Fic: Romper Stomper 1/1 Gaeta/Jammer PG-13
Title: Romper Stomper Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own BattleStar Galactica 2003. Characters: Gaeta, 3, 6, Cavil, Adama, and Jammer. Words: 3134 Prompt: The Brig Fandom: BattleStar Galactica 2003 Pairing: Gaeta/Jammer Rating: Adult Warnings: Language, Violence Summary: The Cylons find out Gaeta was the mole before the Galactica comes to the rescue. Author's Note: Different take on the first few episodes of the 3rd season. ______________________________________
The sound of the alarm clock on the beside table drew him from his drowsy rest. He moaned in distress, not wanting to awaken. The warmth of their shared bed tried to draw him back to sleep, but Felix knew it was luxury he couldn't afford. Forcing himself to sit up, he dislodged the arms of his bed mate from his waist.
Groaning, the dark haired man rolled over to face away from Felix.
Gaeta snorted at him, but let him remain in bed. He had to get up, not his lover. The colonial government was relying solely upon him, what little authority the cylons let it have. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't even spend ten extra minutes in bed with that beautiful ass that was currently sticking out of his covers, teasing him... Felix forced himself to turn away.
Strolling naked to the bureau at the end of his small room, he grabbed a pair of underwear. Pausing in the doorway to the head, he watched his lover's form. The gentle rise and fall of his sleeping man made his chest ache. Grinning like a dope, he headed in to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
14 Hours Later.
"Someone here is responsible."
Silence reined in the cabin of Colonial One as the cylons stared from one to another, none of them being subtle about it. More often than not, eyes landed upon Boomer. A few looked towards Caprica Six, but would move just as quickly away with disgust. Months ago, none of them would have dared to even speak negatively about either of them, now, they were at the top of the list.
Raising his face from Caprica Six's hair, Gaius observed them a while before snorting. "Look at you, so superior to us lowly humans and yet can't even carry out a simple state sponsored mass murder."
"Stuff it, Gaius." Three had grown sick of their tablo and was close to shooting them both. "You talk so much, one might think you had something to hide."
When all eyes turned to Baltar, he rolled his own. "Oh, yes, quite right. I gave you up to the resistance. And when did I supposedly do this? When I was cowering in my office, afraid to even glance out a port hole for fear of being shot? Or, I know, when I was so drunk I was passed out on my shitter because it's the only place in this barge to hell I can get some peace!"
"Enough, Baltar, we know you're too much of a coward to ever defy us." One of the Cavils rubbed at his lips, massaging them in thought. "It had to be one of us. No one but we knew where the executions were to take place."
"Well, that's not entirely true. Gaeta seemed pretty upset about your plans." Baltar had been musing, rubbing Six's hair out of her eyes. But, when he saw her staring back at him in surprise, he knew it with a sick sense. "Oh...."
Three sat up in her chair, casting a causal glance about the room. "Where is Mr. Gaeta?"
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Ducking through market stalls loaded down with tent supplies and broken machine parts, Felix avoided running in to a person by a near miss. Shooting up under a clothes line, he had to jump a pack of children playing a game on the ground. He cleared them with only a little room. Hitting the ground rolling, he came to his feet and continued on.
In the distance, he could hear sirens and the sound of pursuing Centurions. Taking a left, he ducked under over-hanging tent fronts to avoid a search light. People were peeking out of their tent homes as an entire wing of Raiders went low for a sweep.
It was only a half hour after sun down, but already the cold and dark were nipping at the air. His sweat soaked clothes were cooling faster than he could warm them, making breathing harder. By the time he cleared the first level of the camps, he was shivering too badly to speak. That was the price of having to flee in only his dress shirt and slacks.
Behind him, as he crossed a main metal road, he could hear the Centurions running. They wouldn't fire on him due to the civilians, but if he even slowed a bit, they would be on him. He wasn't sure where he was going, there was no where on the planet he knew of to hide.
A sudden stitch in his side had him gasping in pain. This caused him to miss his landing on a jump over a bundle of baskets, and he crashed to the ground. He landed in a graceless heap, rolling until he hit the polls of a large tent. It took several false starts before he could turn over on to his stomach. But, by the time he got his hands under him, it was already too late.
The sound of multiple cylon weapons being armed had him hanging his head. They were so close, he knew they had to be. Rescue was only a few days away. Galactica and Pegasus were on their way, the Admiral wouldn't let them die. Shaking his head, Gaeta raised his head to look at the surrounding cylons.
Standing at the center of the Centurions, a Six smiled at him. "Why did you run? There's no place to hide."
"Then where are the two hundred?" More gasping than chuckling at her suddenly angry expression, Felix fought to keep from hacking. If he started after the exposure and run, he wouldn't stop.
Snapping her fingers as several of the NCP arrived, she gestured for them to pick up Gaeta. "Take the traitor to a holding cell."
As the human police started forward, one of them stopped upon seeing who their target was. Wide, dark eyes glanced from Gaeta to the Six. "Traitor, sir?"
Her angered expression returned at having her orders disobeyed. "If you wish to remain a captain, you will never question one of us again." She waited until he hurriedly saluted before looking away. They had attracted a sizeable crowd. No doubt, the resistance would learn their leak source had just been plugged.
Stopping beside her, Three placed her hands on her hips. "Should we tell them? Which do you think could cause more trouble, the rumors or the truth?" Between her and the Six, another Three appeared. "Tell them the truth, it doesn't matter."
"We agree." The Six was joined by another Six. Together, all four of them watched as Gaeta was carried away on the shoulders of two NCPs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stumbling down the stairs in to the resistance head quarters, Anders had a hard time keeping his balance. His breathing came in horse coughs as his speeding pulse made his vision spotty. Hands under his arms helped him to a near by chair. Once seated, he waved them off. "I'm....all...right."
Having heard the commotion, Tigh walked from the central chamber in to the entrance. Tyrol and Roslin weren't far behind. Offering the man a drink from his own metal cup, the Colonel shook his head. "What hounds of hell were nipping at your heels?"
"Gaeta." Throat dry, he had to take a sip of the drink before he could speak. He winced from the burn of the alcohol while scowling at Tigh. "You trying to burn my sinus?"
"Never mind that. What about the frakking traitor? A gun 'accidentally' go off and shoot him?" Laughing at his own joke, Tyrol ignored Roslin's scowl. He bumped mugs with Tigh before taking a sip.
"No, you ass! Gaeta's the source!" Standing up, Anders pushed through the other three. He stomped his way over to the water bottles and grabbed one. "The cylons found out and arrested him. He's being interrogated right now."
"Mr. Gaeta's the leak in Baltar's office?" Roslin looked to each of the three men for confirmation. Finding nothing but curious looks, she scowled. "You mean you didn't know who it was?"
"We didn't ask, he never volunteered the information. It was safer that way." No longer in the mood for celebrating, Tyrol looked down to avoid the president's gaze. He swirled his drink in thought. It made a sick sense. "He knew what he was getting in to."
"That's it?" Surprising to everyone, it came from Anders. "He's going to be executed for supplying us with critical information. The rescue mission wouldn't be going ahead without him! We owe it to him to at least try..."
"Try what?" Standing between Anders' line of sight and the President, Tigh cut off any silent communications they might have made. "We are twelve hours from rescue. The Galactica and everyone on this frakking planet are counting on us to be ready! We don't have the time or resources to rescue a man who may or may not have been betraying his masters."
They were silent for several minutes as they tried to come up with something to counter. Eventually, it was Roslin who nodded.
"Good. Now, get back to watching the parameter. The last thing we need is for the cylons getting distracted from this wonderful distraction and catching on that the minutes of this damned occupation are counting down!" Tigh gestured up the stairs.
Anders stood there watching him for several more seconds. They all had to make sacrifices, but how much did one person have to give before they were indispensable? Eventually giving up, he climbed the ladder shaking his head in disgust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gaeta hit the wall of his cell and bounced off to the floor. Lips bloody from the punch, it was hard, but he still found the strength to smirk. The towering Six above him stood in a fighting stance, shaking her fist out. "Did you hurt your little hand?"
Snarling, she lashed out with a kick to his ribs. "Do not mock me, human!" She would have done it again, but a pair of hands restrained her. Shoving them off, she turned away to face the corner of the cell.
Kneeling down beside Gaeta, a Cavil laced his fingers together. "Do you think we enjoying seeing you hurt, Felix?" Hearing the snort from a Five, he sighed. "Well, most of us care about you. Over these many months, you've become like a close friend to us. Someone who can be counted on to carry out our orders without failing."
"Now, we know why. Enough of this waste of time." Shoving her way in to Gaeta's field of vision, Three bent over his prone form. "Here's the only deal we are going to make with you. Tell us when the rescue fleet is scheduled to arrive and we'll kill you quickly."
"We are trying to establish a report with him." Cavil grimaced. This was going to be a big frakking waste of time with others in the cell. Unfortunately, their outrage and curiosity prevented them from letting him conduct the interrogation properly. "We don't really want to kill you, Mr. Gaeta. You are a very useful human to have around. I personally prefer you over that worthless sack of disease called one Gaius Baltar."
"This is not going to work. Let the Threes have their fun and then dispose of the body." The Five feigned boredom, checking out the hem of his shirt. "She'll get the information we require and that will be the end of it."
"We should make an example of him as well." Now composed, the Six stood in the corner next to the Five. Arms crossed, she sneered at the others when they looked her way. "He fooled us, he should pay for that if nothing else."
"The fact we were gullible does not make us any less better than they are." The Cavil kneeling by Gaeta felt his head start to ache. If he didn't head this off now, it would continue on all night and nothing would get done. "You are a very clever person, Mr. Gaeta. You know what will happen if this keeps up for much longer. End this now and tell us what we want to know before you get hurt."
Gaeta folded his bruised arms behind his neck and laid his head upon them.
"That does it!" Three started to draw her hand back when a high pitched whine filled the room. All the cylons' heads shot up a moment before the door exploded inwards.
Rushing in through the smoke and falling debris, three armed guards in NCP uniforms had their weapons raised. A series of quick shots took out the surviving cylons. One remained at the door while the other two headed over to Gaeta's side. Lifting him off the floor, they threw him over the shoulder of the shorter one.
The figure at the door started firing down the hall. Pulling a sphere from his belt, he bit the pin ring and pulled it out. He rolled it down the hall and ducked back in the cell. A second later the building shook and the lights above them went out.
A quick maneuver had their night vision goggles in place and they were moving out.
Head aching, Gaeta groaned. Being slung over the man's shoulder sent the blood rushing to his head, doing nothing good for the pain. His last memory was of gun fire as he was shifted higher up the man's shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He could feel the hum of a ship's engines vibrating the deck plates beneath him. Felix couldn't tell what ship it was, but knew he wasn't on the Galactica. It took several tries before he could open his eyes. When he did, he immediately closed them again to shut out the light. Instead, he chose to focus on his hearing first.
Now that he was trying, he could make out the cries of children. A baby was wailing not far away. There were people around him, lots of people. He could make out a word here and there, but too many of them were talking for him to follow.
Trying to open his eyes again, he faced down the pain and kept them open. The lights turned out not to be that bright. He recognized the low level as that of the cargo bay on Colonial One. The people around him looked like haggard refugees. That meant only one thing, the Galactica and her rescue party had come.
They were safe.
Closing his eyes, he let himself drift off listening to the cries of a baby without her mother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When next he came around, the surface beneath him was too soft to be a deck plate and the sounds were different. The beeping was a heart monitor, which meant he was in the infirmary. Allowing himself to enjoy the sensation of being comfortable against the soft sheets and mattress, Felix started to drift off.
He was drawn back to the waking world by a tapping on his cheek. It wasn't who he had expected. Blinking, he found the Admiral standing above him. "Sir?"
For a moment, the old man didn't say a thing. "Welcome back, Lieutenant." His face was drawn tight, an obvious shaving nick on his upper lip.
"Thank you, sir." He couldn't quite summon the conviction behind his words. Staring up at the Admiral made him feel as old as the other man looked. "How did I get here, sir? Last I remember is the cylons, they were trying to get information I didn't have."
Adama focused his entire attention upon Felix's face. Measuring the other man for his responses, he adjusted his glasses. "What do you know of crewman Jammer?"
"He's a good man." Felix didn't like where this had the potential of going.
"What is the nature of your relationship?" Face hard and unwavering, the Admiral gave nothing away.
So there it was. How much did he know the other man's activities during the occupation? What was his involvement with those? How long before he was executed for treason? All these Gaeta knew would be asked at some point. He had thought everyone of them himself months ago.
Figuring it was best to just get it over with, Felix sat up in the bed. It was extremely painful and it set his pulse to racing, but he accomplished it without any help. Using the railing to keep his balance, he met the Admiral's gaze. "Crewman Lyman and I are betrothed. Whatever his actions, I stand by him."
Raising an eyebrow, the Admiral nodded once. "Very well." After pushing his glasses up a little further, he turned to go. He paused just at he curtain. "Report to the XO for your assignment when Doc Cottle releases you." And then he was gone.
Too weak to remain sitting, Felix fell back against the gurney. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaning on a cane, Felix waited for the guards to cycle the lock open. With a loud groan, the metal door was pulled back and he was allowed to enter the brig. Limping forward, it took a little creative stepping to get over the hatch lip, but he managed and was soon staring at the holding cells. The heavy weight in his chest was gone the moment he saw the dark eyes turn to him.
Rising from his bunk, Jammer quickly crossed to the cell door. He reached through to catch Felix's hand as the other man drew near. "Felix."
"James." Felix squeezed his lover's hand, trying to get as close as the bars would allow. Leaning against them, he released Jammer's hand in order that the man could wrap his arms around him. Closing his eyes, he relaxed in to the embrace. He took a shuddering breath before opening them again. "They are looking in to your actions. It took all I had to even get in to see you."
"I don't care about that now that I know you're all right." He chuckled at the look Felix sent him. "Seriously, I only wanted to know that you will be fine. I can handle the rest now." The other man tensed in his arms, causing him to frown. "What is it?"
"I won't let them harm you without retribution." Reaching up, he cupped Jammer's cheek. Drawing his thumb over his lover's chin, he leaned in closer. "If anything happens to you, there will be no bodies."
For a heart beat, Jammer didn't react. Then his expression shifted in to a grin. "I love you, Felix."
"And I you, James." They remained locked together until the guards came in to tell Felix his time was up. As he was escorted out, Felix had the feeling a lot more people would end up dead and very soon.