Agent Fox Mulder (i_want_2) wrote in multi_fiction, @ 2008-05-29 20:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | au, galactica, rated: adult, slash |
Fic: Deliver Me 2/? BattleStar Galactica 2003
Deliver Me
By: Lopaka Tanu
Disclaimer: I do not own BattleStar Galactica.
Rating: Adult.
Genre: Slash - Lee Apollo/Leoben
Summary: Apollo is debriefed by the Cylons, but things aren't going as he expected.
Warning: Violence, Character Death.
Spoiler/Timeline: Season 2
________________________________________
He was feeling warmth, intense heat so strong it made his left side ache. Lee started to cry out but the heat was taken away by something cool being applied to the area. The entire left side of his body still throbbed, but the heat was gone. Coming to awareness, Lee blinked dreary eyes at whoever was touching him.
Lee came to realize he was floating in a tank of some kind, cool gel surrounding him. Also, there were several people touching him, not just the person he could see. He eyes ached from the searing they took, making it hard to stay focused. "Wha... what's happening?" He ended with a croaking wheeze.
"Shh, stay calm and try to relax, your body will take some time to heal." The voice was near his feet where a strange circular sensation was entangling his left leg.
"What are... you do..ing?" Each word was separated by a shallow breath.
"We must seal the damage in order for it to fully heal, the tank is only a temporary measure." The unrecognizable voice came in to his viewing range. The black cylon smiled down at his patient, all five of him did. He went back to work on Lee's leg, continuing to wrap a metallic bandage up the red skin. "Leoben tells me that your implanted memory has failed to be triggered, that your deep cover programming is still in charge. That means you don't know who I am." While Lee remained silent, all five of him chuckled. "That's okay, I'm Ten."
"Why... are you do...ing this to me?" Lee found it easier to talk as drool filled his mouth, covering the dried areas along his throat. He could feel the cooling sensation start to lift in the area covered by the bandage and the heat start to return. His body tried to shift to relieve the discomfort.
"Sorry about that, but the gel has to be constantly applied for it to work. You're one of the lucky ones, we had to deactivate a few models because the damage was too severe." Increasing their pace, the five spread the silver colored metallic wrap further up Lee's body, lifting his torso out of the gel so they could band his chest. "As for what we are doing, this is a healing wrap, it speeds up your body's natural regenerative functions, leaving only minimal scarring, if that. Once completely wrapped, you will be sedated and placed in one of the tanks."
Another picked up the explanation as the first one turned to leave. "Caprica has become too dangerous for the badly wounded. Your injuries are severe enough that you warrant evacuation with the rest. Don't worry, it's only in to orbit. Once you heal, you'll be back among us like nothing ever happened. By then, we'll have eliminated the remaining human infestation."
"No!" Lee tried to break free, but the strength was sapped from his skin. A new tingling started up from his toes and spread through his chest. The bandages were causing him to become numb to every sensation. "Let me go." His words slurred and disjointed, he bit his tongue.
"Calm down, Two, we only wish to heal you." When that failed to placate the struggling Lee, the missing Ten returned with a syringe. He placed it against Lee's neck and pressed the plunger. "Rest, all will be well when you awaken, I promise."
Lee blinked. The world around him was fading in and out, making it hard to concentrate. He shook his head to clear it, only to have his neck weaken and fall back. His head was spared hitting the tank by the arms of another cylon. Staring in to the blue eyes of his tormentor, Lee felt so lost that he gave up.
"Shh, Lee, don't cry, I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Wiping at the corner of Lee's eye, Leoben pressed a kiss to the undamaged side of Lee's forehead. Releasing the man as Ten brought the wrap up Lee's neck, he watched them complete the process.
After the wrap completely covered him from head to toe, he was coated in a pink gel. Another Ten wheeled in a long metal box filled half way with the pink gel. Four of the Tens gently lifted Lee out of the tank and carried him to the box, then lowered him in to it. A mask was sealed over his face to allow breathing then the lid of the box was placed over the top. Two wheels on either side were turned and a vapor seal hissed as it locked.
Laying a hand on top of the box, Leoben caressed it lovingly. After a moment, he stepped back and waved his hand to signal something to come over. He stepped back further to allow the centurions access to the box. Four of them lifted it, one on each corner and carried it from the room, Leoben trailing behind them.
He followed them all the way to the ground transport, a human troop carrier. In the back of the transport were twelve human form cylons with guns and four centurions. Leoben nodded at a copy of himself while the centurions lifted the box in to the center of the transport's back.
As the last of them had settled down to stand guard over the box, the truck sputtered to life. A great plume of exhaust covered the area as the truck was thrown in to gear and started to rattle on down the dirt road. Leoben knew their southward destination was the long route, but it was safest from the human targets, who had attacked from the north. Lee would be safe this time, unlike the last time they had thought him safe.
They had been forced to land inside the radiation zone because the transport failed. This human hospital had been the closest facility cylons occupied. Luckily, they had a troop transport that would get their special cargo out of the area and back in to space. He would stay behind and tend those who had been fortunate enough to survive the blast and crash, but were salvageable. Ordinarily, they would have been scrapped, but the blast had killed an untold number of them and downloads would be happening for weeks. Plus, they needed all the soldiers they could get to deal with the human problem.
Speaking of which, Leoben accepted the assault canon handed to him. Checking the ammo clip, he smiled and chambered a round. They had humans to kill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kara stood at the CAG's Podium aboard the Pegasus reading the liner notes included in the report by yet another decommissioned pilot. This was the third one this week, if it kept up, she'd be out of nuggets. She couldn't figure out what went wrong this time. That druggie bitch Kat could keep her cool under fire, but these morons who tested well in simulations cracked up like fine Sagittaron porcelain. It just didn't make sense.
May be it was the simulator that needed reprogramming. Give them some unexpected treats that killed them before they knew what was happening, yes, very interesting treats. Perhaps a demonstration of just how dangerous it was to get in the way of friendly fire. Marking it down on her notes, she didn't hear the door open, but the unmistakable sound of a cane and limping was evident.
Glancing up, she smirked. "Well if it isn't the consummate drunk. What can I do for you, Colonel?"
Shuffling in to the room, Tigh grinned at his subordinate. "That's Commander to you, Lieutenant."
"That's Captain to you, sir." Closing up the reports, she folded them neatly on the podium before giving Tigh her undivided attention. "What can I do for you, Commander?"
"Can't a commander stop in and check on his CAG without an interrogation?" At her stare, he chuckled. This was the best their relationship as commander and captain would ever get. Both had made too many mistakes to ever forgive the other entirely. "Right. Well, I have a few motives. I wanted to check in with you to see how our new recruits are coming along."
"They're not, sir." Fighting back the urge to scream over the entire thing, she pursed her lips in a mocking grin and raised her eyebrows. "They're frakking worthless. Each and every one of them. These pilots are almost as bad as those we inherited from Admiral Cain. In fact, calling them pilots is an insult to the rest of us!"
"All right, I get your point. We'll just have to find someone else then. There are almost fifty thousand frakking civilians, there has to be a few of them who can handle flying CAP." Tigh snorted in thought. He was loathe to admit the next. "Sorry to say this, but I actually long for those half wits you trained on Galactica. If the old man wasn't so dead set on having the best all to himself, I'd bring them over and let him deal with these half assed rim jockies."
"Well, you know how much he cares for his pilots now that..." She trailed off with a wince. There was no mentioning the junior Adama, even in private. "You saw how he reacted when those damned traitors tried to sabotage his vipers. I don't think they found enough of Janik to fill a shoe box. What about those raiders?"
"I know you preferred to handle that cylon raider on your own, but I will always stand by his decision to send the entire fleet in to that asteroid field after we lost BB. We have to send a clear message to those cylons, we won't tolerate their existence any more!" Setting back in his chair, Tigh fingered the healing scars on his jaw line. The sutures would be another few days. "You ever tell the old man this, and I'll do to you what that president of his does to cylons, but I think you were right about that one. It was personal."
"Told ya." A sparkle started in her eyes despite the topic. Feeling an urge to stand, Starbuck slid off the stool and came around the podium to lean back against it. "Now, what was the other thing you wanted to talk about?"
"What?" It took him a few moments to recall the other bit of information he came to tell her. "Oh yeah, the president wants you to meet her on board her ship to discuss your pet project. Be back in two hours, your first shift as XO starts in three."
Starbuck tried not to let her excitement show as she nodded her acceptance. "Yes, sir!"
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Leading the ragtag band of survivors from the massacre, Anders kept his arms tucked close to his sides. If he even moved them so much as an inch, the cuts on his side would flare up. They had tied a bandage over it and kept it clean, but the journey back to base camp, thus medical help, was going to be a long time in coming. They had already lost two people in the trek, he would be damned if he was one of those who fell after the battle.
Despite the dangers of it, they had stuck to an old dirt track. Any road made them an easy target for the cylons, but the advantages on the wounded out weighed the risks. It eased his own wounds to stick to a smoothed area. There was no complaining from his people, so he figured they all agreed it was for the best.
That belief was tested a half hour later at the grunting and pumping of an old military vehicle. From the sound of it, the truck had been in use for well over a hundred years. It wasn't really something one would expect on Caprica any more, not considering the attitude towards the past. Then again, with the technophobes in the back woods, the coming cylons were lucky to find it, in his opinion.
Of course, the truck sounding like a hundred boars being ridden hard negated any usefulness on their part by letting his people know they were coming. Anders' raised a hand, regretting it instantly. He signaled a two part attack. If things went well, they would have a truck to take them out of the radiation zone and get them the hell out of there. It was getting dark, so that would make this all the more the easier.
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Lee dreamed he was back on Galactica. He walked the corridors again, seeing the people he had come to know in his short time on the Galactica. This time as they passed, he could feel them in the winds. He didn't risk trying to touch them as that might break his concentration. It was almost perfect once more.
He smiled, his chest tightening in memory. Lee knew where he was on the great ship, near the CIC. Walking on to the command deck, he smiled at the people around him. Duala at her station, Lieutenant Gaeta working the dradis, Tigh griping at a map of something or another, and in the center of it all, his father watching his crew.
The smile he sent his father never made it that far.
Glancing up, Adama froze.
Lee awoke. Gasping for breath, he coughed to clear his lungs. His world was covered in darkness and noise. He thought he recognized one of the cylons sitting above him, glancing about him hurriedly. The cylon was doing something with the silver bandages they had covered him.
It took several seconds for him to realize his body was still wrapped, leaving only his face exposed. Before he could do much more than gasp in the fresh, cold air, the mask was being fitted over his face again. He weakly tried to fight it off, but to no avail. His head was pushed back in to the liquid and the lid of the box they kept him in put back on.
Next thing he knew, he was back aboard the Galactica.
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His gun still smoking from the fire fight, Anders sneered down upon the skin job that lay dying over what appeared to be a sarcophagus. He had heard them referred to in history class, it was said the lords of Kobol buried their fallen in them. The symbols on this box didn't look like anything he recognized himself. For all he knew, they could be transporting more ammunition, but that wouldn't explain why they had piled on this box at the first sign of attack.
Kicking the cylon female, he used the toe of his boot on her wound to get her attention. "What have we got here?"
"Filthy, disgusting beast! God will punish you and we will be the instruments of his wrath!" If she had anything else to say, she went to her download with it.
Anders blew the smoke from the barrel of his gun with a grin. "God and I don't get along." He kicked the blonde off the box, brushing aside the assorted limbs of the dead cylons that covered it even in death. He was aware of another person behind him climbing in the back of the truck. "Get the others, we'll dump the bodies and get moving."
"What about this?" Eyeing the box, Polidorus started to climb down.
"We'll take it with us, I want to see what is inside it. The light of day will give us a better clue how to open it." Taking the seat closest to the cab, Anders leaned against it. He used the tarp, which had been rolled back against the cab to allow the bucket heads in the back, as a pillow and went to sleep. Shortly there after, a large group of people had piled in the back of the truck and they were on their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing at attention in front of the president, Kara felt a thrill of excitement run through her. She had brought with her all the plans, counter plans, back up plans, reverse back up plans, and everything she could get her hands on and now Laura was reading over it. When the president cleared her throat, Starbuck smiled at her. "Yes?"
"It appears you have this well thought out." Setting down the file, Laura examined a topographic map marked with red lines and a battle scheme that seemed blood thirsty to say the least. "You've given just about every equation for Galactica and or Pegasus to get involved with this."
"Yes, ma'am, I've figured that it would take a battlestar to get the survivors off the planet." Keeping her eyes above the woman's head, she bit back a retort that she knew this would be the response. Only Admiral Cain had been serious about this plan. That was a woman she wished she could be more like.
"Well, I think you're wrong." Picking up another topographic map, she held it up with distaste. A tickle in the back of her throat forced her to clear it before speaking. "These plans are wreckless, fool hardy at worst. Your casualty lists are completely unacceptable."
"Ma'am," Starbuck tried, but she was cut off by a slicing motion on the president's side.
"Bill and I have been discussing this." Laura waited until Starbuck recovered enough of her decorum to continue. "As it stands, there are fifteen Raptors on call at any given second, another six in need of repairing and five more just about to be scrapped. Without those ships, the fleet would most likely be stuck using the few civilian transports to move precious goods and that is a security risk I'm not prepared to take."
Standing, Roslin walked around the edge of her desk to lean against the front of it. "Here is what we have come up with. You get four of those six up and running in addition to your normal work load as CAG and XO of Pegasus. You train the pilots by yourself on your own time and we will allocate the resources to making sure this mission is a success. You will have twelve Raptors, that should be more than enough to bring back our people. What do you say?"
Kara took a deep, cleansing breath to steady herself. "Ma'am. Just one question."
"Yes?" Picking at her blouse, Laura nodded.
"When do I leave?" She couldn't hold it in any more. Biting her lip, Kara beamed at the president.
"Elections are in six weeks, you have five to prepare and leave. That leaves one to return safely." Time to get down to the real heart of this mission. Crossing her arms, Laura drew Kara's attention to her eyes. "This is as much a political move as it is a rescue mission. You will go, you will succeed and you will make sure the vice president is unaware of this until after the fact. I need this to succeed, I need you to help me win. Is that clear?"
"Whatever." At this point, the president could bounce around and chitter at her like she had over dosed on morpha. She was flying so high, all she could feel was elation. For the rest of their meeting, Kara could only smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two miles outside the radiation zone, Anders woke up and called a halt to the truck. They would have to go on from here on foot. There were several groans, but he ignored them in favor of getting his hands on whatever was in the box. Light had risen over the mountains and the box was visible enough if they dragged it out of the shadows of the truck. During the night, they had pulled the tarp over the truck to keep the wind off the people in the back.
As the last of the wounded were helped out of the truck, he turned to his two remaining team mates. "Get six men and get me that box out of the truck. Those skin jobs gave their lives to protect it, I want to know what was so damned special about it."
Dresden chose the least injured men and guided them towards the back of the truck. Climbing inside, he gestured for four of them to remain on the ground to catch the box. Taking the back, he had one man on either side in the truck with him to push the box over the back gate. It took a massive effort, but eventually they got it out and over the edge. The four men braced themselves and with good reason, caught the box and almost dropped it.
"Easy now! Take'er down gently! I want that cargo undamaged!" Off to the side, Anders guided with the fingers on his right side, his undamaged side. "Back up slowly and put it in the light. I think I see something like locks on the sides."
As gently as they could under the strain, they eased the box down to the ground, one side facing the early morning light. Dresden came over to the side and examined the locks. "You're right, there is something here. Looks like an ordinary twist in. Polidorus, there should be two on the other side, turn them clock wise." Dresden turned his own counter clock wise until there was an audible gasp from the box's seal.
"Stand back! Winters, take aim, just in case." Using his shoe, Anders lifted the corner of the lid and eased it off the box. It took a great deal of strength to move it even that little ways. Once it had fallen off, he stepped in closer to examine the contents, then promptly drew his own gun. "What the frak is that?"
"Someone who'd probably be in a better place if we put a bullet in him." Polidorus had his own gun out but not aimed at the silver wrapped body. "This reminds me a little too much of the farms. We gotta do something for this poor guy."
"It's not a guy." Dresden, who had come up to the box, put his gun to the body's head. "It's one of them. Since when have you seen a cylon die for a human?" Cocking his gun, he ignored the angry look Polidorus sent him. "Think about it! For months we've seen these things doing everything in their power to make sure we were extinct. They don't even care about their own lives so long as they can kill us in the process."
"Then what the hell is this one? What made it so special that they would protect it?" Trying to appeal to Anders, Polidorus cocked his head to the side. "I don't think he is right, Captain. That is a person in there."
"What if the rumors are true about their gods being here on Caprica? What if this is one of them and we just bagged ourselves an architect of our own apocalypse?" Smirking, Dresden shoved his gun barrel in to the chin of the body. "What say you, cylon?"
"There are no cylon gods." Hobbling from the wounded mass, an old man in a black coat came forward. "We have heard the lie they tell at the time of their deaths, each of us knows they believe in only one god. No one man would ever qualify as the single deity of the cylons." Coming to stop by the box, he looked down inside at the mummy like man. "Whether this is a cylon or not, there is only really one way to be sure. Remove the breathing mask."
Anders sent a look to Dresden that asked why he didn't think of this instead of spouting off. "Remove the mask."
"Yes, sir!" Unhappy about being dismissed, Dresden used his gun barrel to knock away the breathing mask. The deep blue eyes that met his stare froze him on the spot. "Son of a bitch," he huskily whispered.
"What was that?" Moving in closer, Anders was about to stare down in to the box to see who it was, but he found his way already taken by the old man. "What are you doing?"
The old man smiled at Dresden. "Glad you didn't pull the trigger now, my friend?" He used the other man as a perch to ease his injured body down to kneel next to the box. Reaching in to the box, he caressed the scalded face with his calloused palm. "Rest now, my boy, I will watch over you." Turning back to Anders, he gestured to the trees. "We will have to leave the box, build him a trestle so we can drag him."
"We can't. The terrain is too difficult on a good day, carrying him, we'll never make it." Anders turned to go. They would have to leave the man behind if they wanted to survive. They had done it yesterday with their own people, this would be made easier by the fact he was a stranger.
"You don't understand, son, this man is our ticket out of here."
At the old man's voice, Anders stopped. "Is that so?"
Fingers still stroking the dazed man's face, the older man nodded. "Samuel Anders, meet Apollo the Fallen, better known to some as Captain Lee Adama."
"Frak me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over viewing the plans and the allocation of resources so far to the rescue mission back to Caprica, Admiral Adama sighed. They had to be very swift and underhanded about this, and it was something that grated at his natural instincts. Something of this nature should be done out in the open, this mission should be a symbol of hope to the fleet. Instead, it would be just another stance by that traitor and criminal to promote his ideals.
There were a certain number of people who were aware of the full extent of this project. Most of those involved noticed small portions of certain supplies being rerouted to the Pegasus. Nothing was ever sent in sizes to gain either acknowledgement or scrutiny. The frequency of such packages being sent and received by the Pegasus proved to be the major problem. Of course, these people were colonial military, they knew when to keep their mouths shut.
One of the problems, so far, was the fact that several civilians had been brought in to make parts to repair the Raptor fleet. These civilians were housed on the Galactica, despite his intense loathing of them. What should be a mostly military vessel was turning once more in to a civilian theme park. Security could be compromised by these untrustworthy people, it wouldn't be the first time.
That was another thing he had included in the plans. Civilians caught spying were sent to the brig where they would be tried by a military tribunal. They could be sentenced from hard labor to death, depending upon their actions. So far, only two people had been caught. One was a cylon sympathizer trying to get to the cylon in the special prison. She had ended up in space so fast no one even noticed she was missing.
The other had been a freelance reporter working to uncover the secrets of Galactica. Or so he had said, if they could have proven it, he would have given his pins that he was working for Zarek. The man was now aboard the Prometheus awaiting sentencing. He was fairly certain he would be sentenced to hard labor on the next mining mission. If necessary, he would meet with an accident.
It was a dangerous game they were playing. The civilians were close to siding with Zarek and Baltar and that would prove the end of humanity, there was no doubt of that. That was the only reason he was keeping this entire rescue mission quiet. Well, the only one he would willing admit if caught.
Setting aside the plans, he picked up the next folder in the stack. This one was marked in blue to symbolize a health hazard emergency. The status of the infection as reported by Dr. Cottle and his teams were in grim reality sitting there in front of him. It couldn't be helped. He approved the measures proposed and went on to the next file.
This one contained the down time requisition forms. While not normally a problem, he would have to deny everyone of them until further notice. If they wanted rest, they would have to do it on Galactica or Pegasus. Quarantine was the order of the day.
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"It is said that all visions given to the Pythea were from Apollo," Laura read aloud in the circle of lights. Standing at a podium, she continued to unfurl the scroll further. "She would sit upon the tripod above the pit of prophesy, chewing her leaves of laurel, and invoke his direction." Looking up at the twelve lights, she frowned. "Apollo is the god of Colonies, it was he who lead humanity to the stars, and eventually, away from their..."
Blinking in wide eyed horror, Laura forced her mind to focus on the world around her. Reeling about, she fell back against who had touched her and brought her back to reality. Further blinking revealed she was at the center of the Quorum, not a temple. "What am I doing here?"
"There are no judges." Leoben met Laura's terrified look with his own supremely smug expression.
Gasping horsely, Laura awoke for real this time. She put a hand over her mouth, bracing herself against the pain of each cough. As it was over, she accepted the glass provided by Billy. Laura had to blink a few times before her tired eyes could settle on his concerned face. "What?"
"I am just worried about you. The fleet is being hit pretty hard by this bug, so far only Galactica and Pegasus seem the least effected." Dipping the rag in the bowl of cool water by her seat, he wrung it out, then wiped the sweat from her forehead. "The Admiral has ordered all unaffected military personal to wear biosuits so that they may continue to do their jobs effectively."
"I'm not surprised. Close quarters in a fleet of this size, it was only a matter of time before an bacterium or virus spread. Besides, the last thing we need right now with seventy percent of the fleet sick is the only thing standing between us and the cylons falling because of a virus. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this was their doing." Chuckling, she winced from a twinge in her chest. She readjusted her placing in the seat to ease the pain. "Despite how much I might want to, I can't blame everything on the cylons."
"Um, about that..." he trailed off as he brought up a single page report. Holding it up, he cleared his throat. "The Admiral sent this half an hour ago. Despite his best effort, the cylon has fallen ill with the virus as well. It is believed by Dr. Cottle and Vice President Baltar that the child's immune system is a likely culprit."
"Imagine that, they aren't as perfect as they'd like to believe." Another coughing fit had her nearly double from the racking fits and spasms. Clenching her teeth, she fought against the urge to cough. After it had passed, she laid back against the seat again. "Get some rest, Billy, I'm afraid you are going to need it."
"Then who will run the fleet? I mean, you're in no position to do it, the vice president is a complete psych case, the Admiral has his own problems." Looking like this was the perfectly logical explanation, he stood up. "By reasoning and deduction, I am the next best possible candidate and I accept my responsibilities with grace and dignity. My people need me."
"Getting a little ahead of yourself. You still have to arm wrestle the entire Quorum to get their vote." They shared in a fond chuckle before breaking off in to a staring contest. Eventually she won and he lowered his head. "I mean it, Billy, you will get sick, and you will need your strength."
"All right, I will get some sleep, but I will be back in here just as soon as I wake up again. You can count on that." He glanced over the cabin once more before going back in to the cargo hold where they had set up residential quarters.
Laura settled in to get comfortable and let her head rest in spite of the pounding going on inside. If she didn't know better, she'd believe it was Athena herself with her spear. May be if she was Bill, then that might have merit. Grinning, she yawned.
"I'm not a cylon, you know."
Opening her eyes, Laura saw Lee sitting next to her. Despite all her knowledge to the contrary, that she couldn't possibly be next to a camp fire with him, she accepted the fact he was really there. "Why would you think that?"
"Because I am one." Picking up a stray branch carved with letters too small for her to make out, but in a pattern she knew by heart, he threw it on the fire. "You should have listened to him. Despite the lies, there was a kernel of truth."
She watched the fire consume the branch, feeling anything but relief that it was in the fire. "What truth?"
"God isn't the reason, he's the excuse." Standing up, Lee stepped in to the fire, his body becoming a living flame. "What do you see when you look in the eyes of a new born child?"
Laura awoke choking on flem that blocked her air way. Coughing it up, she spit in to the rag in her hand. She continued to hack in to another part of the rag until it was all out of her throat. Grimacing at the mess, she deposited it in the cleaning bag to be sent to Galactica's laundry. They would all be wearing biosuits, so it wouldn't effect them.
Laura crawled across the seats to her wireless. Picking it up out of the cradle, she hit the comm switch. "Get me the Pegasus, I need to speak with Captain Thrace immediately."
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The first thing Lee knew for certain was that several people he didn't recognize were watching him. Each one had a different, yet similar look on their faces. They knew him or of him, but weren't willing to quite acknowledge him. It made him not want to say anything, so for the first several hours, he didn't.
He knew that they were dragging him through a forest on a makeshift stretcher. Two on either side of him, holding the supports. Many times they had carelessly let him fall to the ground when setting down the stretcher. Each time they did, an older man who wouldn't quite come in to view would take care of giving him water or scrubbing his face, the only exposed part of his body. Much to his consternation, they had left the tin wrap around his body, much like a dehydrated meal.
Nearing sun down, he could tell because the light would almost completely disappear in the gully as they entered it, a man around his age called an end to the hike and came to sit in front of him. His stretcher was angled back against a rock to prevent him from laying flat, but also to prevent him from sliding off. That is, if he hadn't been strapped to within an inch of his life.
After a few minute of uncomfortable silence, Anders stared up at Lee's face. "I don't know if you can actually understand me, but I know who you are." When Lee only blinked at him without any other sign or acknowledgement, Anders smiled half heartedly. "We're not quite sure how the cylons came to have you in their possession, or why you are still alive, but it serves us better to keep you alive. You may have noticed not a few of my people are happy by that fact, they think you are an unnecessary burden. I know Kara would never forgive me if I let you die, however."
"Anders." It was said before Lee even remembered that he knew who this man was. He frowned in confusion before letting the numbness that had control of his body take his mind again.
"That's right. I see she has mentioned me." He expected another response from the pilot, but nothing came. Sighing, Anders felt a little disappointed that Lee was still so dazed. "I don't suppose you would feel up to telling me a little about how she is doing."
"Four weeks," he slurred out before sleep became too pressing to ignore.
"Four weeks? Hey, Lee, come on, man, tell me, what does four weeks mean?" Anders stood, intent on shaking Lee awake but was stopped by the old man's hand upon his shoulder. "What? He was saying something."
"Four weeks is how long the Cylons held him." Patting the man on the back, the older man gestured for them to sit down. "I heard him earlier, he doesn't realize it, but he says a lot when I bathe his face. Nothing too clear, mind you, but I have learned to decipher what he means with just a few words."
"If she made it back, that would leave about..." Anders did the math in his head as he counted back to the dates. "They would have had at the most three weeks before he was captured. Damn! I hope the fleet is still there."
"They are." His tone sounded a little angry, but the old man dismissed it without a thought. "He was captured after the two base stars and resurrection ship were destroyed. Seems the cylons were intent on getting information out of him for a retaliatory strike when we blew their base to hell."
"Aw, what a shame." Grinning at Lee, Anders ran his hand over the top of the tin covered head. "Looks like we caught you just in time."
"Yeah, in time to save the fleet's secrets, but may be not enough to save him." Fingering the fringe of the silver wrap at Lee's cheek, the old man showed Anders the pink gel he squeezed from it. "A healing wrap, probably devised to aid in their models who needed care that didn't require just killing the unit. It numbs the skin, as I discovered earlier. There is still no feeling in the tips of these fingers after seven hours."
"You mean, even after all they've done, he could still die?" Anders didn't like that one bit. For this to all have been for shit would be a major pain.
"I'm not sure, he wasn't very forth coming about his injuries. From what I can tell, though, he has suffered second degree burns to at least the left half of his body. He'll more than likely have a two toned face for the rest of his life." Wiping the gel from the wrap on to his pants, the old man held up his hand to Anders. "We've never been formally introduced. My name is Hyram Draconis."
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Sitting at the bar twirling his drink, Billy groaned in disappointment. He knew that the fleet was under quarantine, yet he had secretly hoped that Duala would be able to meet him today. The flat refusal she sent over the wire had been more than a little spirit crushing. In the past four weeks she had been spending more and more of their scheduled time together apart, begging off for inconsequential things.
He had been planning on proposing to her today, but that was yet another thing lost in this world to him. In his mind he knew it wouldn't have worked out, but that still didn't mean make it hurt any less. She was the first girl to actually look at him in that way. There had been a few people, mostly guys, who gave him a more savage look, but she actually looked at him as a person and he wanted to be that person for her. Closing the jewel box, he placed it in his suit jacket.
It was doing this he caught sight of the nervous woman at the door way of the bar pacing back and forth. Glancing in her jacket, he noticed the gun in her hand hidden under the flap. Turning quickly back to the bar, he signaled to the bar tender to come over. "Get me the wireless, we are about to have a situation here, now, and be silent about it."
"What?" He was about to glance about when Billy gripped his tie and pulled him close.
"Don't be an idiot. You alert them and I will make sure you are the first one shot." Billy was in no mood to deal with incompetence today. Letting the man go, he adjusted his jacket and nearly wet himself. He had taken control of a situation, his first time and it felt good. Of course, the fact he was about to pass out was negated by a quick drink of the liquid courage in his glass.
"Right away, sir." Walking over to the wireless set, the man picked up the receiver and hit the emergency channel. He handed it to Billy while glancing about them surreptitiously until Billy swatted him across the forehead.
"Yes, I would like to place an order, something for lots of people, may be a little something from Galactica. Yeah, no, I'm not sure how many will be attending, just make it quick, I don't have all day!" Hitting the off switch, Billy handed the receiver back to the bar tender. He took another quick gulp of his drink, finishing it off. "Oh, I'm beat, think I'll be getting out of here."
Moving passed the door, Billy tried to casually glance about him just to see how many people were paying attention to the woman and who might be her partners, if there were any. What he didn't see was the woman herself pull her weapon out of her jacket and aim it at him.
What she didn't see was the woman, who had just enter, put the gun to the back of her head until she heard the click.
"Drop it bitch or I'll blow your frakking brains out. Don't make me ruin that pretty jacket." Duala smirked at Billy over the woman's shoulder. "Am I interrupting something, Billy? Would you two like a room?"
Grabbing the woman's gun, Billy gave Duala a shy smile. "Oh, you know I only have a hard on for you... I mean eyes!" Turning a pale shade of pink, he burped and frowned. "I thought you couldn't come today."
"The Admiral lifted the quarantine this morning, seems half the flight crew came down sick over night and it was no longer necessary." When the woman tried to use their conversation as a distraction, Duala slammed the butt of her gun in to her head, knocking her to the floor. "Can't you see I am trying to have a conversation here?"
"I love it when you get rough, will you get rough with me?" Slapping his face with the hand that held the gun, Billy groaned from pain and embarrassment. He held up his other hand, thumb and index finger slightly apart. "I might be a teensy bit drunk, but I swear it was for a good cause. I needed to feel brave and drinking makes me feel brave. Or stupid, either way, I'm glad you are here."
Duala grabbed Billy to her, jerking him so that his back was to the entrance. "What am I going to do with you, Billy? You always seem to find trouble, no matter what."
"Marry me?" It came out in a squeak so high he doubted anyone would understand it. He watched Duala gape at him in shock. A loud noise over to their right had him jumping, raising the gun without thought, and firing it. The next second Duala had the gun from him and a man was on the floor. "Frak! I am so sorry! What have I done?"
Holding the gun to her side, Duala could only thank the gods that Billy shot the right man. "That is the last time you ever get one of those, Billy!" The next few minutes were filled with the arrival of marines and the panic of civilians filing out of the bar.
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Washing Lee's face, Hyram Draconis made sure to go over the younger man's eyes. His ministrations were calm, deliberate in their actions. They were designed to sooth, make him relax. Picking up the sponge, he dipped it back in the water they had warmed over the camp fire. After ringing it out, he put it back to Lee's face. "Tell me about your time in the cylon ship, Lee."
Keeping his eyes shut to prevent water from getting in them, Lee nearly preened under the touch. The comforting warm hands were a blessing compared to the numbness he had been experiencing. "What do you want to know?"
"What were they like, the cylons that is? What did they say? What did they wear?" Grinning, Hyram teased a finger over Lee's cheek, tickling the under side of his chin to get him to loosen up. "What did they talk about?"
Lee's face jerked, but no other reaction would come. "Cut that out, I'm not a kid to be played with."
"Sorry, just testing your reflexes." He cleared his throat, then washed over the area he had tickled. "What do the cylons say, Lee?"
"They say a lot of bullshit about their fake god." A bit of memory flashed across his inner mind and Lee relived a conversation he didn't remember having. "They believe God created them after we abandoned him. There is no cylon god, he's just a glitch they gave a name to."
Hyram paused. "What do you mean?"
"The cylon god supposedly created man, then they abandoned him for false gods of their own making. We may have made the cylons, but he gave them intelligence, the need to question their nature, the will to adapt. He remade the cylons in your image." Noticing the lack of touch, Lee started to open his eyes. A quick splash of water over his face forced him to sputter. "Hey, watch it with that!"
"I apologize, Lee, please, continue, this is fascinating." Quickly covering up his mistake, Hyram ran the sponge over Lee's neck, paying close attention to the matting of hair along the silver strips. "So, what you are saying is that the cylons believe that their sentience was the divine act of a higher power?"
"Yeah, crazy, isn't it?" At that thought, Lee gave a chuckle. "What came about from a few superior processors and some conflicting programming, they attribute to an act of god. Though, I suppose it would seem that way if I was a primitive trying to explain away the unknown. Thank the gods I'm not a frakking cylon, or else I'd be a few wires short of a complete circuit."
"Yeah, thank the gods." After he had finished with the hairs, Hyram set about warming a straight blade. "I'm going to shave your face, Lee, and I want you to keep talking so you don't get nervous and I cut you by accident."
"Don't you mean to keep my mouth shut so you don't slice my throat?" Lee tried for funny, but it came out in a croak.
"Not at all, keep talking." Lathering up some soap, Hyram applied it to Lee's face. "Okay now, tell me about what the cylons wanted from you, personally. That oughta keep you good and distracted."
Lee considered this for a moment as the blade was first swept over his side burn. After it was removed, he took a clearing breath and whispered. "They wanted information from me. They wanted to know the strengths and weaknesses of the fleet. I refused to answer their questions."
"And you held out for four weeks under what was surely the most hellacious of torture, I'm sure." Sliding the blade over Lee's throat, he was careful to avoid the Adam's apple.
"They have other, more effective means than torture." Turning his head to his clean side, Lee, kept his eyes shut to avoid Hyram's penetrating gaze. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay, Lee, then we won't talk about it just now. Let me finish up and you can lay there and sleep." As he slid the blade over Lee's face, Hyram continued to watch the young man intently.
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Rubbing at his aching head, Gaius Baltar sniffed the vapor inhaler, first one nostril, then the next. Inside the vial was a drug that allowed him to function while sick and not exhibit any of the symptoms. Didn't want to alarm his viewing public that he was as vulnerable as them. At least that is what Zarek said. Really, they could all take a flying frak out the nearest air lock in his opinion.
As the spray took effect, making his head feel light and filling his body with a strong sense of intense well being, he fell back against the door of his lab and giggled. Yes, the life of Gaius Baltar was good. After he could stand on his own power once more, he spun around and opened the door. The fact that no one was there to open it for him didn't even register in his mind.
Still giggling, he walked over to his lab table to check for results on the last test he ran on the blood sample provided by a colonial. Instead of seeing the results on his screen, a hand written message was taped to the screen. Putting a hand to his mouth, he smiled and wondered what his secret admirer might have to say.
Upon reading the single sentence, his blood ran cold and the effects of the drug were all but forgotten. Crumpling the note, he glanced about for any cameras. Finding no obvious spying device, he stomped over to the trash can and threw the wad in to it. If they wanted to play this way, he could deal with them. Bring them on!
"What's the matter, Gaius, Roslin not playing fair?" Sitting on the counter top, Six smiled, stroking a doll's hair in her lap. Looking up at him, her face went dead serious and she snapped the doll's head off. "You're boring me."
"The note wasn't from her royal highness. Just someone trying to push my buttons, thank you very much." Pulling out a cigar, he lit up quickly and inhaled deeply. It wouldn't do to let his agitation show around his personal Harpy. "They seem to think I was involved some how with your crazy destruction of the fleet and colonies willingly. There is no proof, it is all pure nonsense."
"Deliberate ignorance is complacent actions, which, if I remember correctly, still means you are guilty as sin." She slid off the counter top to stand beside him. Tossing the doll's head over her shoulder, she strolled over to the computer. Examining the screen, there was nothing to hold her interest. "What are you even doing here, Gaius? These people don't want you, you don't like them, what is the point? Go, mingle among your friends."
"I think will!" Snorting once more from the inhaler, Gaius allowed the buzz of the drug to over take him. When he could focus on the world again, Six was gone. "May be I will even pay a visit to your corporeal counter part." Grabbing a fresh coat off a hook near the door, he tossed his used one to the far side of the lab. He slipped out of the lab, slamming the door shut. With a prideful strut, he stormed his way towards the hangar deck.
Watching him go, Starbuck smirked.
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Fighting the effects of the wrap, Lee came awake for the tenth time on the seventh day since his rescue. His breathing was labored from exhaustion. Despite sleeping most of the time, his energy was expended working on staying awake longer. Last time he had made it almost an entire half hour before passing out again. It was a good thing, in his opinion, that they had agreed to finally remove the bandages tomorrow.
They had made it to their base camp some time between the fifth and sixth day after losing another two people to infection. It came as a surprise to him when he learned this. He asked them why they hadn't tried some of the wrap on the wounds. This hadn't occurred to any of the. They still had wounded so his toes and fingers on his right side were now free.
After waking five days ago for the first time he could actually recall, Lee had started learning his situation to the best of his abilities. One of the more important facts to him was that they were actually winning some of the battles against the cylons here on Caprica. May be it wasn't completely hopeless after all. Another fact was that Anders was still alive, that would mean a lot to Starbuck.
Lee reveled in the warmth coming from the furnace next to his bed, or at least his face did. He may have been trussed up like a corpse, but he still had bodily functions, much to the consternation of his keepers. Hyram certainly hadn't earned any friends among the resistance. The older man rarely visited Lee, but he made sure that he was kept reasonably comfortable on the bed. When he did visit, the time was spent avoiding Lee's gaze and interrogating him.
He longed to move his body about, just to wrap his hands around that man's throat. Not that he could move them anyways. Days after the wrap was removed, his right side had barely any tingle in it, let alone sensation. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough in his opinion.
Shadows passing over the only light in the room, the door way, distracted him. "Hello, Draconis."
"Lee. I see you are still not getting the rest that I prescribed." Moving up to the bed, Hyram ignored the smell the other man's body gave off after a week of not being able to wash. "You know, once the bandages are removed, you will still be as weak as a kitten for several more days, if you can move at all. There is no saying how long it is before the effects of the drugs wear off. Unless you know of any convenient cylons, you're stuck in there."
"I'm sure you're losing sleep over that." Breathing out in a displeasure, Lee shut his eyes. May be if he ignored the man he would go away.
"Have you thought about our last chat?" The snort Lee released told him all he needed to know. "Was there any indication of why the cylons kept you alive? Surely it was not just for interrogative purposes, any information you have is over a month out of date."
"I don't know, I'm not a cylon. Only their god would understand what was going through their tin heads." Chuckling to himself, Lee looked in to the glowing furnace. The heat felt good against his skin and provided a welcome distraction from the irritating man.
"Come now, Apollo, I know all about your family's history with the cylons. Your father was a hero of the first war, he was a honorable man." Stepping in to the room, coming closer than he had ever gotten before, Hyram's hard expression was directed fully at the young man on the bed. "He would never harbor a cylon lover among his people. Knowing you were here would be such a disappointment to him."
"Frak you, old man, I'm not a traitor! The moment I get free, I am going to break your frakking neck for even thinking that!" His hand twitched in anger, trying to curl up in to a fist, but failing in the end. Rage twisting his features, Lee tried to focus on Hyram's face. He would remember the old man's looks, it would make hunting him down and killing him later easier.
"Yes, cylon, get a good look at me, know your enemy and master!" Leaning down, he got up so close their noses were almost touching. A hint of madness started on the edge of his eyes and he made sure it showed. "I have long waited for a chance to deal with one of you! Do you remember me, cylon? Does your programming include a play back of my face? Hmmm?"
Lee felt a dawning sense of horror growing within. All he could do was stare at the man and try not to nod. Despite the fact that he would deny it all day, he recognized the man. He knew who this person was.
Hyram Draconis was God.
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