Fic: Deliver Me 7/7 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
Biting the mouth piece they had given him to keep from biting his own tongue, Lee sniffed hard to clear his sinus. The pain was so intense, it took all his concentration to just keep from screaming. Even after they had sewn him back up he could still feel where the scalpel had slipped during the first explosion and cut a vein and several muscles. They had him strapped face first to the table, head locked in traction to keep him from moving because of it.
At this point, he didn't really care what they did to him. Shivering from the pain, he felt his body settle in to shock. If he was lucky, he would go in to cardiac arrest from it before they even noticed. Tears flooded down his cheeks when another rocking of the ship slammed his gurney back in to the wall, jostling him.
Cool fingers slid over his face, using a cloth to clean the mucus off. Wiping at the tears in his eyes, the person gently brushed them away. "It will be all right, Two, we're here to watch over you."
Lee knew who and what it was before she even spoke. Taking comfort for the first time in her presence, he blinked his eyes to signal his acquiescence. A moment later, something was placed just under his wound and the pain was instantly gone.
"I'm not surprised they failed. Their ignorance always was a fatal flaw." Rubbing soothingly over the wound, she placed a silvery wrap over the skin before replacing the bandages over it. "There, that should hold you until the wound is healed. I have to go, but I will be back to check on your progress. Welcome back, Two." Pushing aside the curtains, she moved down the infirmary, dodging patients and medics as she went.
"What are you doing here?" Cottle, who was tying off a splint for another patient, glared at the woman in the business suit. "Unless you're here to help, get out!"
"Right, I got what I came for." Smiling, D'Anna walked out the main entrance to the infirmary just before another group of crewmen were brought in.
Finishing up, Cottle let the nurse handle the man's wounds. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked in to the curtained area to search Lee. Much to his surprise, he found the man sleeping peacefully.
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"And in this news hour on the affairs of New Caprica, settlement of the planet, which is the right location for you: Caprica City or the Adama Highland Agricultural Region? Get your transfer visas in order and prepare to rough it either way!" Smiling brightly, Lloyd Vesuvitea sparkled for the camera. "But first, here is a special report with the New Caprican News Service from senior reporter, D'Anna Biers."
The screen flashed the image of New Caprica with the NCN logo before showing D'Anna standing in front of a repair crew fixing a gaping hole in the side of a Raptor. "Thank you, Lloyd. This is D'Anna Biers reporting live from the Pegasus flight deck. During my exciting coverage of the home coming of our troops from Old Caprica, events took a turn for the worse.
"Before I continue on with that story, I must impart sad news. Earlier today, you may have noticed several bright explosions in the predawn hours over New Caprica. A nuclear device aboard the Cloud 9 exploded, taking with her five ships and the transport vessel Levite carrying the new vice president, Dylan Agamemnon Crasis. No official word from the president about the explosion yet, but sources on board the Galactica and Pegasus confirmed it was a nuclear bomb that went off. We would like to offer a moment of silence for those who died today."
Her face dimmed in sympathy as the flight deck went quiet. Raising her head, she wiped at her eyes. "This reporter would like to thank the crews of the Galactica and Pegasus for their speedy actions to ensure that those who survived the explosions received medical attention that saved their lives. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, you are an inspiration to us all."
Whistles around her from the deck crew filled the screen.
Waiting until they had gotten back to work, D'Anna once again focused on the camera with solemnity. "When our troops returned, they came not alone, but with fourty-five new people rescued from cylon occupied Old Caprica. One important person was brought back in chains, however, due to the fact that he posed such a shocking mystery."
Beside her, on the screen, the picture of a blackened out face was shown. "Three months ago, Lieutenant Lee Adama, call sign Apollo, was reported MIA, or missing in action. It was believed he was dead, but no body was ever recovered. Eighteen hours ago, Captain Kara Thrace, call sign Starbuck, and ten of her returning Raptors brought him back to us. At first, only shock was heard on the deck, then chaos erupted as medical personnel whisked him and several injured people away.
"This could have been the end of if we hadn't gotten proof that there was also another cylon aboard the Raptors. A cylon known as Sharon Valerii to her former crew mates was seen being escorted off the Raptor in chains as well. I say as well, because the Lieutenant Adama was also in chains. It wasn't until they spoke to one another that we understood why. By his own words, Lieutenant Adama is a cylon."
A large piece of Raptor fell from the hands of the deck crew behind her. "That's right, you heard correctly, Lieutenant Lee Adama is a cylon. But that is not all that is shocking. During the tragic events of this morning, this reporter was able to obtain footage of the Lieutenant speaking with convicted killer and Galactica's former Chief Petty Officer, Galen Tyrol. What I learned was not only shocking, but will rock the presidential administration to the core if proven. I warn you, what you are about to see is disturbing given the context and the way it was revealed."
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"As of yet, no responses have been given by the President or any of his staff over the allegations made by the cylon. I call upon the Quorum to investigate these, and if true, to take action against the president."
With a growl of rage, Baltar tossed the remote at the screen, causing it to explode and spark. There was simply no excuse for this, none what so ever. Someone was going to pay for those... allegations. After he had gotten over the shock of seeing that bastard alive again and making light of his rise to power, he had grown afraid, then angry.
He had to make a call to his supporters in the Quorum to ensure that this would be taken care of, but before he did that, he needed to cancel with Gina. Picking up his handset, he began to ask for Cloud 9, when it occurred to him. The nuclear bomb, the explosion. She'd done it. Gina had committed suicide and taken with her six ships.
Sitting beside Lee on a stool, Laura trailed a hand down his back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. So far, he hadn't complained. "I can't even begin to imagine what you went through. There aren't words to say how sorry I am that you even had to. If I had known you survived... We would never have called off the search."
For his part, Lee ignored her words. They were unimportant and she was just another distraction from the bliss he'd been experiencing due to whatever drugs he was on. Having never been one for their use before, he now whole heartedly supported taking them two, may be three times a day. Bliss was a wonderful sensation.
Undaunted by the fact that he wasn't responding, Roslin felt the need to make sure he understood them. They hadn't done it out of spite, they had lost him in the heat of battle. There were so many different ways to say what she wanted to explain. None of them came across sounding anything but as an excuse. She wasn't trying to excuse their actions, merely explain them so that he would understand. Yet, that too just seemed like an excuse.
Now, it felt like a hopeless task. There was just no good way to go about it. Sighing, she let her head hang. Perhaps it was just best to talk, she believed Billy might have told her that once. Billy. It hurt to think about him. She'd seen the video of Lee's reaction to that bit of news and she was rightfully angry about it. But she'd understood too.
"If it wasn't for your father, I don't know that I would have had the strength to go on, face what I had to. That hardly seems to matter at the moment considering I am no longer in a position that requires me to be strong." Those were maudlin thoughts, but they were her thoughts, it was a part of her that she wanted to share with him. "He's a good man, good for the fleet. Some times I wonder just how much he knows and how much we assume he knows. There's a world of experience between us, but still, it didn't feel enough at times."
Lee rolled his eyes. She was going to do it, force him to ignore the pleasant sensations. He didn't want to. Stubbornly, he continued to try and ignore her.
"I don't know what I should say to you. Is there something you need or want to hear? Why can't you even look at me?" Looking away, she took a shuddering breath. "I'm not even sure if you want me to apologize." Lowering her head, she took a moment to compose herself. Clearing her throat, she pulled her suit jacket back in to a respectable fashion. "Doctor Cottle tells me that you should no longer be experiencing headaches or nausea since the piece of shrapnel was removed. Are you feeling well?"
Silence was her only response. She didn't expect him to say anything. Having decided that this was a lost cause, she climbed to her feet. Putting on her professional attitude, she spun to go.
"I'm not a cylon, you know."
She froze. Did he actually speak, or was she dreaming? Only one way to find out. "Why would you think that?"
"Because I am one." Having given up the elusive bliss, he turned so that he could face her. If it wasn't for the metallic patch, he would be howling from the pain in his neck.
Closing her eyes, Laura forced herself to remain calm. Twisting back to face him, she put on a soft expression. "If you are not a cylon, they why do you claim to be one?"
"Because they decided I would become one." Rising off the gurney, he arched his back until it popped and cracked. Slowly, he lowered himself back down. Still watching her, he smiled lazily. "You should have listened to him. Despite the lies, there was a kernel of truth."
The remains of her dream echoed in her mind. She still had one line to say to complete it. "What truth?"
"When Leoben told you, you should have paid more attention." His smile turning in to a sly grin, Lee gripped the arm restraints on each side of his gurney. "You automatically assumed he meant my father. There was more than one Adama, Roslin."
"I didn't believe him at all." It was a lie, but she wasn't going to play in to his game. "Leoben is a liar, he's filled your mind with them."
Snorting, he turned his head away. He'd said what he wanted to. Let her figure out what he meant.
"Don't leave it at that. You were doing so well." Standing in the entrance of the cordoned off area, Sharon grinned at the other occupants. Beside her, Adama scowled at her.
Feeling better, Lee sat up as much as the restraints let him and smiled at Sharon. "Hello, Eight."
"Two." It felt strange, the actual name felt haunted to her. Just saying it would bring back warnings implanted in her own core programming. The Twos were dangerous, psychotic in some cases. Never having met one, most of her reaction to him possibly being one was learned.
"Did you know I scared your other self?" Twisting his head a little, he smiled at his father. "She really is sorry, dad. But, I don't think she's quite sorry enough. After all, she did help hand me over back to the resistance after ambushing me." Glancing over to Sharon, he bared his teeth in a parody of a grin. "She'll scream for hours before I let her die."
"You might have to put him down, Admiral." Her face reflected her hate, but her words were respectful. Sharon wanted nothing more than to get away from here before she was forced to do something. "Like a rabid animal, once the madness takes hold of them, permanent deletion was the only solution."
"You're one to talk, traitor. God's love and protection wasn't enough?" Lee knew he scored a direct hit from the way she winced. So, she did regret it. He'd never met one so easy to hassle than the Eights. However, it just grew tiresome quickly. "What do you want?"
"To confirm if you are really one of us or one of them." As she spoke, she turned to the Admiral and held up her arms.
Adama unlocked them slowly, making her see that he was giving her trust. When he released the last of the locks, he rubbed her wrist. "Since Dr. Baltar is no longer here, we have been unable to run his machines. We know they work, just not how. Sharon is a machine, she knows how to work them."
Smirking at Lee, she walked over to a tray next to his gurney and picked up a syringe. "This is going to hurt, Lieutenant."
"It is only natural that you grieve her loss. A bright soul was snuffed out by her own hand, it wasn't our fault. You mustn't blame yourself, but those who are truly responsible." Standing across from the distraught Gaius Baltar, Brother Cavil stood against the afternoon sun streaming through the port holes on Colonial One. "She was almost snuffed out many times, her flame was weakened by those who claim to be our protectors. What kind of protectors would do that to one they were guarding?"
"You're right." Staring straight ahead, eyes blood shot from near constant crying, Gaius felt the world was shifting against him. It was all doomed. They were going to blame him when their own inevitable squabbling lead to failure. Their goals were unattainable, they were simply too demanding! God, he needed Gina. Six. He wanted his Six, but she wouldn't come to him any more.
Cavil knew he needed to distract Baltar from his thoughts if he was going to survive. Right now, the man had welcomed him because he thought a man of religion would be able to explain away what was bothering him. He was extremely grateful that whatever model she was, Gina had blown the hell out of herself and almost a thousand humans. Now, if only he could get the self centered moron to get back on track, he might save his skin yet. "There are other matters at hand, my son. You can no longer indulge this grief."
That snapped him out of it. Standing up, Baltar narrowed his eyes. "How dare you presume such..." He was cut off when the light in the cabin suddenly died out and the over heads came on. Glancing about in fear, he tried to locate someone to find out what was going on. As it was, he didn't have to wait long.
The door on Colonial One gave a groan as it was forcefully wrenched open from the outside. Quickly, several marines came flooding in to the department, weapons drawn and ready to shoot if someone even blinked wrong.
Standing beside Cavil, Gaius felt his life slip away. Apparently the Admiral wasn't going to wait for a public hearing. Hands shaking, he saw the man moving in the shadows. He had to close his eyes or he'd pass out from the fear. He sensed the man stop in front of him and nearly pissed himself.
"You are under arrest." Adama's voice was grave and full of repressed anger.
"Now, Admiral, I assure you..." He was silenced as the marines shoved him aside. Opening his eyes in confusion, he watched as they grabbed Brother Cavil. "What is going on here?"
"Silence, traitor." Moving so that he and Gaius were face to face, Adama clenched his jaw. "If I so chose, I could arrest you too just for being in his presence. There is enough evidence against you that it could be justified in a normal court of law." Turning back to Cavil, he glared at the cylon. "You have been positively identified as a Cylon by three notable sources. Your blood sample was tested and confirmed against a known cylon agent. Under the judgement set by the previous administration, you are to be spaced after having been deemed to have no further strategic value."
"You are making a mistake, Admiral." Cavil tried to keep his head up, but a marine butted him in the gut with his rifle.
"I have deemed you of no further use." Stepping back, Adama nodded to his men. "Take it away."
"I am the one who makes that judgement, Admiral." Standing tall, Gaius felt stronger now that he was no longer the one in danger. That and the fact that his staff had assembled behind him.
"You're a collaborator and a traitor. Anything you have to say is of no consequence to me." Starting for the door, Adama signaled for his troops to follow him.
"You know, it's funny you should mention collaborators, Admiral. I hear your family has one of it's own." Baltar loved the way that stopped Adama cold in his tracks. He felt the old sense of power, the strength his position gave him. "There is no fleet any more, Admiral, there isn't anyone here you can threaten with expulsion or forfeiting of your so grand protection. We aren't afraid of you any more, all mighty Zeus."
Spinning slowly, Adama faced Baltar. He noted with satisfaction as his marines readied their weapons and Gaius paled. "Watch the skies, Mr. President." With that, he faced the exit again and walked out.
Snorting when he was sure that Adama was gone, Baltar turned towards his staff with a gay smile. "Our Lord Zeus has spoken, let the planet tremble in his might!" The snickers that met his words were cut short when the ground did tremble.
"And in a spectacular show of force today, the Admiral had the BattleStar Pegasus use her orbital engines to enter the atmosphere and literally block out the sun over Caprica City. Though it is widely speculated as to what the true reason behind this action was, the meaning is clear to this reporter. While we may dismiss him now that he is no longer needed to protect us from the cylons, the Admiral is still there watching over us, just in case. This is D'Anna Biers, saying good night."
Darkness filled the newly repaired quarters of the Admiral. In his hands was the envelope with Lee's test results. One simple piece of paper inside would tell him if his son was one of the damned enemy or just another of their many victims. All it would take was for him to open it and look inside. Just a little peak.
Standing off to his right over looking his shoulder, Roslin watched him closely. They had been like this for over an hour, ever since Sharon had completed her test. Her first trial run was to use her own blood to confirm that Baltar's machine worked. Her second run was to compare a blind sample. Having confirmed it with the machines, Boomer had asked who they had taken the sample from. She easily gave up Brother Cavil now that she had confirmed him with the machine. All that was left was to see if Lee was also one.
Roslin couldn't make him do it any more than he could. It hurt that she wanted to look more than she trusted her gut feeling. He was someone she had trusted so fully, what would it mean about her if he was one? What was the... It didn't matter as Bill stood up.
Walking over to the only source of illumination in the room, Bill held up the envelope to the candle. He caught the edge on fire then set it in a dish on his table. Looking over to Roslin, he set his face. "He's my son."
Feeling relief well up inside her, Laura put a hand to her face. "What are we doing? When does it end, Bill?"
"Now." He reached out and held her hand. "It ends now."
"But we just can't let him go. You know as well as I do the sense of danger he represents." She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to think it. It was harmful, it was the worst thing to ever have to deal with.
"Agreed." Taking a shuddering breath, Bill faced away from her. There were many things he was willing to share with those who were under his command. There were even more things he was willing to share with her. This wasn't one of them.
"We should offer him at least a chance of a normal life." Thinking quickly as an idea came to her, she clutched his hand. "The Agricultural Region has a military protected zone where prisoners are being put to work. It isn't the most ideal place, but it would give him a chance to leave his cell." How she hoped that it would be enough. Yet, even as she thought it over, there was no chance she knew of that he would accept it.
Lee would not accept it, she knew. "Even if he goes, too many people know now. There is the chance that he would be injured by one of the others or worse. At the very least, he would be ostracized by everyone, despite the fact he has committed no crime." Moving in closer to Bill, she reached out and touched his cheek. "We should offer him the choice."
Glancing over at Roslin, Lee snorted. "It would have been better had they let me go back to the cylons." Turning his head over, he refused to acknowledge her and his father further.
Reaching out blindly, Roslin grasped for Bill's hand. She had to take a moment to calm herself when he clasped them together. "As you wish. The offer will always be open in case you change your mind."
"Galactica is now my prison." At least until the cylons came for him again. A fluttering in his gut told him they weren't done with him, no matter what he was.
Twisting in Anders grip, Kara pressed a kiss to his face. Pulling back from him, she saw the angry expression on his face and dismissed it. He knew she had to do this before she gave her answer. This was her family, she wanted them to know before she responded. Kissing him one last time, she walked away from him, trailing their arms behind her until she was forced to let him go.
Walking down the corridor, she came upon the most visited part of the ship during the past week. This was her destination too, but not for the same reason. Pushing aside the doors, she entered the infirmary and stopped. She had to glance about to find her target. He was sitting up on the bed now, but they still refused to let him get up for very long.
Bouncing, Kara made her way to Lee. She stopped directly in front of him, a big grin on her face. "Well, how's my favorite head case?"
"I don't know, how are you doing?" The response to her wit was automatic. He was still angry with her, but old habits died hard. Watching her, he flipped the edge of his restraints. At least now they were back to the wrist and belt chains, instead of forcing him to remain on the damned bed. "What do you want, Captain?"
"I wanted to talk with you, Lee." Her nervousness showed in the way she stood, her hands twitching on her hips. Chewing on her bottom lip, she no longer felt the need to meet his gaze. "There are some things and I figured you'd like to know."
"Am I going to like these things?" Raising an eyebrow, he was willing to at least be civil. They were siblings at one time, he felt they deserved that.
"Yeah, or well, may be. Kinda." Blowing up at one of her bangs, she sighed. "Possibly not. But truth is, I'm thinking about it."
"Then spit it out already." He was getting a head ache. She always seemed to make him suffer the worst ones. May be she was the cylon and it was a form of mind torture. A smile cracked his lips at the thought.
Seeing his smile, Kara quirked one of her own. "What?"
"Are you deliberately trying to drive me insane?" Bending over, he rubbed his forehead in to the pillow to ease the aching. "Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess."
"As tempting as making you guess would be, I'll be magnanimous and give you a respite." At his non plussed expression, she cackled. "Okay, here goes. Anders has asked me to marry him. Now hold on, before you say anything, there is more. If we get married, he wants to move down to Caprica City so we can start a life together."
And the air deflated from his lead balloon of happiness. Plastering on a fake smile, he tried for cheerful. "That's great, Kara. I wish you all the best of luck."
"You don't have to be sarcastic. I know you guys don't get along." Facing away from him, she flexed her hands in to a fist and out. She tried to focus on something else to help ease the tension. "I'm not sure I am willing to give up my career. Then again, there's not really a lot keeping me here."
"So join the reserves." He waited until she looked his way again. "Don't give up your career, just put it on hold until you are needed or ready to pick it up again."
"That's what I was thinking. I really want to do this and I guess I just wanted to hear you say it." Smiling with gratitude, she started to move towards him to hug him, but thought better of it and stepped back.
Seeing this, Lee let a moment of spite take over. "I hope you do better with this one than the last one. Humans are so fragile."
Instant fury welled up in her. This was the reason she had waited to tell him last. He was such a frakking prick when things didn't go his way. "I really hope one day you'll get that stick out of your ass, Lee. Then may be you would find a nice normal person instead of frakking a cylon." The next thing she knew, she was slammed up against the wall, his face in hers and his hand around her throat.
His fingers curled so tightly around her throat, he felt the fluttering of her pulse under his fingers. Lee squeezed a little harder just because he felt like it. "You have no idea, no idea!" Growling out his words through clenched teeth, his entire body shook with suppressed emotions. "I should kill you where you stand. It would be so, so easy. You really are such a fragile creature, Kara, one little twist and it would be all over."
She struggled against his grip, beating futilely against his back. He had her choked so tightly that she couldn't breathe enough to speak and it was getting harder to even draw breath. Spots dotted her vision as she blinked at him. For the first time since she knew him, Kara was afraid of Lee.
"Fear, that's good, you should be afraid." Whispering along her jaw, he pressed in closer. "This is what they taught me, Starbuck, this is now all I know. There is nothing certain in my life except the fear. I have no idea what I am, I have no idea who I am. They did this to me and you helped them." His vision blurred, but he refused to wipe at it. "They broke me, Starbuck, I don't know how, but they did. They made me remember things the old man told me that he never did. That man, he wasn't human, he was one of their own. He was one of them, but Anders believed him over me. They broke me."
Hearing someone coming, Lee stepped back from Kara and let her fall. Jumping up on his gurney, he pretended to be interested in the ceiling.
Gasping for breath, Kara began to cough. Air stung her lungs and tears burned her eyes. She had to fight to keep from hacking. It hurt so much to even breathe.
Pulling the curtain back, Cottle stepped in to the cordoned off area with two marines. He caught sight of Kara on the floor and frowned. "What have you two been doing?" Cottle quickly moved over to her side and helped her stand. "You two, get him the hell out of here. And you, Captain, what were you doing in here?"
"She was just saying good bye, Doc." Slipping off his gurney, Lee let the marines reattach his wrist chains that he had broken out of to strangle Kara. Being led passed her, he sent her a death glare. "Good bye, Starbuck."
Kara watched with a shiver as he was dragged out of the curtained area. Rubbing at her throat, she coughed again. "I'll be fine." Her voice was horse, but she didn't care. She wanted off this damned ship. Pushing passed Cottle, she nearly ran for the door. In the corridor, Anders was waiting for her, holding his leg. She looked at him in question.
"I met your resident cylon as they led him passed. I don't think he likes me much." Seeing the swelling around her neck, he started to reach out. "What happened."
"Nothing! Let's go." Pushing his hand away, she moved on down the corridor.
Waiting for the cell to open, Helo was shivering with nervous excitement. Sharon had asked for him and he had been given permission to see her. As the door was opened, he couldn't wait any longer and rushed in to the cell. Upon reaching Sharon, he picked her up and swung her around in a big bear hug. Much to his delight, she returned it and laughed.
In his quarters, Adama held a glass of ambrosia in one hand. Sitting beside him, Roslin held his other. Together, they watched the new monitors. On one, Sharon and Helo snuggled on her bunk, trying to be discreet about groping each other. On the other, a single sleeping figure.
Taking a drink from the glass, Adama watched Lee turn over in his sleep. That was his son. It was his son. He knew because he had been there for his birth. He watched his son grow older, even if it was just pictures while he was away on duty. This was Lee Adama, his oldest and only remaining son.
He could remember clearly the first words the boy had uttered. The first steps he took to reach his father from across the room. He could remember the first night home from the hospice, he stayed up all night watching Lee to make sure he didn't stop breathing. His perfect, beautiful son.
The years hadn't been kind to their relationship and over time, it dwindled down to disappointment and irritation. He wanted his son to be the best, not to waste his life on meaningless nothings and get stuck in a rut like he had after the war. It was by sheer will and the luck of marrying in to an affluent family he'd gotten his career back. He never wanted his son to ever know that kind of loss of self.
When he lost Zak, he had also lost Lee. For two years his most beautiful, precious son had been beyond his reach, no matter how far he stretched. They had lost it all, he had been ready to give up his career in the end. Then in one fail swoop, he lost his home, but he got something more precious instead, he got his son back.
In his dreams, Lee was back on Caprica. He would walk the streets and know where he was going. If he tried hard enough, he could make it all real, he could smell the cool air that stank of burnt things and ozone. He could feel the breeze on his skin and the wind ruffling his hair. Lee would open his eyes and there he would be standing in front of Leoben.
He reached out a hand and gently stroked Leoben's face. It was just as he remembered because he had created this. This was all for him. There was so much more he wanted to do, but if he tried to get lost in the sensations, the dream would fade. So, he stayed where he was, and kept his hand to Leoben's cheek. "I miss you."
Leoben smiled at him. The same smile he always gave when Lee looked at him. "I know."
"When will you come for me?" He wanted it to be now.
"Soon." Then Leoben was gone.
Standing in the middle of the empty street, Lee looked up at the blue sky, the color of blue that only existed in two places. "I'll be waiting."
THE END....................................
Epilog - One Year Later.
"Our work on retrofitting the old cargo ship is near finishing. Soon, it will be ready for our cylon guests." Sitting at the dinner table, Laura swirled her newly fermented wine. It tasted awful, but it was from the first harvest on New Caprica. Across from her sat Bill. On her right, was Saul, and across from him was his wife. "We have ensured they will be comfortable as prisoners. They will certainly have more room to live. With a library, garden, pool, and gated outdoors, we've tried to make it the better option to staying up here on the Galactica all the time."
"Keep this up and I might ask to join them." Sharing a boisterous laugh with Ellen, Saul took a deep drink from his own wine, then winced at the flavor. "Good Gods, that stuff is terrible." Setting it down, he wiped his hands on his napkin. "So tell me, Mrs. Adama, just how did you get that weaselly bastard to authorize this?"
"I know his aide." Smiling, Roslin delicately took a sip so as not to burn the insides of her nostrils. "Seems he likes to wait until he's drunk before he actually signs things in to law, that way he can look himself in the mirror afterwards."
"I'm not surprised that an honest day's work sickens him. He's not the only one. No offense," Tigh looked at Roslin, "but I never trusted a civilian government official."
"None taken." At his happy grin, she smiled in return. She couldn't actually take a high ground any more. In the past year, the Quorum had not only tabled any discussions about Baltar's involvement with the cylons, they had done nothing but argue. Not a single resolution had been made. Another thing that gauled her was that the military was still being called on as the only police force. "We have all been disappointed by the lack of action."
"Speaking of which, it still amuses me that you are the only teacher on the entire planet." Laughing herself silly, Ellen nearly toppled her glass over. Unlike the others, her glass was full of ambrosia. "With your political stance, they should be worried about how you might warp their little minds. Not that I disagree with many of your ideas, it's just that they do. Gods forbid that they actually develop a brain and start to question their little imperfect world. It would be sheer anarchy." By the time she finished speaking, she was holding her sides and about to fall out of her chair.
Highly amused by Ellen's antics, Bill rubbed at his mustache in thought. "As far as I'm concerned, the more time I get to spend with my wife, the better."
"Is that so." Roslin gave him a mock reprimanding look. "Nice try, Admiral, but our weekends will have to be enough for now. It will be another six months before I feel confident enough with Augustine and Racine to hand over classes to them."
"We'll see." With a wink, he chuckled.
"No. In six months, the academy we are setting up aboard Galactica will be ready. I will be ready only in that time, no matter what you try." She sat there feeling strong in her stance. He would try, but she would hold fast to the date. Of course, her firm grip on dignity was lost at her next taste of the glass. Coughing and blinking back tears over the drink, she set it down. "What fuel tank did you raid for this?"
"It was a gift from the Adama Agricultural Regional Mayor in thanks for negotiating a more reasonable work and delivery schedule with Caprica City." Adama, who had a glass of coffee, felt intensely smug at her look. "Under the new agreement, machinists from Caprica City will be provided with food, housing, and support in exchange for transferring there for six months. In six months, the contracts will be renegotiated depending upon their performance. With that, I also earned a boon from the mayor of Caprica City for settling one labor strike."
Holding up her glass, Ellen saluted Bill. "And I thank you. The bottle was good." It had been the enticement she needed to come over from Pegasus where she was treated like a queen by the staff. Gods above, she adored that dead admiral bitch for her fanatical inspiration of them.
Laughter erupted all around the table and it made Bill feel good. Knowing those he cared about were close at hand and being able to actually see them were so vastly different it ached. He missed being able to talk with his friend face to face when he felt like it. During their weekends together, he would spend most of the time just basking in Roslin's presence.
His children were another thing all together. Kara hadn't radioed in three months, the last time being only to ask for a radiator coil, which he had personally delivered to a waiting Anders. It hurt to find she couldn't be bothered to even come and meet him. His other children... He smiled.
They had started a nursery. Twelve babies in the past six months, Duala being the first to deliver, a bouncing baby girl with curling hair. Another five more were expected in the next two months. Grand children. He loved every one, was there for each birth along side Roslin. Surprising, one of those twelve was from a person who had been rescued from Caprica. They had thought for sure the radiation would cause defects in the son. He was almost perfect, just born a month early but with a healthy set of lungs.
Looking down, he realized the room had gone silent and they were politely not staring at him. He rubbed at his eyes under the glasses and smiled at them. "Saul, are you really considering going down to the planet?"
"It is a possibility. Despite being waited on hand and foot, Ellen wants to actually see a sky. I told her she can see it through the port hole, but you know her, always has get technical about it." Staring with complete and utter adoration at his glaring wife, he held up his glass. "To you, my beautiful wife, all mine is yours, everything else is nothing."
Despite the toast's words, all four held their glasses high and drank.
Ellen, still eyeing her husband, sipped again before turning to Bill. "We are going to get a parcel of land from the surveyor's office. I want a house, eventually. Nothing permanently, just a few days then back to the battlestar in the sky."
They sat chuckling for a few seconds before the handset buzzed. Tension began to build as they shared looks of apprehension.
Setting down his mug, Bill stood up and walked over to his handset. Picking it up, he turned away from the others. "Go ahead."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holding the baby in his arms, Lee pressed his lips against his belly and blew. The boy squealed, wiggling in delight. After Lee ran out of breath, he lowered the baby and kissed his forehead. Dark blue eyes stared back up him, half closed in laughter. A hitch caught in his throat over their color.
Behind him, the guards continued to observe him with constant vigilance. They were ready at any time to take him out if he made one wrong move. He wasn't even allowed in with the others in the nursery, having a private section. He wasn't their only ward.
Across the small room from Lee was Sharon. Much to her and others' shock, she had conceived and born another baby. At first, she was afraid the others would come and take the baby away, so she had hid her condition until it was noticeable. It wasn't until the Admiral had angrily told her the baby was never to know what he was that she understood he was letting her keep him.
Now, she held her three month old son against her, bathing him as the nurse had taught her. He was precious to her at the moment, but there were times she wondered just what in the hell had she been so desperate to have a child for. She swore she would be the best damned mother she could be just to prove them wrong about cylons. She was a good mother and person, no matter where she had come from.
Sensing Helo behind her, she groaned inwardly. Every time he saw her taking care of their son, he would get so damned weepy it would make her cringe. "What is it, Helo?"
"Sharon." His softly spoken word was followed by a caress of her shoulders.
She sighed. So, he was in one of those moods again. Sex between them was never happening again. If he was so desperate for her hot cylon body, he could plug in to a light socket. With a shrug to remove his hands, she turned and handed the wet, wriggling bundle to him and a towel. "Here, your turn."
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she walked over to sit in one of the nurse's chairs. There were two of them just in case a baby needed to be left there over night for observation. Rubbing a hand over her face, she yawned.
Plopping down beside her, Lee grinned, holding the baby close. "Another late night?"
"Sit on an afterburner, Two." Letting her head hang down, Sharon wanted nothing more than a good night's sleep. Lee's son was almost four months old and just recently started sleeping all through the night and she hated him so much. Just to be sure Helo wasn't just fooling around, she opened an eye to peek at him. She didn't know who was the baby, him or the boy.
Helo was teasing the baby with the edge of the towel. That would have been fine if he hadn't completely forgotten to dry him off in the process.
Sharon was about to get on to him when a jolt ran up her spine. Sitting up quickly to attention, she spooked the guards. Glancing over at Lee, she saw a knowing smile on his face. Before she could ask him, one of the guards was advancing on her, gun at the ready.
"What's wrong?" The marine had nearly shit himself when she jerked up.
Standing up, Lee smirked at them. "We're going home."
"What the hell's going on?" Entering CIC behind Adama, Tigh looked to Captain Gaeta for a response. Behind them Laura and Ellen waited at the entrance.
Gaeta gestured at the dradis screen. "At first we thought it was a dradis blip, but then it moved. It's a single craft, running a recon through the system." He picked up a glossy map and handed it to the Admiral. "Sir, from what we can tell, it's a raider."
"They've found us." For a moment, that was all Adama could think about.
Turning to the old man, Tigh waited for his judgement. "This is your call, Admiral."
"Are there any Vipers near enough?" It was just a formality to ask, he knew there weren't enough pilots to patrol that far out. Most of the pilots were spread around the fleet, manning the abandoned ships that couldn't land but still held valuable cargo.
"No, sir. Alert fighters are in orbit of the planet, watching over the fleet." Gaeta took his position at the Dradis controls. When the crew started requesting to leave their positions, he had taken up his old place at tactical instead of training a replacement. "What is your command?"
"Ready alert fighters." Stepping in to command, Adama felt it come back to him, the old feeling of damned dread. "Call back our people, we're going to need them."
Holding her line, Duala nodded. "Galactica to fleet, prepare for battle."
"Sir, the Raider has broken off and has jumped." Holding the controls, Gaeta closed his eyes. They all knew what it meant.
"Disregard the previous order. Tell all ships, prepare to jump! That's an order." Silence greeted his command.
"I agree, it is the only solution." Taking her place beside Bill, Laura clasped her hands over her chest. "Tell the colonists we will come back for them. We will come back."
"Multiple dradis contacts!" Gaeta could hear Duala relaying the orders over the wireless as others began to ready the ship for jump. "It's hard to tell, sir, but I believe there are at least ten base stars out there."
Picking up the handset, Adama held the mouth piece at the ready. "This is Admiral Adama. I don't know how, but the cylons have found us. Prepare for FTL Jump. This is not a drill people."
Accessing the security panel, Gaeta entered the command sequence. The lid lifted open and the jump key popped up. Taking it out, Gaeta turned around and inserted it in the FTL controls. "At your command, sir."
"Sir, the Pegasus has reported in, they are ready." Nodding to someone on her headset, Duala clicked to another channel. "The fleet acknowledges and confirms jump coordinates. We're ready."
Lowering his head, Adama took a deep breath. "Jump."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Climbing out of from under the hood of her ground transport, Kara rubbed her hands off on an old rag. Closing the hood, she smiled at Anders, who was in the cab. "Try it now."
Twisting the key, Anders tried to start the engine, but it refused to even move. Shaking his head, he smirked at her. He had told her, but she wouldn't listen. The battery was worthless, they had cracked it last week when they dropped it.
"Damn it!" Slamming her hand on the hood, she brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Six months of work to get the colony's first ground transport and it wouldn't start because Anders had tripped her. She was going to make him build the next battery from scratch. Just to be an ass, she glared at him. "Try it again."
Grinning cheekily at her, he made a show of it. Slinking one hand down passed the steering wheel, he slipped it over the key. Twisting the key slowly, he expected there to be nothing. Instead, the tent shook and the windshield cracked. "What the hell?" Climbing out of the cab, he looked at the engine. "I didn't do that!"
"No shit." Rubbing her ears, Kara made for the entrance of the tent. "I wonder which asshole decided to do a fly by." Pulling back the flap to what should have been the central street of the tent and mud brick town called Caprica City. Instead, there were so many people blocking her way that she couldn't see. "Hey, clear some room!"
Standing behind her, Anders put his hand on Kara's shoulder. He was unable to speak as the roar had returned and this time it had company. When she looked at him, he pointed upwards.
Kara was breathless with shock. Seeing the fleet of Cylon Raiders cover the sky, her eyes started to mist up. Suddenly, the hand on her shoulder disappeared. Before she could ask Anders what was wrong, a fist hit her in the back. As she fell to her hands and knees, she looked up.
Standing over her, grin a mile wide, Leoben cracked his knuckles. "Hello, Starbuck."
Finished reading the message, Baltar's hands shook so bad he dropped the paper. His head hurt from a night of drinking and the light in the windows was too bright. There were too many people in the room for him to panic properly and there wasn't enough booze around for him to feel strong enough to command them.
The sun light on one side of Colonial One disappeared, drawing his attention. The hatch in the corridor at the end of his office opened up and brilliant light flooded the dark room. Shadows appeared in the light, resolving themselves in to people as they walked in the room. Gaius Baltar decided if he was going to die, he might as well do it on his feet. A last gesture of being a man.
Walking in first, Aaron Doral glanced about the cabin of the ship he had once used. It had changed noticeably and it amused him. Smiling cheerfully, he stood off to the side to let his fellows walk in behind him.
Next came Six. Her eyes quickly scanned each person, dismissing them until they landed on Baltar. Seeing Gaius, she let out a soft gasp. Her own hands shook imperceptibly.
Behind her, Boomer glanced about the cabin of the ship she had seen from the outside, but never from the inside. Truly happy, she took the center spot and walked up to the president's desk. It surprised her a little that it was Gaius Baltar, but now that she knew about him, it didn't seem that big a leap.
Holding his hands at his sides, he didn't trust them not to shake. Baltar cleared his throat. "Hello. My name is Gaius Baltar, president of the colonies."
"I know who you are, Gaius." Six wanted to reach out to him, to soothe away his fears. She wanted to tell him they wouldn't hurt him. "I know very well."
Staring at her, Baltar felt his whole world tilt. He knew it was her, there was no one else that could make him feel like this. "How... How did you find us?"
"We were a light year away." Aaron took the lead, distracting both his fellow cylon from Baltar, and Baltar from her. "We detected a nuclear explosion."
The revelation hit him like a ton of bricks. Gina. She had blown herself up after he called. He set her off.
Aaron enjoyed this too much, really. Then again, it was Baltar that nearly killed him two years ago when he had Galactica put him off at Ragnar so he was entitled to this. "You will surrender, do not put up any resistance."
"Your people are now ours." Feeling close to bliss, Boomer saw the future spread out before her. They would have a lot work, but it would be worth it. They would one day have peace. "We will protect you."
'But who will protect us from you' he wanted to ask. There was no use, they had been beaten. The cylons had won, he had lost, and it was all his fault. "On behalf of humanity, I surrender."
"A wise decision, Mr. Baltar." Coming from the brilliant light, striding confidently in to the cabin of the human vessel, the cylon ignored his surroundings. Face hard set, he sent an annoyed look towards Six, who quickly looked away from Baltar. Coming to stand directly in front of Gaius, he glanced him up and down, sizing him up, and found him lacking. "So this is the President of the Twelve Colonies, pathetic."
Staring gaping at the cylon, Baltar was completely confused. "How did you get off the Galactica? They jumped away, I have their message."
Snorting, the cylon looked down his nose at Baltar. "I know you are human, but even you are not that stupid."
"You're one of them." His hands shaking, Baltar crossed them over his chest. "Then that would mean..."