Quick author'snote: I wrote this story as more of an experiment in the choices a character would make when faced with a rather tough decision. I'm not sure how entertaining the story is, so I won't be offended if you don't like it or don't read it.
This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the first half of the second season (I'll be posted in as much of the order of the season as I can). I want to explore what would have happened/changed if things had gone differently. Some of the stories will be angst, some will be shippy, some will be funny. There will be different pairings throughout. Don't feel like you have to check out each one to understand the others. All I ask is that if it intrigues you, then give it a try. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!
There are pivotal moments in one's life where if you take the wrong path everything may change. Those changes may be for the good or for the bad. The possibilities are endless.
Commander William Adama looked at the two stacks of papers on his desk and let out a long sigh. He threw his glasses off onto the desk and began to rub the aching bridge of his nose. He never thought he'd be in this position. They might both be Cylons, but somehow that didn't make it easier for him to play executioner.
A soft knock on his door made him pick his glasses up and slide them back on. "And now the interrogations begin," he muttered to himself before yelling for the person to enter.
Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla entered his office, a small look of concern written across her face. It made Adama all the more confident in his choice to see her first. "Come in, Dee."
Dee nodded and took a seat in the chair next to his desk. "What did you want to talk to me about, sir?"
"Nothing official," Adama reassured her. "I know you're busy, so I won't waste your time beating around the bush. Galactica currently has two Cylons on board, and the President and I are in agreement that's one too many. I wanted to hear your stand on the subject."
It took Dee a second to process what he was asking. When she did, her eyes lit up in surprise. "You want me to tell you which one I would kill, sir?"
"I trust you, Dee. You looked after me when I took back command after getting shot. Your advice caused the Fleet to become whole once more. This is a hard decision for me to make considering the history I have with this particular Cylon model. Your input would be really appreciated."
Dee stared at him a moment before answering. "I would throw them both out an airlock. They're both the enemy. As much as I remember them as Boomer, they're not."
Her immediate decision threw Adama off. Dee was one of the most compassionate people he had on staff. Adama had assumed she would point out the benefits in keeping both Sharons around. He didn't expect for her to support killing them both. "Anything else?"
"This is the type of decision that you can't let emotions play into, sir. The whole Fleet could suffer if you try to treat these things like they're human. I held your hand in that CIC after Boomer shot you. I watch your blood stain the mission planning table. I know firsthand. She never was human."
"Very well. I'll let you get back to your shift, Dee."
She gave him a small nod before standing and exiting his office quietly.
Adama picked up a walnut and, after eating the nut inside, placed one half of the shell on one stack of papers and the other half on the other. He got up out of his chair and picked up the phone hanging on the wall of his office. A small request to the CIC later, a voice came on over the comm requesting the presence of the CAG and Vice President Baltar in the Commander's office. Adama knew he would have to wait for some time before either one showed up. They were both busy men in their own rights.
A loud knock informed Adama that his second visitor was here.
"You sent Birch to come find me, sir?" the Chief said as he walked over to his Commander and gave a small salute.
"Chief Tyrol. How are you coping with being back on Galactica?"
"Fine, sir. We have less resources, but things are all right as long as we don't lose any more people."
"Doc Cottle tells me Cally will be back on her feet in a few days. I'm sure she's been sorely missed on your crew."
The Chief's face cracked into a smile. "I always tell her that her little hands are the only reason she got stationed on a ship this fine."
"Little hands?"
"She can reach parts that most of the crew can't. It's why I usually give her the most important ships to watch over. They get fixed a lot faster that way." The two men lapsed into silence. "Sir? Can I ask why you called me in here?"
Adama stared at the man in front of him for a second before answering, "Things changed a lot while you were gone."
"Yes, sir, they have."
"I've decided that it would be to our advantage to have a Cylon in our control who might give us information we need. The only problem is right now I have two Cylons that could fit that bill." Adama looked up at the Chief. "I know firsthand how dangerous keeping both could be to everyone so I would like your opinion on which one should I keep around."
"My opinion?" Adama nodded. "I think the Sharon who was stationed on Galactica has a stronger tie to the Fleet. She would be more willing to help you as long as you kept her under lock and key. I know she tried to kill you, sir, but any Cylon would have done that. I think this specific one is the only toaster who had the capacity to regret her actions in retrospect. The other Cylons that was brought to the Fleet by Starbuck doesn't seem to have the same ties to the things that are important."
Adama watched the Chief pause before lowering his eyes. "Is there something else you would like to say, Chief? As you know, this is extremely important and will be kept off record. I expect you understand the importance of telling me all your reasons."
Tyrol nodded. "That thing that the other Cylon is carrying in her belly. It's an abomination and could be the ruin of the Fleet if you don't get rid of it now. I'm not the only one that holds this belief, sir, or I would feel more ashamed of it. The Cylons want to procreate. Keeping the pregnant one alive will only be feeding into their plans."
"Understood," Adama said. He brought his hand up and gave the Chief a quick salute in dismissal.
When he was by alone once more, Adama walked over to take a seat at his desk. He placed another half shell on the pile on the right. It hadn't surprised him that Galen Tyrol would vote to keep his former lover alive.
To even things out, Adama had considered asking Helo to come into his office to give his opinion before he realized it would be a waste of time. Unlike the Deck Chief, Adama was sure of what Helo's answer would be.
Sighing, he turned his attention to the stack of Fleet communications he had to approve before morning and settled in to do the work until another person interrupted him.
Baltar tried his best not to look at the woman currently standing over Commander Adama's shoulder. It was especially hard to do when she was wearing that red dress. She knew it was his favorite. His eyes flew up to catch her smirk before he returned to staring at the two stacks of files on the desk in front of him.
"Doctor Baltar?"
Baltar snapped to attention. The Commander was looking at him with a suspicious look. "I'm sorry."
"I asked you to pick," Adama said gruffly.
"Tell him you could not condone the death either way."
Baltar stared at Six for a second before deciding the words sounded harmless. "I'm sorry, sir. I could not condone the death either way."
"You think they deserve to live?"
"Taking a life is something that shouldn't be discussed so idly," Baltar said, nodding slowly. He did his best not to look at his Cylon companion for reassurance. He didn't need her to help him out of every sticky situation he got in. Gaius Baltar was dependent on no one.
"You know I could have locked up for what you're saying."
"Excuse me?" Baltar said, his face erupting in horror.
"Sympathy for the Cylons is a high crime these days. It would be both for the Fleet's safety and your own if I threw you in the brig before anyone found out."
"Humanity is so callous," Six said with a laugh as she brushed her hand across the desk. She pulled to a stop beside Baltar. "You would think they would could understand the parent child relationship by now. You can't cut off the feelings you have for a child."
Baltar barely heard her as he fished for a way to get himself out of this stick situation. "Sir, I must have heard you wrong when you were explaining the situation."
"What's so hard to understand, Doctor? We have two Sharon Valeriis. One is going to die within the next twenty-four hours."
"And you want to know my opinion on which one that should be."
"Stay strong, Gaius," Six said as she sat down in his lap. "Let him know how much you feel for the toasters." To emphasis her point, she wiggled against him and pleased to feel his reaction grow.
"Doctor Baltar, I want the input of a man of your stature. You have worked specifically on the job of detecting and analyzing the Cylon threat. Yours is an angle that is very important to this choice."
"I don't know which to chose," he whispered under his breath to the woman on top of him.
"Just chose," Adama hissed, standing up. "There are other things I have to do today."
"You know which one is the right choice, Gaius," Six said, smiling at him innocently.
"The one Lieutenant Thrace brought with her?" Gaius said hesitantly.
Silence hung between the two men and the invisible machine.
"Okay. Could you maybe explain why, Dr. Baltar?"
"Focus on the pregnancy, Gaius," Six said, slipping her fingers to entwine with his. "Prove to him that it's important."
"The pregnancy, sir," Gaius said. He cleared his throat. "Further study of it could give us our largest lead in figuring out why the Cylons are bent on exterminating our race. It's not a secret that they want that baby back, alive and well. For the first time since they attacked, we have a bargaining chip."
"Bargaining chip," Six said as a smile spread across her face. "I like that."
"This Sharon also has displayed a willingness to help us. She is the sole reason that Lieutenant Thrace and Agathon were able to make it back to the Fleet. She didn't have to help them."
"It's no secret she cares for Agathon," Adama said. "The other Boomer also has a similar attachment."
"He has you there, Gaius," Six said with a laugh.
"No, he doesn't."
"Excuse me?" Adama said, furrowing his brow.
"The Chief," Baltar quickly covered. "He doesn't have a similar attachment with the Cylon in question."
"How so?"
"Yes. How so?" Six whispered.
"The Cylon he loves is not pregnant with his child. It ups the stakes a little, don't you think?"
"Good point," Adama agreed. "I'll take your opinion into consideration. Now I'm sure you have work to do."
"He's dismissing you. Are you just going to sit there and take that?"
"No," Gaius said.
"No what?" Adama asked, narrowing his eyes.
"No, I wouldn't want to keep you any longer than necessary, Commander." Gaius stood up, taking care to lightly push Six to her feet along with him. "Let me know if there's more I can do for you."
He started to make his way to the door before realizing that Six was not following him. He paused and stared at her.
"Is there something else you need to say?"
"Ask him which way is he leaning," Six said as she walked over to stand next to Baltar. "I'm curious."
"Are you close to a decision, sir?"
"It's not for you to know right now."
Baltar stood up straight and stuck his chin slightly up into the air. "I'm the Vice President of the Twelve Colonies. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"It means you're not the President," Adama growled. "Now I'm sure you have work that needs to be done."
Gaius waited until he saw Six moving towards the door before opening the hatch. Immediately the sounds of a loud argument filtered into the room, causing Adama to chuckle as he recognized the voices. "Tell them to come in, would you, Doctor?"
Baltar nodded and motioned for the two pilots to enter before shutting the hatch.
"I'm sorry. I can't get her to stop following me," Lee apologized, glaring at the woman behind him.
"Something is going down on this ship, and I have a fraking right to know," Kara hissed, returning the glare.
"He didn't want to see you, Starbuck. If he had, he would have called for you."
"Maybe he didn't know that Hot Dog and I switched shifts. He could have thought I was up in the air."
"Or he could just have wanted to talk to his son without being interrupted."
"Sir?" Kara said, turning to look at Adama.
"She can stay," Adama said, motioning for them to sit down.
Kara turned to shoot a smug grin at Lee before planting herself in the chair beside her.
Lee ignored her little triumph. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"The President and I decided that we're not equipped to handle two Cylons on this ship. I wanted your input on the decision I have ahead of me."
"You want us to tell you which one to throw out the airlock?" Kara asked. "That is the termination style that the President seems to favor, isn't it? A little dramatic for my style, but still effective."
"This is why you shouldn't have let her follow me in here," Lee said, shaking his head. "She can't help but give her opinion on everything under the stars. Even when no one cares what she thinks." Kara stuck her tongue out at Lee. "Very mature."
"Do I have to send you two to separate corners of my office?" Adama said with a laugh.
"Sorry, sir," Kara said, turning to smile at him. "Your son brings out the worse in me."
"I already knew that. So, opinions?"
"My vote goes for the one that's been on Galactica this whole time," Kara said. "She seems to be more predictable."
"Oh? You'd classify putting two bullets into my father as a predictable action?" Lee said, shaking his head.
"I take it you're voting for the one that got itself knocked up. Figures."
"What does that mean?" Lee said, pulling himself to the edge of the seat. He could feel the anger simmering under the surface of both of them. They had never come to blow while they were right in front of his father, but no time was better than the present.
"You've always been a softie for babies, Lee."
"And you think that extends to the half-human kind?" He stood up and threw his hands in the air. "Un-fraking-believable."
"Oh, I think it's very believable. Do I need to remind you about that stupid hotshot move you pulled on CAP the other day because those kids from the school on Picon Bravo were touring the ship?"
"Half those kids are going to be of recruitment age in about a year or so. I wanted to give them something to remember."
"Admit it, Lee. You have a soft spot for the little people of the Fleet."
"Frak off."
"Come on! You know I'm telling the truth. You like children."
"Who doesn't like children, Kara?"
"I don't," she said, acting appalled that he actually had to ask her that.
"Bullshit."
"When have you ever seen me being nice to children?"
"You were all about Boxey when he was still living on Galactica."
"The kid was a smartass."
"Just like you," Lee said as he glared at her.
She narrowed her eyes at him as she stood up to go toe to toe with him. "Yeah, just like me." She gave him a smirk. "But that's just another thing you love about me, isn't it?"
"You're never going to let me live that down."
"No take backs," she said, shaking the hair out of her eyes as she grinned up at him.
"I hate you."
"No, you don't. You love me."
"What the frak did I do to get stuck with someone so annoying as my shadow?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"What the frak did I do to deserve a CAG who is such a pain in my ass?"
"Enough," Adama said, slamming his hands down onto the desk. "I need you two to stop arguing and focus. I'm going to have to kill one of those machines, and the decision isn't going to be accepted by the whole Fleet no matter what I do. So I need you to check whatever personal problems you have with one another at the door and start telling me the reasons behind your choice."
"Sorry," Kara said, a look of guilt flashing across her face. Taking a deep breath, she gave it a second shot. "My vote is for Galactica's Cylon. I spent time with the other one. She only has her own self in mind. If for one second she thinks that the Fleet is a danger to her or her baby, there'll be consequences."
Adama nodded and turned to his son. "Lee?"
"My vote still goes to the pregnant one. Granted she's a Cylon, but she hasn't done anything to hurt us."
"Yet," Kara butted in. "But I'll let you know she did a hell of a lot to hurt me when I was stuck on Caprica with her. She has no desire to help us unless it helps her, too."
"Then we keep her locked up and tell her if she doesn't help, we kill her and the baby."
"But if we do that, we'd be killing the only Cylon asset we have. It would be a complete bluff on our part, and I guarantee she will see right through it."
"Then we just threaten the baby. Make her live knowing her actions killed her child."
Kara let out a small laugh. "I was wrong. You don't like babies."
"Ha ha ha," Lee said mockingly.
"Focus," Adama warned. "So you both are sure of your separate choices?"
"Yes," they both said at the same time.
Adama rolled his eyes. "It's not surprising you two aren't in agreement on anything but the fact that you disagree."
"It's what we do best," Kara said with a shrug, turning to look at Lee. He let out a small laugh and nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Adama said. "Thank you for your help."
"Are you sure that's all you wanted? From your page over the comms, it sounded like this was going to take longer."
"No, I think you made your point clear. I'm sure there's something else you'd rather be doing than going over every single pro and con of this situation. Besides, you two are starting to make my head hurt."
"Understood," Lee said with a nod. He turned to look at Kara. "They're not expecting me back in the CIC for a little while longer."
She grinned at him as she made her way to the door. "Triad?"
"You read my mind," he said, chuckling.
Adama wasn't surprised to hear the bickering start even before the hatch had closed. He would never understand his son and Kara's relationship. Never.
Sighing, he placed two more shells onto the left stack and one more onto the right. Four to three. He had almost enough information to make a decision. He took a deep breath and stood up. There was one more person he had to talk to.
Adama hung in the doorway of the sickbay, watching the frail young woman currently lying in the nearest bed. It had pained him to hear what had happened to her and to know that there was no way he could have prevented it. The pressure put onto his pilots was getting worse every day, and there was no end in sight. Just more pressure, more demands, more putting their life on the line for a people who couldn't appreciate it.
Adama had lied to them in order to give them hope of a future, and not even that had worked. He was losing them one by one.
His mind flew to the man currently stuck in the brig, waiting on trial. Something had happened to Crashdown on Kobol. The pressure of responsibility made him lose all common sense and control. It had almost cost the Galactica another life couldn't afford to lose.
Cally caught sight of him and smiled through a drug-induced haze. "Hello, sir."
"How are you holding up, Specialist?"
"Well, Doc Cottle has me on some great pain killers. Makes the gapping bullet hole in my chest feel a hell of a lot better."
Adama nodded and took a seat in the chair next to her bedside. It was ridiculous that they had almost lost her because of something so stupid.
"I would kill the Boomer that shot you, sir." His eyes went wide. How had she known that was why he was here? "Word travels fast." Adama nodded and went to stand up. "You're going to leave without asking me why?"
"I think I already know," he said with a smile.
"It's not because of the Chief," she said shaking her head. His heart soared to see a familiar stubborn look cross her face. "I know that everyone on Galactica thinks that I'm madly in love with him, but I'm not. The Chief has been like a big brother to me. He watched out for me while we were down on Kobol, and he's probably the main reason that the gunshot didn't kill me. But he's not the reason behind my choice."
"What is your reason then?"
"The Boomer that was a part of the Fleet is too connected to us. Most of the crew has gotten to know her. We were friends with her. It hurts to know that someone we trusted so much could be part of the enemy. A lot of the people on this ship respected her even if she couldn't land her fraking Raptor without busting a gimbal. She was a part of us." Cally shrugged. "At least with the other Boomer, it would be easy to hate her."
Adama stared in awe. It floored him how much wisdom this young girl had. Smiling, he reached out the pat her hand gently and suddenly noticed just how small her hands really were. The Chief had been right. "You've been through a lot, Cally. You should rest."
"You've been through a lot more than me, sir, and you're not resting."
"That's different."
"Yeah. I didn't get shot by the Cylon."
"No. You just got shot by someone you trusted, someone who wasn't the enemy."
"What's going to happen to him, sir?"
"Don't you worry about it."
"I have to know."
Her eyes were pleading with him, and he knew that he couldn't do anything but tell her the cold, hard truth. "Crashdown will be put and trial, probably be stripped of his wings and placed somewhere else in the Fleet."
"And then?"
"Then he's no longer our concern."
She shook her head at his words. "That's not true. He's one of your pilots, Commander. That doesn't change just because he made a mistake."
"He almost killed you, Specialist."
"You don't understand what we went through, sir. Any man would have broken down like he did. So you can't just write him off. Giving up on him would break what little strength he still has." Cally cleared her throat and waited until Adama nodded for her to continue. "Promise me that you'll make sure he has something to live for."
"Why do you care so much?" Adama asked.
"Crashdown was the only person who treated me the same after that incident on the Astral Queen. Everyone else… well, they seemed scared of me. It was ridiculous. I was ignored and avoided just because I had chosen to not let myself be taken advantage of. I was all alone."
"I didn't realize things had been so hard for you."
"It wasn't your job to realize. The ship would probably still be scared of me if… if…" Cally took a deep breath and started over. "You see, out of nowhere, Crashdown started offering to eat in the mess with me. He made sure I knew when a triad game was happening. He talked to me while I worked on the downed birds. He did everything he could to show the others that nothing had changed." Cally struggled to hold back the tears. "I will not abandon him."
"Understood," Adama said, rising to his feet. "Now you need to get some rest."
"Promise me, sir," she whispered.
"I'll do what I can for Crashdown, Cally. I'll do what I can."
Cally gave him a small nod and shut her eyes. Adama watched her for a few seconds before turning to leave. It was time to make his decision.
The answer was right there in front of his face. Be it for medical research purposes or issues of comfort, the people he trusted the most wanted to keep the pregnant Boomer alive. There was merit to their reasons.
On the other hand, there was also merit to the reason to keep the other Boomer around.
It was a hard choice to make, but ultimately he was the one that had to make it.
A knock on his office door pulled him away from his thoughts. He looked up in time to see two squads of Marines leading both Cylons into his office like requested. They were handcuff at the wrists and at the neck with at least five guns trained on each.
"Leave us," Adama said, standing up out of his chair.
"Sir? Is that wise?"
"I said leave us."
The Marine picked up on the tone of his voice and ordered his men to stand down. "If you need us, we'll be right outside, sir. Don't take any chances."
"Dismissed," Adama growled. He waited until the office cleared and, when the hatch was shut, turned to look at the two identical women before him. "I cannot have two Cylons on my ship. I have struggled with this decision, trying to figure out which one of you actually might be useful to me. Up until a few minutes ago, I still had no idea what I was going to do. And then it all made sense." He turned to stare at the woman who had shot him in the chest weeks earlier. "You have to die."
Boomer narrowed her eyes. "Let me get this straight. You've hauled me in her just to tell me that I'm going to be killed?"
"Yes. I weighed the options and this way seemed easier."
"I get it. Just because I didn't find a human to impregnate me according to the Cylon master plan, you've decided I'm the one to kill." Boomer shook her head and let out a nervous laugh. "I refuse to let you do this to me."
"I never said anything about you having a choice." Adama picked the gun up off his desk and, without hesitation, emptied the full clip into her. He heard the hatch burst open as the Marines came flooding back into the room at the sound of gunshots. "Everything's okay," he yelled, setting the gun back down and waving the men off. He turned to look at the Cylon who was still standing in front of him in shock. "You're going to want to sit down now."
The pregnant Boomer stared at him in shock before stumbling back to lower herself into the chair behind her. She clutched her stomach protectively.
Walking around to the other side of the desk, Adama leaned in close to the woman currently bleeding to death on the floor of his office. "Don't fight your nature anymore, Sharon. If you ever cared about this Fleet, you would just let go."
The wounded Boomer coughed in pain before nodding at him. "I understand, sir. I'm sorry for what I did to you."
Adama gave her a small nod and watched her eyes glaze over as her will to live gave out.
"Ow."
Adama looked up at the other Cylon. The pregnant Boomer was clutching her head in pain. "Ow. Ow. Ow ow ooaaaaAAAAAAAA." Her screams filled the office as her face contorted in anguish.
"Sir? What's happening?"
"Frak!" Boomer screamed before Adama could answer the Marine's question. She clutched her head in pain and glared at him. "You knew that was going to happen, you bastard."
"I hoped," Adama said simply. He turned to the Marines. "Escort her back to the brig. There's a lot she needs to sort through, and the quiet should do her good." He looked down at the lifeless body lying on his floor. "And get the med team in here to take this thing away."
He followed the team out into the hall, sliding the hatch closed behind him. The memory of what he had just done was already beginning to haunt him. He kept the faced up until the hallway had cleared, and he could finally let himself relax. His head dropped down to rest in his hands as the fatigue finally took over.
It had been a gamble to assume the Cylons were telling the truth when they explained how their consciousness shifted to the nearest model upon their death. In the end, though, it was his only option. He had spoken to the only people he trusted to make the correct decision, the people who had a stake in how this thing turned out. They all had valid reasons for their choices.
But in the end, none of what they had said mattered. It all came down to him. It was his choice that mattered.
And ultimately he knew that the only way the Fleet could survive was if they discovered why the Cylons cared so much for procreation and why they had chosen Sharon Valerii to be the one to play this important role. He couldn't figure that out unless he had access to both the machine carrying the hybrid child and the machine who had shut off her emotions in order to complete her assassination attempt.
This was the only option. He just hoped he hadn't made the wrong choice.
The hallway filled with sounds as the shift change began, and Adama took a deep breath. Life wasn't stopping just because he had finally made a decision. There were things that needed to be done, and he couldn't let his self-doubts get in the way of that.
As determination set in, Adama began to make his way down the hall. He had made a promise to a young girl in sickbay. That was as good a place to start as any.