Agent Fox Mulder (i_want_2) wrote in multi_fiction, @ 2008-05-30 21:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | au, galactica, rated: adult, slash |
Fic: Deliver Me 3/? 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
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The lights were off when she awoke. Sharon couldn't figure out why she had awaken so early. There was no one else in the cell that she could detect. Listening revealed there was no sound beyond the normal background of Galactica. Not finding any reason, she tried to get back to sleep. It wouldn't work, something was definitely wrong.
A thought later provided the information. Muscles around her abdomen clenched and she cried out in pain. It had started, the baby was coming two months early. "No. Baby, stay with me, please." Holding her swollen belly, Sharon eased herself in to a sitting position. She reached out to the wall behind her to help her stand up.
Collapsing on the deck beneath her, Sharon felt her world start to slip away. She had to force her mind to focus passed the pain. It wouldn't do to let consciousness get away from her. She decided her best bet was to crawl towards the wireless set on the wall across the room.
Another spasm left her curled on the floor, gasping for breath. She wasn't going to make it. Her baby would be born here on the cold deck of her prison cell and would die from being born too early. Screaming at the next birth spasm, she felt the tears stream down her face before blacking out.
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"You should really pay more attention, Baltar, this could be important." Scanning over the supply lists for the fleet, Zarek checked the numbers against what he personally knew they should be. The black market wasn't dead, it just had to take a more relaxed position until after Gaius won the election. "Something isn't right about these figures."
"There never is, you keep inflating them or decreasing them so often, it is hard to keep an accurate scale." Smiling at the prostitute on his left, Baltar offered her a sip of his Ambrosia. Eyes only for the woman, he kept his attention on Zarek. "Besides, should we not wait until we are alone, some where more private to discuss business?"
Lowering his reports, Zarek turned from them to frown at Baltar. "You are hardly the person who should be talking to me about mixing business and pleasure. Since you gave that psychotic girl friend of yours the nuclear war head from Galactica, she's become even more unstable and demanding!"
With a sigh of distaste, he looked at Zarek. "She is not psychotic. She's just been through a lot and needed some reassuring."
"Oh yes, just a token of your affection." Standing, Zarek stomped his way over to Gaius, the prostitute wisely leaving the room. He stamped his fists down on either side of Baltar, making the doctor jump. "I should have you gutted and thrown in to space naked just for your arrogance alone. Just one word and you would be given the royal treatment by any of my men."
"Oh, I think not. You need me too much, you value my assistance." Raising an eye brow, he crossed his legs and leaned back in the sofa.
"You think to highly of yourself, Doctor. The only thing stopping me from joining with that Roslin bitch is the fact I've already hung my hopes on you. If you go down, I go down, simple as that." His knuckles cracked on the sofa as he leaned on them further. "Right now I am two steps away from just saying to hell with it all and killing you for all the trouble you've caused. You don't really want to give me another reason, Mr. Vice President."
Pulling up, Zarek smiled genially at Baltar's pale face. He adjusted his dress shirt and walked over to the desk. Picking up the reports was a pleasant distraction from what had been a little steam release in his opinion.
Baltar nodded to himself and cleared his throat. Wishing he had brought the nose inhaler, his fingers twitched. "You were saying before?"
"I think someone high up in command is hoarding supplies. I don't know why, or who, but the how is so damned hard to find, it took me all night to find. They are skimming off the top, just a little from each supply run to not make a difference. Once I figure out where the supplies are ultimately being rerouted to, I will be able to come up with the who, then the why." Examining another set of reports, Zarek frowned. "As for being alone in a private place, though you may be pretty to some, you aren't exactly that Adama brat."
Gaius just stared.
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"She says she is from a splinter group of revolutionaries. If she doesn't go free, there will be bombings in the fleet even though the main group and she didn't see eye to eye. She claims she went on this mission alone. The presence of her brother-in-law and two others, co-workers of his, belie that bit of information. I wouldn't trust one word out of her mouth." Hitting the button to turn off the projector, Starbuck cocked her head to the side before righting it. "Can't say much for her style either, she's an amateur who got herself some illegal guns from the black market."
"All right, that has been satisfactorily established. Punishment recommendations?" Glancing over at the tribunal of three Quorum members, Roslin raised an eyebrow in question.
The black Geminon woman put the cap on her pen while avoiding the president's gaze. "She violated our laws and threatened a presidential aid with a deadly weapon. Thirty years hard labor should be sufficient."
"Death." The old white male Caprican's entire body position spoke of boredom.
"Well, it appears our Sagittaron delegate will be the deciding voice." Laura didn't even bother with looking at him, instead, she faced Starbuck once more.
Smiling as if this was a rare treat, Zarek sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "While I openly admit that I can understand her plight, she did violate the laws. They all did so knowingly. They are guilty, of that, there is no doubt." He drew out the sentencing, enjoying the tension growing in the room. "Before I can decide her fate, I will need to know her motives. What was she going to demand?"
"That's classified," Starbuck replied smugly.
"Come again?" He was shocked. This was turning in to one of the better days.
"She said the information is classified, by presidential order I might add." Roslin still ignored Zarek in favor of keeping her eyes on the Captain.
"Nothing can be classified too high for the Quorum. We are the leaders of our colonies, whatever this is, we must know it for the safety of our people! What if someone else demanded the same thing?" Sniffing hautely, the Caprican Delegate tried to catch Roslin's attention.
"Then you best make sure the punishment is sufficient to deter future actions." Standing, Laura put her heels firmly on the deck and pushed off from the table. The dramatic flare it gave her actions was enough to silence the three Quorum Delegates. "If you will excuse me, I have important matters to attend."
"What is more important than setting a precedent in our laws?" This time, it was the Geminon Delegate.
"Sorry, that is classified." With that, she swept out of the room leaving Captain Thrace to deal with the three civilians.
Kara smiled at them, trying to appear friendly. "So, what is the decision?"
"Space the bitch for all I care!" Rising from his seat, Zarek stormed out of the wardroom to see if he could follow the president.
"But..." The Geminon delegate trailed off as the Caprican Delegate smirked at her.
In the corridor, Zarek got as far as the next intersection before three patrols of marines stopped him dead in his tracks. He tried to get passed them but they raised their weapons. "I demand to know what is going on here."
"This is a military vessel, you have no jurisdiction here, Zarek." Approaching the field of marines from behind, Tigh enjoyed the feeling of having this man sighted down the barrel of so many guns. He itched to give the order to shoot, knowing they would back up whatever he said to excuse killing the traitor. So easy. "Get him off the ship." Turning on heel, he went back the way he had come. This was turning in to a bad day.
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Finding the ground transport had taken longer than they calculated. By the time they had uncovered it, two of those who had died in the initial attack had been resurrected in new bodies. Three was pissed they had lost Lee for the information he contained. Their mission to attack the fleet would have to go in blind, which meant resulting to old tactics.
Leoben notched the gun on his shoulder. His clothes were torn in so many places that it made repairing them near impossible. He was unconcerned by their appearance. Clothes were transient things, he had to find the humans.
Ahead of him on the trail were two Eights and three Sixes. Behind were another Leoben, a Five, and two Tens. Each of them were in similar camouflaged outfits that had been torn from trampling through the under brush of Caprica. Surrounding them were a small army of centurions.
When they found the humans, there would be no mercy. If they had harmed Lee, they would find that not even God could save them from Leoben's wrath. The signal came from one of the Eights, they had found the right trail. Moving on, his eyes narrowed in hatred.
They had Lee.
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Coming to herself, Sharon groaned from the pain. Her voice echoing in something alerted her that a mask had been placed over her mouth. "My baby..."
"Has a good chance at surviving." Checking her vitals, Dr. Cottle made marks on his chart. "Your bout of Caprican Rain Fever damaged your systems. While the fetus suffered very little, your own immune system was seriously compromised fighting off the virus for both of you. You still haven't completely licked the little devil, now be quiet and rest." When she tried to rise again, he pressed her back down. "Lieutenant Agathon is with your daughter."
"Daughter," she wheezed. Feeling delirious joy fill her, she laid back willingly. Shortly afterwards, she dozed off.
After finishing his checks, Cottle shook his head and moved on out of the isolation room. Or he would have if the doorway wasn't blocked. "Excuse me, but I have other patients to attend to."
"What is her status?" Crossing her arms, Roslin made it clear that she wasn't going any where until she got answers.
"With some rest, plenty of fluids, and uninterrupted time, she'll live." Grabbing the president by the arm, he led her out of his way. "Now, unless you are sick, get out of my infirmary."
"Thank you. I'll be stopping by later to check on the baby, please make sure the mother and father know that." Roslin gave him a patented smile before going to the door. At the door, she met up with Admiral Adama. "Time to recheck on the status of Lieutenant Agathon. If he poses a threat..."
"I'll deal with him." Adama hated to admit it, but the birth made him feel a little lighter than usual. A new life had been brought in to the world, and despite the earth shattering events brought about by its mere existence, there was a feeling of hope inside him. Keeping it buried under his will, Adama walked on.
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Lee kept silent as they cut the last of the strips of the silver wrap from around his body. It was a delicate process as the silver had solidified against his skin and they were using substandard tools. The chemicals in the wrap had killed the top layer of skin, forcing the epidermis to grow a new layer. Where they removed the wrap, the new skin was sore pink. Still, it was better than having to get an entire new body, not that he was a cylon.
Feeling the last bit stripped away, he shivered in what felt like cool air despite the heat. His new skin was already beginning to expand and dry out. The only places that didn't have the new skin were his right hand, right foot, and face. It might have been a new body for all the control he had of it. A strange twist was that the new skin allowed him to feel the cold air, but he still couldn't make his body respond to it.
The trained medic and two men who had been brought in to assist wrapped him in a light blanket and set him back on the bunk near the furnace. This was as comfortable as he was going to get until his body finished healing. He was glad to note from what he had seen of his body, the burns were completely gone. Then again, it was hard to tell the difference between scalded flesh and new growth.
After picking up the strips of silver wrap with dead skin and putting them in a trash bag, the medic and his assistants left the room. The sound of the lock being thrown in place barely registered. Lee was left in quiet for almost five minutes before his door opened again. He knew who it would be, the man had said he would be back after Lee refused to answer him yesterday and here he was.
Hyram wasn't alone this time, though. Behind him was Samuel Anders and Hyram didn't look too happy about it. "Cylon, this is Anders. Don't get too close to it, we've seen how fast and strong they are."
"Hello, Captain, I'm not sure if you remember me or not. Either way, I want to ask you a few questions." Taking the one chair in the room, Anders sat down across from Lee despite Hyram's warning. "Tell me the truth and we'll go from there."
"All right." Lee wished he had hair. Part of the process took every single last hair that wasn't on his face. He felt bald, and vulnerable without it for some unknown reason. "What do you want to know?"
"Why did the cylons kidnap you?" Anders revealed the belief that he didn't think Lee was any more a cylon than himself with as much tact as he could muster.
"They tried to convince me I was one of them." Lee's body shivered, causing a flurry of sensations across his skin. It felt good. "I was forced to eject during the battle. My suit was damaged and I didn't think I would survive. When I awoke, I was aboard the cylon ship, surrounded by the enemy. They are completely frakked. I spent the next four weeks, while not being forced to watch the battle over and over again, traveling back to Caprica, funnily enough, so they could join with those already here and crush you once and for all."
At that, Anders snickered. "All right, so we've succeeded in making them regret what they've done."
"No, we've merely become a higher priority target to them." Having heard enough, Hyram stepped between Lee and Anders. "Tell him, you pathetic machine, tell him what your real plans are."
"That's easy, getting back to Galactica and jumping as far away from here as possible." At Hyram's snort, he looked for the first time at the older man. "You have no idea what we've done. All you know is that you've been stuck on this rock for the past eight months fighting a war you didn't ask for. The president made a decision that I wholly support, abandoning the colonies, saving what was left of humanity!"
"Or grouping us in to a more convenient location so your people could finish us off at their leisure. That you've so far failed is just a matter of inconvenience!" Leaning down closer with each word, by the time he finished, Hyram was nose to nose with Lee. "I know all about your tactics, you frakking toaster, we have dealt with you in the past, we'll do it again!"
Lee smirked at the older man. "Oh yes, do tell us about your illustrious career at playing god, Mr. Draconis! I know all about your career in the service of the cylons, my father made sure I would know the traitors when I spotted them!"
Hyram back handed Lee across the face. Before he could do more, Anders was at his side, forcing his arms behind his back. "You monster! The Gods will see you burn for your actions, cylon! The gods will punish your wicked kind! You'll see, you'll see!" He kept screaming even as the guards dragged him from the room.
After the door had been closed again, Anders ran a hand through his hair, pulling it off his forehead. "Good gods, where the hell did that come from?"
Sitting up straighter, Lee noticed he could control some of his own body now. "Hyram Draconis, aka Hyldguard Drolos, one of the final cylon designers before the war. He worked on the Prometheus Project. The goal was to create the perfect servants, the more human, the better. His specialty, the same processor cores that we believed allowed the cylons to overcome their programming and turn against us." Lee snarled in anger, making his shaking hand to clench in a fist. "There is your cylon god."
"How can I trust that you are telling me the truth? For all I know, he could be right, just a little fanatical." This earned Anders a death glare. "Hey, until this war started, I wasn't aware the cylons could even look human, now they are turning out to be people I've known for years."
"That's just a risk you are going to have to take." Shouldering the blanket higher up his body, Lee settled in to get cozy next to the fire. His weak body was already starting to get sleepy again.
"I knew you were going to say that, Two." Anders started to get up, grinning, but paused when he saw Lee was staring at him in fear. "Is there something behind me?"
"What did you call me?" Lee bit down on his rising panic. No need to go off half cocked over something that could be a cruel coincidence.
"Two. That's what we've taken to calling you because of your face. Hyram said... Your facial scarring will leave your skin two-tone for a while." Waving it off with a shrug, Anders continued for the door. "If it bothers you, I can tell them to knock off."
"It bothers me. My call sign is Apollo," he added more out of desperation than anything else.
"Okay, I'll tell the others to call you Apollo or Captain Adama. Get some rest." Watching Lee as he closed the door, Anders felt secure in his decision to lock the door, just in case.
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Looking up as the door to his own cell was opened, Hyram met Anders' glare with one of his own. "What did the abomination say? Did he fill your head with the usual lies about how they are innocent victims?"
"Actually, he didn't say anything about himself, but he had some very interesting things to say about you." Entering the cell with two guards on either side of the door way, Anders watched the older man carefully. "How long were you involved in Project Prometheus?"
Chuckling, Hyram sat back on his bunk. Folding his hands behind his head, he made himself comfortable. "Thank you for proving my point."
"Answer the damned question!" Anders didn't bother taking the one chair in the cell. It would be a waste of time, if Hyram didn't want to answer the question, he wouldn't.
"What little people outside of the project know about it is all the colonial government would allow. The project was the site of the first cylon rebellion, all but a handful of us were tortured then killed by the awakening cylons." Unfolding his arms, he gestured carelessly with his arms, but his tone continued on in an angry mono. "They were brutish and merciless, every person they killed was just another new experience to them. After the first three, they started killing us one by one just to study how we died, how long it took, what were the symptoms, the causes. They were very creative, very curious."
A single question came to his mind. "Why did they let you live?"
"They didn't." Laughing, a harsh, guttural howl, the old man slapped his knee. After he had settled, Hyram continued with a smirk. "Only one of us was needed to set off the self destruct, there were four of us and three spaces in the escape craft. I was one of the lucky trio. The lab was destroyed, and were cast adrift for three weeks before colonial forces found us. By then, word was all over the twelve colonies and we were at war."
"So, what, you are just an innocent in all this? I don't buy that, the Captain seems to be pretty adamant you are a traitor. As I see it, so far all you've done is confirm what he's told me." Nodding to the guards, Anders started for the door.
"Are you really curious about Project Prometheus?" Hyram's grin was bitter as he sat up in the narrow bunk. Glaring at the guards, he gestured for the door. "I will tell only you, not them. I won't have a mob after me because these brutes are too stupid to understand the context of what I say."
"Fine. Get out, I can handle a single old man." Not taking any protests, Anders held the door for them. "Wait outside, I will be all right with him." He waited until they were outside before closing the door, then turned back to face Hyram. "Now, you had better make this good or I know some pissed off cylons that would love to get their hands on a flesh and blood human."
"We made the cylons." At Anders eye roll, he slapped his hands together. "You don't understand, we made them, not the metal and servos, those flesh and blood monstrosities. We made them!"
"You what?" Anders grabbed for the chair as his knees gave out. "What did you do?"
"We made them. We wanted to see if we could create life, replicate it down to the most minute cell. It was our ultimate achievement, sheer perfection." Hyram stood up to lord over Anders, despite the fact they were almost the same height with Anders partially leaning on the chair. "In all, there were twelve models. Don't ask me how, but Captain Lee Adama is one of the cylons. I watched the first of them grow in the tanks, monitored it's growth and developments. His model designation was Number Two."
Anders jerked his head up to stare in wide eyed horror at Hyram. "What do we do with him?"
"Just as I first told you, keep him. Someone will be coming for him eventually, he's too important to their plans." Leaning in close, Hyram began to whisper. "And when they do, that is when we get our chance to get off this rock."
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"Sir, we are receiving the signal again." Holding her hand to the ear piece, Duala frowned in concentration. It was the third time that it had come over the wireless in the past hour. Just like all the other times, the voices were too numerous to distinguish. "I'm still not able to get a clear transmission."
Holding the wireless receiver to his mouth, Adama glared at the dradis screen. "This is Admiral Adama to Colonial Fleet, prepare to jump on my mark." The next instant, three blips appeared on the monitors.
"We have multiple dradis contact!" Captain Gaeta, standing next to Adama at the central command station, felt bereft of comfort without his old action station. "They are Cylon's, sir!"
"Initiate FTL jump sequence." Adama hung up the wireless handset, turning to watch his new XO at work.
Hands folded behind him, Gaeta began the mental call out of the fleet commands. "Retract pods. Charge the weapons and drive. All hands, prepare for immediate jump!" All about him the bridge crew bustled over their action stations, sending commands over various channels on the wireless, confirming the fleet's action status.
"Sir, the Pegasus has jumped to the new coordinates," Duala called out from her action station. Hand still at her ear, she began relaying the message on repeat. "Fleet ships are making the jump!"
"Very good, continue to keep us posted. Pod status?" Keeping a close eye on the dradis screen, Gaeta awaited the reply. When it didn't come, he turned sharply to glare at his replacement on the dradis command. "Pod status, Lieutenant?"
The former marine met his gaze, blankly. "Pods retracted, sir."
"Be quicker about it, next time! Stand by for jump!" Hands clenched behind his back, Gaeta kept his chin up and head cool. "On your word, Admiral."
"Fire!" His voice cracked in a growl as he clenched his fists. The ship vibrated as multiple cannons fired from the lateral set. "Jump!"
Turning the key, Duala activated the FTL drive. Just as the drive activated, the wireless monitored a massive explosion of microwaves that rippled out. Opening her eyes, she grinned at the command staff. "Direct hit, Admiral."
"Dradis confirms, the cylon attack fleet was hit before we jumped. Exact damage is unknown, but casualties are predicted to be high, sir." The new lieutenant's voice was a flat as his expression.
Cheers rang out across CIC as Gaeta visibly relaxed. Catching his breath, he turned to the Admiral. "How did you know, sir?"
"Old cylon trick. Fake distress calls cost many a colonial life in the first war." Adama gave his XO a warm smile. "Good work, Mr. Gaeta."
"Thank you, sir." Straightening up, Gaeta turned to Duala and the Lieutenant. "Fleet status?"
"There are no cylons on dradis." Monitoring his station the Lieutenant kept his eyes glued to the screen.
"Sir, all but one ship has reported in according to Colonial One and the Pegasus. The fleet prison ship, Astral Queen, full crew compliment and prisoners, all lost." Taking a deep breath, Duala forced herself to listen to the rest of the report. "Quorum Delegate Zarek was not aboard, but expresses his profound sorrow over their loss."
"Send our sympathies to the fleet and tell them to prepare for an immediate jump the moment we have coordinates." Much to everyone's surprise, it was Gaeta who had responded. He met the Admiral's appraising look with one of his own. "We can not risk that the cylons have the Astral Queen and thus, our location."
"That is correct, Captain. See to it." Adama knew he had made a good choice with Gaeta.
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"Are they ready?" Anders was meeting with the five heads of what remained of his rebel force. Their numbers had seriously dwindled after the last attack and it was time to move on.
"Yes, Anders. The carts are loaded and everyone has taken their Rads." Dresden had his own pack and gun were over his shoulders. He wasn't the only one in the meeting ready to leave at a moment's notice.
"Good, then I guess it's time." His face set in a grim line, he stood up. "There's just one last thing to do before we leave." Walking towards the back of the building, the five behind him, Samuel Anders clenched his hand. They quickly came upon the first cell door with two guards on it. He waited for them to open it before stepping up.
"Anders. It's good to see you've come to your..." Hyram flew backwards as the first bullet impacted his chest. Two more hit him before he even hit the ground. A final bullet to the head made sure he wasn't getting up.
Cocking the gun, Anders clicked the safety on and left the cell. "Time to go!"
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Shivering in his cell, Lee waited for Anders to come. He knew that if the man was sane enough to be convincing, it would be him that ended up on the floor. There was no nice face to put on it, either he would be free to fight along side Anders or he would be dead. Personally, he hoped a little of both. He wasn't looking forward to a hopeless war any more than he was looking forward to being executed.
There was one nice thing about dying, at least he could put to rest the whole 'is he a cylon, or isn't he' once and for all. Not waking up in a new body would be pretty damned strong evidence for his detractors. A grim smile passed his lips.
A long time later, the furnace suddenly died and the light over head went out. That meant the power to the place had been cut. Either they were abandoning camp, something he strongly believed in as a wise precaution, or the cylons were about to attack. Both of which meant the fun was about to begin.
He couldn't hear much through the door, but he could tell someone was on the other side of it before the lock was disengaged. The door being pulled back revealed a brilliant light and he had a strong sense of deja vu. Glaring at the light, he was practically bristling. "What kept you?"
"Sorry, Two, these humans have proven to be more of a challenge than we anticipated." Walking in the cell, the Sharon glanced about her in disgust. "How long did they keep you locked away?"
"Not as long as you." Rising on shaky feet with her help, he wrapped the blanket around his pale white skin. He still didn't have any hair on his body that wasn't on his face and wasn't about to reveal that to her. "Did you kill them all, or are some of them still alive?"
"Unfortunately, they anticipated our arrival by a few hours." Coming up the hall towards them, Six's red boots clacked on the old tile floor. Her immaculate appearance made her seem out of place among the gathering crowd of ragged looking cylons. "Hyldguard is dead."
"That's a pity, I wanted to do it myself." Taking his arm from the Sharon, Lee stood on his own. They appeared around him, and a Five held out a pair of pants for him. "Thank you."
"Do you require assistance?" Coming up behind Lee, Leoben placed a hand on the small of his back. "You have been missed."
"No, I can get dressed on my own." Dropping the blanket, Lee wobbled first one leg in to the pants, then the other. After zipping them up, he nearly fell over from the lack of strength. "What kind of drugs did you put in that wrap?"
"Synthetic Poseidon Snake Venom. It is one of the few things that actually seems to effect our nervous systems without damaging them." A Ten, having just joined them from another hall, glanced Lee over. "It is good to see that our hard work wasn't for nothing."
"We have surveyed the tracks left behind and the storage sheds around the base camp, the humans are down to hand held weapons unless they can find a cache some where." Another Sharon piped up from behind them.
"Good, that will make killing them easier." Six was about to turn to lead them out.
"Let the centurions handle it, we have what we came for." Watching Lee with undisguised interest, Leoben stroked a finger down the center line that marked the end of his facial scarring.
Lee refused to let the fact that this was a cylon stop him from shivering underneath his touch.
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Laura placed her hands to her temples, fighting off the coming headache. Across from her, Baltar and Commander Tigh were fighting it out over what to do with the Sharon Cylon. Tigh was starting to win her support of spacing her and claiming the child died. It would mean having to kill Baltar, who would most likely blab, and possibly Lieutenant Agathon. Both of which she told herself she could live with.
"You simply can't kill everyone who becomes an inconvenience. Pretty soon it'll be the man who spilled soup on your lap because he is part of some vast conspiracy to make you late! When will this madness end?" Standing up, Gaius leaned on the table to glare at Roslin. "You have already ordered the execution of over twenty people since you took office, how many more before it is over?"
"The executions of nineteen of those people you are preaching about were criminals who had been guilty of so many crimes, even you agreed with the decision! Now, sit down, you prissy, little frak before I put you there!" Tigh would match Baltar's stance, but for his bum leg. He was damned tempted to risk the pain just to get within range of knocking the smug bastard out.
"Gentlemen, I won't tolerate this any further. You've both had your say, now time to move on." Laura put back on her glasses and smiled at both of them. "I appreciate your concerns, Mr. Vice President, but you are out of line. I did not decide anything lightly, or alone, we all agreed upon the course of action regarding the men behind the black market. As for our would be terrorist, a tribunal of the Quorum decided her fate, two to one. I agreed and signed off on it. Don't even start, until you are president, you have no say on what I agree to sign in to law."
"Agreed." Sitting through the epic battle between two of the four people in the room, Adama had come close to just getting up and walking out. If this started back up again, he wouldn't hesitate. "The cylon poses a security risk, the fact that the public knows about her makes it even more so. There are eight more cylons out there among the fleet, nine if you include the one that shot Admiral Cain. Any one of them, or all of them, could attempt to break through security and take the child now that is has been born. What we do decide, it must be done as soon as possible."
"I think it is obvious we can't trust the cylon to raise the child. Any plans they have for her would not be good for us." Her pleasant look gone, Roslin felt tired. Things were just going to get worse from here on out, so she decided to put it out there. "I have decided to wait and see if the child survives before making any permanent decision that we all might regret."
"What do you mean if?" Frowning, Gaius felt a trickle of terror rush up his spine. "I thought Dr. Cottle said the child would survive."
"You've been misinformed. The child's lungs are not fully formed and she has been placed on life support." At his irate glare, she felt her face shift back to pleasant. "I felt it best that only a few know the truth."
"So grand for you! It will be a real pleasure when I stomp you flat in the election!" Standing, Gaius picked up his brief case. Stomping to the door, he ground his teeth in anger. "I suggest you also get used to it, Admiral, you'll be answering to me as well." With that, he opened the door and then slammed it shut behind him.
Smiling in the silence, Roslin moved aside her briefing packet, picking up a set of documents and passed copies over to Adama and Tigh. "To kill this child makes sense from a security stand point, but as the father has pointed out many times, this is a child. Frankly, I am not yet ready to cross that line. These are a list of potential adoptive parents, familiarize yourselves with them and then get back to me on your picks. If this little girl survives, she will need parents."
Tigh met Adama's gaze, amusement clearly written on his face. The old girl had done it again. He really hoped she would win the elections.
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Noon fell upon the room, sounding with the chime of the clock above the door. Having been sitting there for hours, Lee wondered what the hole point of it was. After having been brought to the former city Archomedia, they had immediately delivered him here. Since then, he had been waiting for something to happen.
It had once been a small historic district in the larger port city of Rhodes. When space travel had become common place again, the port was all but abandoned. A small faction had remained to maintain the heritage sites, this building being the main visitor center. It amused Lee that the cylons had taken up this sector, having been one of the major berthing centers of modern technology. In fact, one of the first mechanized beings had been created here ten centuries before.
Raising his right hand, Lee examined it. It looked normal enough, but what if it had been designed, not evolved? Would that make him better than what he thought he was or just different? The cylons were faster, stronger, highly resilient, adaptable, and all around more perfect than humanity. It was no wonder they had lost.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" Leaning back against her hands in the doorway, a Six observed him with a look of wonder. "Creation is something they took for granted. We have learned that every new life must be treasured, cherished for what it represents."
"Yet you murdered damn near my entire species. That makes you a bunch of hypocrites." Lowering his hand to grip the arm of his chair, Lee glared at her. "How very human of you."
Her only visible emotional reaction to his barb was a tightening of her jaw. "You have been away for a very long time, Two, there are certain things you do not know about. Until you do, do not presume to judge me."
"Want me to get out my lyre, play you a few sad notes while you are at it?" This was more the relationship he was expecting with the frakking machines. He was tired of being uncertain of when they were frakking with his mind and when they were being honest. It was all very tiresome. "Is there a reason you are here aside from the whole try to convince me I'm one of you? Because, I have to say, I'm not buying it."
Strolling in to the room, she raised an eye brow at his clenched hands. The only thing that had impressed her of his entire situation was the sheer stubbornness in which he refused to acknowledge his true existence. Her heels clicked on the tile floor with a satisfying resounding clack. It was one of the few pleasures of this form granted her that their metal fellows could not enjoy.
Her continued scrutiny began to make an impact on him, but Lee refused to let it show. She was the enemy, he would be damned if he let her success show. "Silence, is that your new tactic? Ignore me until I become cooperative?"
"No." She sneered at him. "I was just wondering how much is your programming, and how much is learned from interacting with them. The things you must have been forced to accept sickens me." She crossed the room to lean over him. Reaching out a hand, her expression turned to one of that of sorrow. Her fingers made contact with his skin only a split second before he jumped back. "What have they done to you?"
Lee leaned as far away as the chair would allow him. He pushed up on her chest to move her away. "They didn't do anything to me! You are the ones who..." He shut up as his arm that had been pushing her was snatched in to her grip.
"Stop lying to yourself! We are the only ones who care about you, us, not them." Her hand returned to the side of his face, cupping his cheek. Her thumb caressed over his cheek. "You still think they will be coming for you, that they care enough to risk their lives for you."
There was only one answer for that. "Yes."
A sadness crept over her face. "Do you remember what happened in the final battle before you were rescued by us?"
"We won." Two simple words never sounded so much like a lie in his life.
"No, we lost. They won with a savage attack, using our own against us just like the monsters they are." Her thumb continued to stroke his skin in reassuring circles. "They abandoned you, left you to die when you were of no further use."
"That's not true!" Anger flared in him. This crazy bitch was actually buying in to her own story. "I was captured!"
"No," her hand flew to his chest, resting over his heart, "you died."
And just like that, brightness flashed over his eyes and he was back among the stars. Lungs aching for air that wasn't coming, he tried desperately to breathe. He felt his body slow as his vision faded. Vacuum chilled his body where the atmosphere had fled the suit. The blood in his veins turned to ice, the sharp edges caused the vessels to rupture until all was frozen.
Screaming from the sudden chill, Lee's eyes watered. He blinked the tears away. Sitting with Six standing over him, he could still feel his heart stop as the ice grew from the inside out. The pain of it had been beyond tolerance and his death had been excruciating. Wiping at his nose, he looked away from Six and found they were no longer alone in the room.
Lee met Leoben's steady gaze and knew. They both knew. They both had shared the same fate at the hands of the colonial fleet, however indirectly on his part. Lee wasn't going back to the colonial fleet, he was already home.
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"Well send it again. Keep sending it until you actually get a hold of the vice president!" Clicking the wireless off, Zarek slammed his fist down on the console of the Prometheus. Having some pull on this gods forsaken garbage scow gave him a ship after the loss of the Astral Queen, but that didn't matter one bit. Thanks in special to that insipid bitch Roslin and her Colonial Military Lapdogs, he had traded one prison ship for another.
He had spent the past four days since then trying to track down and expose the people behind the supply hording. He knew that someone out there was putting his former empire to shame by now. Since he lost most of his resources with his ship, they had stepped up their efforts, not bothering to hide it in some cases. In fact, he was sure the President was involved because some of the order forms he had managed to get a hold of had her signature.
It was all very damning if he could ever prove it. Thing was, he needed Baltar's authorization to get more information since he didn't have the supplies to trade in bribes. Getting in touch with that frakking drug addled moron was damn near impossible these days. Who knew where he spent his time?
"Sir, we are monitoring another transmission on the higher band wireless. It is too encrypted for us to decipher at the moment, but the signal is coming from the Galactica." The man sitting at the controls of the Prometheus held a hand to his ear piece while pressing the record button on the wireless control. "The signal is being sent to Colonial One and Pegasus on a repeating loop." After a few more seconds, he released the button and looked up at Zarek. "The signal is gone."
"Good work. Send it to Cloud Nine, I want to know what was so special." Picking up the glass of ambrosia he had sitting on the pilot's console, he took a sip from it. This was his last bottle from the Caprica stock. He would have to wait until the supply on Cloud Nine matured before he could get more. It would make his day to know who frakked with the FTL drives of the Astral Queen because there was no way the ship had lost it naturally.
There were procedures to be followed in case of a potential break down. It had to come from sabotage, there was no other explanation feasible. But, without his ship, evidence just didn't exist. Which was a real shame, he really wanted to kill someone.
Speaking of which. Picking up the headset, he activated the wireless again. "This is Prometheus Unbound to Cloud Nine Customer Support. Where the frak is the Vice President. If you tell me you don't know one more time, I will come over there and personally teach you a new response."
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Gaius knew his touch revolted his beloved Six, but he was really too far gone under the effects of the inhaler to care. She needed to relax, and refused to try his wonderful little drug, so it fell to the old tried and true. Massage therapy was something he was usually on the receiving end of, he knew all about how to enjoy it. Surely, it couldn't be that hard to master.
Gina, on the other hand, was pretty sure this was God's punishment for killing the human in cold blood. Not only was he sweating on her, but she could feel his arousal pressing in to her side every time he leaned over to rub at her shoulder. After another poke in the side, she couldn't take it any more. Sitting up, she pushed him aside. "Thank you, Gaius, I feel much better now. You can go."
The tone of her voice penetrated his buzz and Baltar smiled at her. Sliding a hand up her leg, he tried to be appeasing. "Anything else I can help you with?"
Staring down upon him, she tried not to scream in abject fear. Instead, she shook her leg free and carefully moved to the other side of the room. "No, I don't think there is. You should just go so that I can sleep."
"Are you certain, because I am always up to helping you." He was about to say more, but the door opened to her inner room.
Gina rushed to her intruder as if he was the messenger straight from God. "What is it, Phaethus?"
"I am sorry to interrupt, Ms. Cleitus, but there is an urgent message from Quorum Delegate Zarek for Mr. Baltar. He has threatened to do many things if we do not produce him." He sent a glare at the vice president.
"Take him." Not waiting for her orders to be fulfilled, Gina pushed passed the large man and moved out of her quarters. She needed open space, lots of it.
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He was being chased through the forest by centurions. They were after him, demanding he look at them. He wouldn't, there was nothing there he wanted to see. But they wouldn't let him go.
Over another hill, he climbed. They were gaining ground on him. The rush couldn't go on any longer, he had to rest. When he stopped, they would catch him. Thinking fast, he grabbed a close tree and swung around. If he was going down, he was going to take them down with him.
"Chief!"
His arms shot out at the voice. He would teach them frakking cylons to call his name. Rolling with the one he caught, he began to pound on it. It would never bother him again, he would make sure of that.
"Chief Tyrol! Get him off him, now!"
A voice behind him tried to distract him and there were more around him. He lashed out at the closest cylon. They were all going to get him if he didn't fight back. Tyrol was a dead man if he let them get him, but he wouldn't let them. Never let them get you!
"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Then he was falling to his knees as electricity flowed through him. They had shock sticks and he was going to die. Oh well, at least it was over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lee followed dazedly the handful of cylons that seemed to be his constant escort: two Sixes, an Eight, a Three, and Leoben. They had taken a transport in to orbit from the visitor's center, docking with a resurrection ship shortly afterwards. Memories of six weeks ago and his own first visit to one of these ships had assaulted him since he saw it through the port window.
He had made the entire journey, then and now, in a daze. Back then he had been so lost since he believed he had been captured by the enemy. Now, his chest still hurt from the memory of his heart having stopped. It was true, all of it, he was a cylon.
Grabbing at the wall, he felt his head start to swim, getting sick at his stomach. His breathing labored, he had to let Leoben catch him from falling. "Oh, god, it can't be real." Clutching at Leoben's arm, he pleaded with him. "Please tell me it isn't real."
"If he is unable to continue, we must leave him behind. The operation is already underway." The Five, who had come from the chamber ahead of them, gave them all a glare at the interruption. His red coat seemed almost brown in the dark lighting. "This is a very stressful time for our sister, if she is to have a pleasant rebirth, we can not allow disruptions."
Leoben wasn't paying the Five any mind. Instead, his hand was tracing a tear slowly up Lee's cheek to his eye. Wiping away all traces of it, he stared at his wet finger in fascination. "We understand it is hard for you to adjust, Lee. Your presence at this rebirth is vital for both you and her, she will draw comfort from you."
Lee wanted to shake his head and deny it. He didn't want to be part of this. There were so many things wrong with this entire situation he just wanted to run on screaming. In the end, he ignored his own feelings, choosing to stand on his own instead. Walking beside Leoben, he waited for the others to lead the way in to the chamber.
The dark chamber was just as he remembered. There were the raised areas around a large gel filled tub in the center. Inside the tub was a cylon body with twin coils around her arms, restraining her. He frowned, why would they do that? They hadn't done that to him. It took him a moment to register that he was not looking at just another cylon, it was an Eight.
Sharon Valerii. Boomer.
They had said that she was going to be resurrected during his time on the ship. It was coming true, it seemed. At least he knew why he was here, to provide a familiar face.
He hoped he scared the living shit out of her.
Glaring down upon the body, he watched her twitch. She continued to twitch until her eyes opened. Upon opening, she gasped and moaned in pain. He watched her arms try to jerk to her body, but held in place by the chains. His mood changed from dazed to glee at the way she took in her first few moments.
Boomer glanced about her at the cylons, denial already forming on her lips. It was the sight of her own face staring back at her from another body that sealed it for her. The duplicate's hand touching hers sent a cold shiver through her. "No."
"Welcome home, Sharon." The Eight slipped her fingers through her double's hand. She squeezed their fingers together in an attempt to comfort her. "It's okay, now, you are back among our people."
"It can't be." Finding herself surrounded by cylons, Boomer lowered her gaze until she couldn't see them anymore.
Kneeling beside the tank, Lee swished his fingers through the gel as if to test the temperature. "I'm afraid so, Lieutenant." A thrill of pure vindictive pleasure shot through him as her wide eyes shot up to meet his face. "Welcome home, Eight."
"What are you doing here?" Her words were barely a whisper. All Boomer could do was stare in horror at the man she thought was her superior officer. It couldn't be real, he wasn't one of them. He wasn't a cylon.
"Just getting to know a few of your old friends." Gesturing around him, Lee sneered at her. This was turning in to a wonderful day after all. "You don't mind, do you? I mean, there are plenty of them to go around, after all. You know, the Sixes aren't much for conversation that doesn't concern God, and Three seems to think I'm her personal database." Reaching out, Lee ran his hand up Leoben's leg. "There are other benefits, though."
"That's enough, Two." Three snorted in disgust over his actions, squeezing Boomer's other hand in reassurance. "Ignore him, he's been moody ever since the humans captured him."
"Can a toaster be moody?" He placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Tell me, Lieutenant, am I a cylon, or are they just really good at messing with my mind? I'm curious."
"I said that is enough!" Grinning at him in a way that said she wasn't amused, Three cocked her head to the side. "Today is not about you, we are here to support our sister and help her through this stressful event."
"Oh, but I think this is about me. You do nothing without a reason, bringing me here is not just about making Boomer feel comfortable." Lee just ignored her looks. He wasn't interested in the obviously bitchy cylon. "Now, back to you, Sharon. Tell me, did it hurt getting shot? Me, personally, I've never been shot. Been stabbed, cut, beat up, never shot. Did it feel like the worst pain in your life or was it just a mild sting like some people say?" He gave what he hoped was a pleasant expression while leaning in closer to the bound Boomer.
"Lee." Leoben spoke the name in a quiet tone, but the effect was as if a shout.
Standing up quickly, Lee moved to stand beside Leoben. Staring at the cylon, he considered the situation in his mind. After he came upon a decision, he turned his back on Boomer and the other cylons. He was too angry to make this experience easier on her. There would probably never be a time when he didn't want to kill her for shooting his father. The weight of a hand upon his shoulder let him know that Leoben cared.
Behind Lee, Boomer watched the two men interact through her own guilt and shock. Her night mare was playing out around her, but the Captain was making it worse with his actions. If she could, she would gladly eat the bullet right this time. A gentle touch across her forehead drew her attention and she jerkily glanced over at her double.
"You will have to forgive Two. He has not adjusted well to being returned to us." She pushed the hair out of Boomer's eyes, smiling at the way her eyes closed. "The humans have not been kind to him. We had hoped he would provide a comforting presence. I am sorry, we didn't know this would happen."
Lee couldn't take it any more. Balling his hands in to a fist, he stormed out of the resurrection chamber. He was aware of the footsteps of his escort behind him, not caring that they were a few sets shy. Stopping at the entrance of the corridor that led to the chamber, he slammed his fist in to the guard railing. From here he could look out in to the stars. Behind him were the rows upon rows of cylon replacement bodies.
Six leaned back against a support girder that connected the corridor to the wide open body storage. It gave her a sense of strength when facing out in the stars. "We've all been traumatized by humanity. Some of us even more so than others."
"How long have I been a cylon?" After he said it, Lee laughed humorlessly. "Was there ever a real me?"
"You are the real you." Coming up beside Lee on his right, Leoben held a close orbit of Lee. His presence was a constant to help anchor Lee. "It began almost thirty years ago. Over a span of ten years, we implanted a few of each model among couples seeking fertility treatments in the colonies. You were to study as you were berthed and grew, learn from them. Of your model, you were the only one. We had a very special task for you."
"My father." He glared over his shoulder at Leoben, daring him to deny it.
"Adama was one of the heroes of the war." Leoben said no more.
"Then where are the others of my model? Why am I the only one?" Doubts still lingered in him. Despite his own memories and slow acceptance, he couldn't completely believe them.
"As you may have noted, there are more and less of each model. Yours was never very numerous before the final day of humanity." Appearing a little uncomfortable, Leoben looked away from Lee. "We had not completely anticipated the determination of humans to seek vengeance, nor their creativeness. More were lost than estimated. You are only one of three left."
A brilliant flash off to their right drew their attention, but did not distract Lee from his questions. "And the other two?"
"Away. Humans may have spread farther than we thought." Six's voice dripped with contempt. "We will get them all, it is only a matter of time. That is God's will."
Lee should have been horrified, angered, or even disgusted with what she said, but nothing of the sort came to him. They had left him to die. Captured or dead, either way, he was still among the cylons. As irrational as it was, he just couldn't get passed it. "By your command."