what felt like the right thing to do."

"Hell, she's feelin' picked on, she might even wanna be some sorta martyr." Grey snorts, lifting up the hem of his shirt to wipe his face with it, "And you know that dipshits like Cam and Morgan would eat that shit up too, even if they didn't agree with a single thing her parents wanted." Pausing there, the Guard nibbles on a thumbnail, thinking. One can practically hear the gears grinding. "I mean, I don't know the girl that well, but from what I saw, comin' at her as any sorta authority ain't gonna work for shit."

"I tried not to." Fiona says. "I didn't want to. I tried to make it about being one of the Hundred. About surviving." Her mouth purses a little. "I might be able to get what I need without going through her. But I hate an obstacle. One of the suspects has an alibi, but I haven't gotten any info on where she was and what she was doing with the other person who claimed she was with them." She scowls, and then, wanting to divert herself, "You were looking for me too?"

Grey shakes his head, "You're on the Council, Fi. That makes you authority. Natalie and Lip, they're almost as fed up with authority as Cam and Morgan and Cassandra, 'cause of how it's treated them." When she mentions his work, he sits up a little straighter, groaning a bit at the movement, "Yeah. Uh… so what crawled up your butt about the Trikru? Heard that you'd kinda soured on 'em. Everything alright with Blondie?"

Fiona blinks at that. "Everything's fine with Tuan. No, I - " she lets out a sigh. "Nothing we do is good enough for them. If I hadn't outright asked Lexa what she thought would be of most use, they'd still be turning their noses up. I know we're the ones who imposed ourselves, not that we had a choice but - it just feels like the only thing some members of Trikru look for are ways to take offense. And Kai…" She shakes her head.

Grey shrugs slightly at the first part, "They've been livin' without anything we've got for as long as we've been up in space, Fi. We're gonna have to convince 'em that what we got's useful." He snorts softly, "Hell, Britt's got a damned good reason not to want anything to do with tech… it's all gonna fall apart, and eventually, we won't be able to fix it anymore. But simple stuff, like the water system? Heat for the baths that ain't fire? Radios? Engines that'll run on somethin' simpler than solar panels? That's the good stuff." He shakes his head, "You know me, I don't take shit from nobody when I don't have to, but who've they been dealin' with most? You, me, Breen, Morgan? Two outta four of us are rational." His brows lower, "And what about Kai? She threatenin' to punch more of us?"

Fiona holds up a hand. "I know that, Grey. I do. But it feels like we're trying and nothing is good enough. That gets frustrating after a while. And maybe it will fall apart, maybe it won't, but the solar panels are a start, and there's also been some talk about wind turbines. It's kind of out of my bailiwick, but we're enterprising people. Kai…" Another sigh. "She says she's advocating for both sides, but it's hard not feeling like we've been thrown under the bus."

"They're not all assholes, just like we ain't all assholes." He shrugs a bit, "Who you been dealin' with that's givin' you the most trouble? Maybe it's time to talk to other Trikru and find out if you're dealin' with their assholes." Kai is apparently another matter, as Grey grunts, nibbling on his other thumbnail, "Kai left us in the lurch. I get she's out for what's best for her, but she's also got a mad-on for her dad. I dunno, maybe ask her what she's been tellin' the Trikru about us, if you're worried. Or hell, ask them. The way Dee's sister tells it, they don't rate lyin' high up on their list of good traits. Might just be able to trust what they say."

"Britt. And Kai, mainly. I know there are troublemakers amongst us. Everyone else has been more or less approachable. And the thing is, I like Britt." Fiona lifts her hands in exasperation. "I mean, she helped us." She shakes her head. "Things will get better…or they'll get worse. If we get the offer to become part of the Coalition, things will come to a head."

Grey grunts, "Huh. Britt's been fine 'round me. I mean, she ain't happy to deal with us, but she agreed to a joint hunt so I could show off NVGs, and even offered us all the meat and hides from the hunt 'cause we'd be showin' off somethin' new." He shakes his head a little, "Kai… well, Kai's a teenager." Like both of the people involved in the conversation, although by Grey's tone, he doesn't consider himself one, "She's pissed off at her dad, and at everyone in camp, from what I can tell. Not that I've had much to do with her lately. But I damned sure wouldn't use her as a judge for what real Trikru are feelin'." And then he blinks, "Wait… become part of the Coalition? There ain't no way I'm givin' up my rifle. I'm good enough with a club, but screw that. We give up our rifles, they can run over us any time they want to."

"We don't know that joining the Coalition would include that requirement. We don't know anything yet." Fiona says frankly. "Trust me, I know the issue with weapons is a non-starter. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Fiona gives him a wry look. "I'm allowed to get frustrated you know. And I'm not saying that Skaikru hasn't been difficult."

Grey shrugs a little helplessly, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I've run into some real assholes. Arlin socked me for no good reason," at least according to Grey, "while I was helpin' get Asher to the docs. Some of the others have been just like… couldn't care one way or the other. But that's fine by me." He nods, "And yeah, you're allowed to be frustrated, but we're trustin' you to speak for all of us, Fi. That means you gotta be better'n the rest of us at hidin' when you're frustrated, right?" He smirks a little crookedly, "'Cause I know damned sure you're better at it than me."

"Well that should give you an idea of how frustrated I actually was!" But she's smiling when she says it, and gets to her feet. "Anyway. Is Gideon staying away from New Coesbur? Because if it doesn't trouble her to go there, you and she should come have dinner with me and Tuan sometime."

Grey chuckles at Fiona's response, "And that's why you get the big bucks and I'm just a Guardsman." When she rises, he too hauls himself to his feet, dusting off his hands. The question causes him to wobble his head from side to side, then echo the gesture with a waggling hand, "I don't think she's staying away, but I don't think she's gonna be spending much time there. Hell, you and Tuan could come on by here if you wanted. Three of us, one of him." And he's definitely not going to remind her that he promised dinner with her parents.

"Oh, and…I hope you like fish. The 'rents asked me the other day when you were coming over for dinner. You can bring Gideon if you want. I oughtta go, though. Listen, maybe you can look into something for me? Rita Consuelos was provided Aetha Swain her alibi concerning the dropship, but no one seems to have info on what their relationship is or what they were doing or where they were. Can you see if there's anything in the security logs?"

Damn it. Grey's little wince is easily visible as Fiona remembers the invitation, but he plasters a smile onto his lips, "Ah… yeah… just been busy, you know. And I'm gettin' used to fish. I think I kinda like river-snake better, but I ain't exactly gonna go lookin' for those." And then he's business again, frowning a little and nodding, "I can look into it, but our security logs got beat the shit in Arkfall."

"Whatever you can find." I trust you." She heads for the door. "Tell Gideon hello from me. And don't be a stranger, okay?" With that, she ducks out.

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