The smell of smoke and blood still lingered in the air, as did the screams of the wounded and dying. Or at least, it seemed that way. But when Bill closed the hatch behind him and it was just the two of them in the sanctuary of his study, Laura was able to push those sensations back, and focus only on the two of them. And Bill looked terrible.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"I just put the papers through."
Laura set the book she'd been trying to read down on her lap. "I'm sorry, Bill."
"I'm not," he said with a flat glare. "I can't afford to be."
"No." But as he sat down beside her, Laura saw his hands shaking. It could just be age and exhaustion, but she knew it was something more.
"I'm not sorry about Zarek. We should have flushed him out an airlock a long time ago. The man never was anything more than a criminal." Bill looked down at his lap. "And Gaeta… Gaeta made his choices."
"Mmm."
He looked at her sharply. "You don't agree with me?"
"I didn't say that," Laura said. "I'm not as concerned about Gaeta as I am about you. He's one of your kids. Do you think you can go through with this?"
"One of my kids," Bill huffed. "Funny you'd say that. He told me that if I'd only loved the people half as much as I loved the ship…" he trailed off, focused on his own private thoughts.
And the truth was, that hurt to hear, because Bill did love his people. Laura knew that better than almost anyone. And yet… it wasn't that simple. Nothing was ever that simple.
Bill stood up and went over to his desk, shifting through some papers. But as he turned away, he hesitated, and she knew something had caught his eye. He leaned over to pick it up, and the look on his face as he held Gaeta's prosthetic leg broke Laura's heart.
"Bill?"
He stared at it, his knuckles tightening around the metal for a long moment, and then threw it across the room. "It can't change anything," he muttered. "He still committed mutiny. He still has to…"
He still has to die. Laura swallowed. "Maybe he doesn't, Bill."
"He does. They both do."
"No. They don't." Laura straightened up on the sofa, folding her hands in her lap. "What if they were… stored? Imprisoned, but they could do good for the Fleet?"
"Laura, you're not making any sense."
Laura frowned, chewing on the inside of her lip. "How long is there before the execution?"
Bill looked at his watch. "Three hours."
"Call down to the landing bay and get a Raptor prepped. We're going over to the Persephone. It might be that Gaeta and Zarek truly can repay their debt to society."
Bill shook his head. "We'll see."
***
"Sir, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Helo asked, sitting in front of Adama's desk. He exchanged glances with Sharon next to him, relieved to see that she looked equally uneasy.
"I don't want to do it," Adama said. "But thanks to Mr. Gaeta and his friends, none of our options are overly pleasant at the moment. And at least with this one, people actually benefit."
"Have you talked to them about this?" Helo said.
"We're long past talking," Adama looked down at his papers. "This is what we're going to do."
"Then what do you need us for, sir?" Sharon asked.
Adama sighed. "According to their scientist, Topher Brink, each Active needs what's called a handler. Someone who works with them, protects them."
"Protects them, sir?"
"From what I understand, The Agency back on Caprica…" Adama took off his glasses and rubbed his head. "They catered to a more exotic clientele." Helo made a face, but Adama held up a hand. "There will be absolutely none of that, I promise you that. But there are other times they're going to need protection."
"Any time they're on Galactica," Athena sighed.
Adama nodded. "That's part of it. But in between… personalities. Engagements, Brink calls them. The Actives go into some sort of blank slate state. They're helpless. A handler is responsible for getting them from one place to another, and keeping them safe in between. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."
"So, let me get this straight. You take Gaeta and Zarek and put them in this chair, and then they can become anything you want. They can do anything you want. And you want me and Athena to keep them in line, and keep everyone else in line, so they can do whatever you're asking us to do. Have I got that right?"
"That's it in a nutshell, yes."
"Why us, sir?" Helo asked.
"This whole operation is questionable. Believe me, both the President and I know that. But you two are going to be the ones who tell us if we step over the line."
"Yes, sir." Although as he thought of what had almost happened to his family, he wondered how the Admiral could be so sure. "I still have some questions."
"There will be time to get answers. I understand the initial imprinting process takes a few hours."
Helo heaved a sigh. "I hope this makes a lot more sense as we go along, sir."
Adama nodded gravely. "Yeah. Me, too."
***
"I don't like it," Sharon told Helo as they went through the pre-flight check.
"Not up to us to like it," Helo muttered, although not unsympathetically.
Sharon bit her lip. "You know what it reminds me of?" she said finally. "The process to create a sleeper Cylon."
"Yeah, well, at least the Admiral isn't pretending this is black and white," Helo sighed. "But he's got a point about all the good it can do." He set his jaw and looked determinedly at his console.
"You're really okay with taking away their free will?" Sharon asked.
Helo shrugged. "Not sure it's any worse than putting them in front of the firing squad. I mean, if they were going to be making them into prostitutes or humiliating them somehow, I'd put my foot down. But if this does what Adama and Roslin want it to do, Gaeta and Zarek could be heroes." He sighed. "After what they've done, it's as close to redemption as they're going to get."
"Yeah, well, redemption doesn't mean anything unless you make the choice yourself," Sharon said. "Believe me. I know."
"Guess so." Helo flipped a switch. "Come on. They'll be here in a minute- let's finish this up."
***
The brig clanked open, and Tom stood, extending his hands through the opening for the cuffs. He debated doing the kicking-and-screaming thing, ranting about the aristocracy of the Adamas and the gross mistreatment of democracy, but a quick look around revealed that there was no one to hear. No one who would care, anyway and he'd be just as likely to get a gun butt in the head for his trouble. He went along silently, ready for his death.
To his surprise, the marines didn't lead him to an airlock. Instead, he was led to the hangar bay, and then prodded onto a Raptor. Gaeta was already sitting in the Raptor, looking extremely confused.
"What's going on?" Tom asked him.
"No idea," Gaeta said. "Adama told me that it was a change of plans."
"How can there be a change of plans?" Tom asked crossly. "If Adama decided not to waste the bullets, he'd just airlock us."
"Got me." Gaeta glanced at a marine, but no one was answering. Tom noticed that there was another Raptor leaving with them as well, and that Adama, Roslin, and Tigh were all on board. He gestured with his chin at the other ship, and Gaeta shrugged in confusion.
The door shut, and the Raptor engines roared to life. Tom shifted, trying to get comfortable. A few of the marines eyed him warily, but he ignored them. What did they really think he was going to do with his hands cuffed in a Raptor? Even if he could fight his way free, he couldn't exactly open the door and waltz out. He glanced at Gaeta, who looked even more uncomfortable. He reached over as best he could and nudged a Marine. The Marine finally moved, letting Gaeta extend his leg and prosthetic. Felix looked at him gratefully, the lines of pain on his face easing just a little, although it seemed that the relief was momentary as Gaeta started rubbing it again.
Tom closed his eyes and leaned his head back. In just a few moments, it would all be over. This whole struggle, this whole life. He didn't really mind. In fact, he-
"What the frak?" he heard Gaeta say. Tom opened his eyes and saw that they were docking on the Persephone. It was a small ship, originally a private transport ship for the Mycele company, moving both cargo and humans for business purposes. Tom could literally think of nothing that could be done with two military prisoners on the Persephone that couldn't be done better on Galactica.
A group of marines was awaiting their Raptor, along with the brass that had come over as well. Still completely puzzled, Tom obeyed as the marine sitting next to him prodded him in the back with his gun. "I'm going," he muttered. The sharp, nervous feeling in his stomach tightened, and for a moment, he felt a flare of hope. Maybe the Admiral was going to let them go. You don't like how things are being run? Fine. Take this ship and go. They could survive that, somehow. But as he stepped into the center of the marines that were waiting for them, that barely born hope died instantly. That sort of decision would never involve this many guns. He climbed out of the Raptor and went through the small airlock to where Adama, Roslin, and Tigh were waiting.
"Let's go," Adama said.
They walked into the section that housed passengers; several doors lining either side of a hallway with worn red carpeting. Judging by the spacing of the doors, the rooms were small. There were fluorescent lights along the ceiling, and the place looked like a modestly priced but moderately clean hotel. Tom stayed close to Gaeta. There was a reassurance about the other man's presence, even if there was nothing to be reassured by. Gaeta struggled with his crutches, the prosthetic still missing.
There were two people waiting for them. Tom's eyes were drawn first to the woman who stood at the forefront. She had what Tom considered a glamorous bearing about her, even though her clothing wasn't any better than anyone else's in the Fleet. It was a way of holding herself that he normally would have liked very much. In this context, however, it scared the shit out of him.
"Madame President," the woman said, taking Laura's hands and kissing her first on one cheek, then the other. "It's so good to see you again."
"Adelle." Laura was too calm. "You've met the Admiral."
It was Tigh who broke in. "Look. Let's get this over with. We're running on borrowed time." Tom exchanged glances with Gaeta, but Gaeta only shrugged, the line between his eyes deepening as his forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Of course, Colonel," Adelle said. She gestured to a slight, gawky man standing next to her. "Which one do you want to do first, Topher?"
"Gaeta," the Admiral said firmly, before the man could answer. "I need to get back to the Galactica."
"Good as reason as any, I guess," the man called Topher said. His eyes fastened on Gaeta, and he smiled, extending his hand. "I'm Topher Brink," he told Gaeta, who didn't let go of his crutches to take his hand. "I have to say, I'm looking forward to working with someone like a brain like yours." Gaeta only nodded.
"There's a conference room across the hall," Adelle said, pointing to the hatch. "You can wait in there."
"Let's go," Tigh ordered Tom, but Tom stood still. No one forced him yet, and Tom had the idea that not all of the marines knew what was going on, either.
"Alrighty, then," Brink said, glancing around, "I need Helo and Gaeta, and I probably need a few of you guys as well," he said, flicking his fingers at the marines. "But without the guns, please."
"But if we need to-" one of the marines began protesting.
"You're big strong men. He's a skinny guy with one leg. I could almost take him," Brink snapped. "Come on."
"Wait." Gaeta looked back at Tom, panic clear in his eyes. "What's going on?" No one answered. "What the frak? Sir, I thought it was going to be the firing squad." Adama didn't look at Gaeta. "What's happening?"
"Come on." One of the marines grabbed Gaeta's arm, and Brink gestured to the open hatch. There was a chair wired to a bank of computers with flashing lights. The chair looked like a dentist's chair; the computers looked out of a laboratory. There were too many wires for it not to look threatening, and Tom couldn't help but notice a table holding extremely long, slender needles that were hooked to wires as well. It reminded him far too much of his time in the Cylon detention center on New Caprica. He swallowed hard.
"In here," Topher said. "Get him in the chair."
"What's going on?" Gaeta asked. The panic in his voice was mounting, and one of the guards began nudging Tom towards the conference room with his gun. "What kind of execution is this?"
"It's not an execution," Adama said. He turned to Brink. "I'm coming in with you. If we do this, I need to be there the whole time."
Brink blinked at him for a long moment, and then shrugged. "Fine," he said. "Just stay out of the way. No touchy. Got it?" The marines muscled Gaeta into the room and Helo and Adama followed, and the hatch slammed shut.
"Come on, Zarek," Tigh said. "Get in." He pointed to the room where Adelle had indicated, and then looked at Adelle herself. "If there's enough space in that chair room, I'd better go in as well. Bill's right- this is one of those things we've got to take responsibility for." He looked pointedly at Roslin. "Right?"
"Right."
"It will be cramped," Adelle sighed in capitulation, "but once he's in the chair you won't need the marines in there anymore."
"Good." Adama's face was dark. "Madam President, Colonel Tigh, I'll let you know when we're ready. Athena, guard Zarek." She saluted. Tom caught sight of Gaeta, already forced into the room, his face pale, clinging to his crutches. He leaned around the Marine so he could see Tom.
"Tom," he begged, "get out of here. I don't know what they're going to-"
"Shut up," the marine ordered Gaeta, pushing him aside and slamming the hatch. Tom lurched forward, but one of the marines blocked his path with his gun. Then they all heard the shouting coming through the hatch. It was muffled by the thick metal enough that the words were indistinguishable, but one of the voices was Gaeta's, and the others must have been marines. Tigh hesitated, and the clamor grew louder. It sounded like Gaeta was putting up one hell of a fight, and there was a crash. But then the other voices stopped, and it was just Gaeta, shouting for help.
The hatch opened, and the marines filed out. Tom strained around them, trying to see, and caught sight of Gaeta strapped to the chair, with the table of needles nearby.
"Sir?" a marine called Thompson said to Tigh. "The Admiral said that you and the President can go in now."
"All right. Keep him in the other room." Tigh glanced at Agathon's wife, who had been extremely silent the whole time. "You're in charge, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir," she said. The door clanged shut behind Roslin and Tigh, and she nodded at the room. "Let's go." She looked at Thompson. "Stand guard outside. It's too small for more than one of us inside."
"Yes, sir."
The last thing Tom wanted to do was enter that room and wait for whatever fate was behind the other door, but there was no other real choice. And as he obeyed and moved into his temporary prison, they all heard Gaeta scream.
***
There were lights flashing. Helo focused for a long moment on the shadows that they cast on the wall, staring at how they moved and trying to close his ears to the way Gaeta screamed. Think of Hera, he ordered himself. She almost died. Think of Sharon. Think of all the people that died in Felix's frakking mutiny.
To give the Admiral credit, he stood watching as if he was made from stone, his face set into hard lines. Helo couldn't even begin to guess what he was thinking. Roslin stood beside him, her arms crossed, the same expression on her face. Helo had to respect the fact that they weren't evading what they were doing. It was Tigh who looked like he couldn't quite watch, although his face was pointed at the scene in front of him. There had been a few moments when Topher was inserting the long needles into Gaeta's limbs that Helo thought Tigh was going to throw up, and that thought was disconcerting. But what really chilled Helo was the expression on Topher's face. It wasn't sadistic glee, it wasn't disgust… it was just the face of a scientist running a test, doing his job.
He forced himself to look down at Gaeta. His back was arched and his muscles were straining against the restraints and he looked terrified, and Helo slammed the door on other memories of when they'd been friends. He couldn't look at Gaeta's face, so he stared at his hands.
What scared him most was that Gaeta's hands were open, turned palm up in supplication.
***
There was a twitch in Sharon Agathon's jaw. The two metal doors shut out most of the noise, but every now and then they'd be able to hear a scream, and Tom could see it affecting her. That little tic, a little twitch betraying that she didn't like whatever was going on behind that door at all.
"At least tell me what's going on," Tom said, trying to make it sound like an order.
"Shut up," she said.
"What are you going to do? Shoot me? Judging by the look on your face, I might prefer it to whatever's going on in there." He tried to smile, but he found the muscles wouldn't work right, and when he looked down at his hands, they were shaking. "Look, if you're going to kill me, I deserve to know how."
She snorted at that, but they heard the faint sound of Gaeta's scream, and she winced. "It's a machine," she finally said. "A machine that basically wipes you of your personality and then allows them to upload any skill set or personality that they wish."
Tom smirked. "Fine. Don't tell me," he said.
Her head jerked around, and she looked straight into his eyes. "You think I'm joking?" she said. "It's real. It's very real. Someone has figured out how to program humans just like we program Cylons."
Tom tried to keep his mouth from hanging open. "No. That's impossible."
"It's not."
Tom didn't know much about Sharon Agathon, but the little he did know told him this was not a woman who made jokes. At least, not with prisoners. She was serious. His hands began to shake harder. "No. No matter what I've done, Laura Roslin would never agree to that. She wouldn't. She would just flush me out the airlock."
"The Admiral wanted to. This was the President's idea."
"Gods." It was becoming real to him, and he staggered backwards until his back hit the wall. His knees gave out, and he slumped to the ground as he thought about the gaping void that lay ahead of him.
She spared a glance at him. "It won't be that bad," she said, in a voice that made it clear she didn't believe it. "Roslin wants to program you two with skills that the population is lacking. Make you useful."
Tom looked up at her. "Frak that," he said. "Just shoot me. Shoot me now. I'd rather die than live like that."
"Those aren't my orders," she ground out. "You're going to be one of those… those dolls."
"No!"
Her jaw hardened even further, and she smacked him across the face. "Be quiet!"
He could see it- it cut through the panic in his own soul. She didn't like this either. "Shoot me!"
"I can't!"
"So tell them I was trying to escape. Do something- just shoot me!" he shouted.
Athena looked away.
***
The screaming had stopped. Helo tore his eyes from Gaeta's hands to look at his face. His eyes were closed, but his eyeballs were moving rapidly underneath. Helo shivered.
Something beeped. Adama looked over his shoulder at a machine that was showing Gaeta's vitals, and then back at Topher. "Is he all right?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yeah. That's just the heart monitor warning. They all get up that high around now." Topher's eyes flicked to the numbers, and then back down to his computer screen. "We're doing good here. I've pretty much got Gaeta here on this wedge." He patted a piece of recording equipment, "and soon the neural architecture should be set. The hard part's over."
"Can he feel any of this?" Adama asked.
"Now? Eh,…" Topher made a so-so sort of gesture with his hands. "You can see some of the physiological responses that are indicative of pain, but as far as I know, Gaeta himself is pretty much gone. That's basically a shell you're seeing there."
He's not hurting any more, Helo told himself. He's not hurting any more.
"How are you going to deal with the loss of his leg?" Tigh asked. "And for that matter, all of these scans- they were done on people before the Cylons attacked. How will you deal with that?"
"Well, imprints are sort of just patched together anyway," Topher explained. "A little bit of this, a little bit of that… it's not often that we just take one person and put them into another body."
"You can do that?" Tigh asked.
"Sure. It's sort of like the ultimate cosplay," Topher said. He sighed as he was met with blank stares. "Never mind."
"Topher's created a patch," Adelle interrupted smoothly. "One that we can incorporate into any imprint, so the Active understands what has happened and thinks that they have been a part of the Fleet all along."
"Good. Because the last thing we need is someone freaking out that the Cylons nuked the Colonies," Tigh growled.
Adelle nodded. "As for his leg, we'll have to do something about that, Topher."
"Way ahead of you. I went through our scans and did a search on amputees. We've got a couple. It will take twelve hours before we can imprint Gaeta anyway, so I can whip up another patch no problem."
"You should talk to Cottle about how healed his leg actually is first," Helo heard himself saying. "I heard Hoshi saying it was too early for him to be on a prosthetic in the first place."
Topher studied Helo for a long moment, and then smiled. "You," he said, shaking a finger at him, "are gonna make an awesome handler."
Helo wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to hear or not.
***
"Can you pilot?" Athena said, out of the blue.
"What?" Tom asked, completely confused.
"If you were in a Raptor, could you get it from here to another place without crashing?"
"No."
"Frak." Athena frowned. Tom stared at her, and she thought for a moment. "All right," she said, moving closer and lowering her voice. "This is how it's going to go…."
***
Gaeta was now completely still, except for the rise and fall of his chest. "All right," Topher said. "I need everyone but Helo to get as far back against the wall as you can. Unless you want to leave?" No one answered, and Topher sighed. "All righty then. Helo, I need you up here."
"What do I have to do?"
Topher handed him a few pieces of paper. When Helo looked at it, it was the same lines written over and over. "What is this?"
"This is the script. I've heard handlers describe it as a spell." Topher rolled his eyes. "I'm going to bring Gaeta up into the blank state, and we're going to go through this. I need you to hold on to his hand."
Helo took Gaeta's hand in his. It was cold, and he couldn't help but remember the last time he'd held Gaeta's hand, sitting by his bunk in the stink of the Demetrius, when Gaeta's skin was hot with fever. "You ready?" Topher asked. Helo slammed a door on the memory and nodded.
There was a small buzz, and Gaeta opened his eyes. "All right," Topher whispered. "Start reading. He'll respond."
Helo glanced at the lines. "Everything's going to be all right," he said.
"Now that you're here," Gaeta answered. His voice was flat and colorless.
"Do you trust me?" Helo felt stupid saying that.
"With my life." Gaeta's response was immediate.
"Again," Topher prompted.
"Everything's going to be all right."
"Now that you're here."
"Do you trust me?"
"With my life."
Again, and again, and again. Gaeta's hand grew warm in his, and Helo found himself looking straight into his face. The image of the Demterius passed, and he found himself remembering Gaeta's first day on Galactica, when he'd headed a few of the pilots off before they could make life miserable for the new meat.
Everything's going to be all right. Now that you're here. Do you trust me? With my life.
Topher had told him this script would bond Gaeta to Helo. Helo had the uneasy feeling that while it was doing just that, it was also bonding him to Gaeta. And when this was all over, however it ended, he had a feeling the pieces weren't ever going to come apart as neatly as they'd come together.
***
The metal of the gun felt good in his hand. Tom kicked the room's door open, the gun against Athena's temple. "Don't make a sound," he hissed at the shocked marines. "I will shoot her."
Athena managed to get her mouth free from his hand just long enough to sob. "Hera-" she got out, before Tom clamped his hand over her mouth again.
"Get out of my way," he ordered.
The gamble was correct. The marines were too unsure to know what to do. One raised his gun towards Tom, but all he had to do was squeeze Athena tighter, and the marine backed off immediately. Tom backed out, the gun still held to Athena's head.
By some miracle, they got to the Raptor. As soon as they did, Athena shoved him away. "We don't have much time," she said, jumping into the pilot's seat. "I'm taking you to the Hitei Kan. I have no idea what sort of reception you'll get there, but if they were willing to be your pawns in that dumb hostage ship move, they probably won't shoot you on sight for killing eleven Quorum members. But then you're on your own."
Tom nodded. "Thank you," he said, still not swallowing right. The idea of what Adama and Roslin had wanted to do still left him shaken to the core. "I appreciate this and I-"
"I'm not doing it for you," Athena snapped as the Raptor soared out of the bay. "I'm only doing it because having free will taken away… that's a line we shouldn't cross. But if anyone kills you on sight, I won't shed a tear, you got that? As soon as we're on the Hitei Kan, you're on your own."
"Understood. And I thank you anyway. I'd rather be dead than living like that."
She made a face in response. "Good. Now shut up and let me fly."
***
The procedure was unnerving to watch, but Bill made himself focus. Beside him, he could feel Laura trembling. Not much- he wouldn't know it if her arm wasn't against his, but he really couldn't blame her. The reservations he'd had about this project from the beginning were only strengthening.
There was a soft hand on his other arm, and he glanced over to see Adelle watching him. "Just wait until his first engagement," she reassured him. "You won't regret this."
"I hope not."
She was confidence personified as she smiled at him. "Trust me, Admiral. I have never had a client who has been disappointed."
"So you say," he muttered, but softly. Adelle either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.
"Okay," Topher said, rapidly typing something into his keyboard. "Just a few more adjustments, and then… Hovercats are a go."
"Excuse me?" Bill asked.
"Hovercats. It was a show back on Caprica… animated… flying catmen type heroes in spandex suits? Never mind." Topher dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Here we go."
The chair inclined back to sitting, and Gaeta opened his eyes, looking directly at Topher. "Did I fall asleep?" he asked.
"For a little while," Topher said, a triumphant smile playing on the edge of his lips.
"Should I go now?" Gaeta asked.
"If you like."
Gaeta moved to stand, but then looked down at his legs in confusion. "I can't stand," he said simply, like a child. He didn't seem distressed by it.
Topher prodded Helo, who stepped forward. "Er, it's okay, Gaeta. We'll get your prosthetic."
"Oh. All right." Gaeta looked at Bill, and his gaze went right over him, like he wasn't even standing there. It chilled Bill to see an officer that had been so proud of his mind looking like a lost and trusting child. Helo took Gaeta's arm, wrapping it around his own neck.
"Come on, Gaeta." He led him out, half helping him, half carrying him. They hadn't made it to the hatch before it flew open.
"Sir," Thompson said, heedless of what was going on inside.
"Do not burst into here like that again, young man," Adelle snapped. "Disruption to the process can result in-"
"Sir," Thompson said, ignoring Adelle, "we've got a problem."
"What is it, Sergeant?"
"It's Zarek, sir. He escaped."
***
The blocky shape of the Hitei Kan opened up before them, and Athena piloted the Raptor in. "You'd better hurry," she told Zarek as she docked. "I'm giving you a head start, that's all."
"Thank you," he said, getting out of the Raptor. She climbed out after him. "Are you ready?" he asked her.
She smirked. "Hit me."
He struck her has hard as he could across to the face, and she jerked back, striking the other side of her head against the Raptor. She fell to the ground, unconscious and blood trickling from where her head struck the corner of the Raptor. But she was breathing. "Thanks again," he told her inert form, and then looked around the hangar bay. Weapon. He needed some sort of weapon. He had no idea what sort of reception he'd get on the Hitei Kan, but at least not everyone here was packing heat.
Before he could spot anything that would serve, he heard footsteps. "Hey! You! What the frak is going on? Why is a Raptor docking here? We told Galactica-"- the man cut off as he saw the scene in front of him. "What the frak?"
Tom held up his hands in a submissive posture. "I'm not here to hurt you-" he began, but the man was staring at Athena on the floor.
"What the hell is that skinjob doing here?" He walked over and nudged her with his toe. "That's the one that tried to board us, isn't it? The one from Galactica?"
"Yes."
"What the frak is she doing here?"
"It's a long story."
The man shook his head. "I don't like skin jobs on this ship," he growled. "I don't like them in the Fleet."
"I'm with you there," Tom muttered. "Look, we've got to hurry. They're going to come looking and-"
"I'll say. All right. Let's get her out the airlock."
"What? No!"
The man looked up at him, gimlet eyes boring into Tom. "Since when are you a fan of the Cylons, Mr. Zarek?"
"I'm not," he said. "But she…" he shook his head. "It's not her that they're going to come looking for," he said. "It's me. I need to speak to the captain."
"You gonna kill him?"
"Not if he does what I ask him."
"You armed?"
"No. You can check."
The man approached and patted him down. "All right," he said. "Let's go."
***
Helo and Gaeta had left the room before the marine had spoken, and given the news, Bill was grateful. "He took Athena?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, why the frak didn't you stop him?" Tigh demanded.
"Couldn't get a clear shot without him shooting her, sir." The marine swallowed. "They took a Raptor."
"Frak. They could be anywhere in the Fleet."
Laura stepped forward. "Not many places are going to hide him. News about the Quorum is all over already."
Bill noticed that Adelle looked away when Laura said that. "I don't know about that," he said slowly. "Twenty-five ships were willing to follow them."
"Before they knew about the Quorum," Laura insisted.
"Let can start with the ships that are most likely to take him in," Tigh broke in. "It's gonna be hard to find him though, Bill. Zarek's got all kinds of shady connections that can keep him hidden if he doesn't want to be found."
"I know." Bill frowned. "Mr. Brink."
Topher started in alarm. "What?"
"What happens here now?"
"Oh." Topher relaxed substantially. He was jumpy and nervous, Bill thought, sort of reminiscent of Baltar in that manner. "Gaeta needs twelve hours of sleep before we can imprint him with anyone else."
"And will that take as long?" Tigh asked.
"Oh, no. No, the initial tissue mapping process is the longest. The next imprint will take five minutes, tops." Topher shrugged. "He just needs a little time to physically recover. If we try to do it too soon… you know that algae mash we've all been eating?"
"Your point is clear," Adama sighed. "All right. Gaeta's obviously in the care of the people who know what to do, so let's go get Athena back."
***
The captain of the Hitei Kan was an older man with gray hair, darker skin, and almond-shaped eyes named Levi Kallas. Tom had dealt with him many times before. But today, there was no warmth on his face, no admiration in his eyes. They sat in the control room, the smell of tylium strong in the air.
"Please," Tom begged. "I'm on my knees to you."
"Tom, we go back a long way," Levi acknowledged. "But what you're asking is going to bring the wrath of Adama and Roslin down on my people's heads. It's a lot to ask."
"Then don't protect me," Tom begged. "Kill me. I can't bring myself to pull the trigger myself, but I won't stop you."
"Kill you." Levi sat back in his chair.
"I'm serious. Roslin's got some new technology… I can't even quite believe it, but it was something that they used on Caprica. Athena told me it was with a corporation called The Agency."
"The Agency?" Levi's frown deepened. "I thought that was an urban legend."
"You've heard of it?" Tom asked, surprised.
Levi shrugged. "Whispers and rumors. It was supposedly an extremely high-end brothel."
"Brothel?" Tom felt sick. "Athena said something about skills…"
"I don't know. All I've heard is that they can produce exactly what you want, that they program people. I never really believed it. How do you program a mind? I figured the people they get for it are just great actors. But if what you say is true…"
"It is," Tom insisted. "They were doing something to Gaeta. I heard him screaming." He saw the revulsion on Levi's face and pressed on with more hope. "Please. Kill me, hide me, do something. I will not live like that."
Levi was wavering, and Tom's heart soared. "What will you do?" Levi asked.
"I just want to hide," Tom said. "Hide until they've admitted I'm not on this ship. Then, use me however you want. Teach me refining, put me to work, use me as another body doing anything you ask."
"Interesting work for the Vice President."
"But it's work I will choose."
"I see your point." Levi sighed. "All right, Tom. I'll hide you for now. But then," he said, smirking, "your fate will be in the hands of the people." Tom nodded. "Come on. I've got a spot."
***
"Sir. We found Athena." The marine's voice was scratchy over the wireless. Bill sighed in relief.
"Where is she?"
"On the Hitei Kan landing bay. We're taking her to Cottle."
"She alive?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. What about Zarek?"
"We're searching the Hitei Kan now."
"We'll send backup."
"Thank you, sir."
Adama hung the receiver back up and looked around the CIC. The CIC was one place that hadn't taken much damage during Gaeta's mutiny; only what Gaeta had done himself. But it still seemed tainted by blood and bullets.
Saul was watching him. "You okay?" he asked Bill.
"Yeah."
"Quite a freak show today," Saul said.
"I don't want to talk about it," Bill answered.
"You're going to have to at some point," Saul said. "The press will get hold of it eventually."
"Hopefully after we've had him do enough good that it will be seen as a positive thing." Bill sighed. "That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. Sacrifices."
"Yeah." Saul was silent for a long moment, looking around the CIC. His gaze lingered, and when Bill followed it, he saw that Saul was watching Hoshi, who was working at the communications station. "What are you going to tell him, Bill?"
"Got me."
"You're going to have to think of something. He's already asking about Gaeta's body."
"I know. Frak."
"Yeah. Frak."
***
Helo wasn't sure what to expect from Gaeta in this "tabula rosa" state, but it was surprisingly easy. Childlike, Adelle had told him. The important thing is to keep him calm and safe.
Adelle had a room set up a few doors down from the imprint room. It was a small one, hung with deeply colored tapestries and with its own wireless system. There was a small fountain in the corner that pumped water through a closed loop, and worn, soft pillows on the floor. It looked like Baltar's den, Helo realized, but not quite as sexual.
Gaeta sat on one of the pillows, drawing. Helo tried not to watch, and instead focused on the packet of instructions that Adelle had prepared for him. Gaeta didn't speak, but he hummed to himself under his breath. It wasn't often that he'd heard Gaeta hum, but he'd heard enough to know that Gaeta had a good grasp of music. The humming now was extremely tuneless, and at odds with the soft music playing over the wireless.
He flipped a page, his eyes seeing the words but unable to really read and absorb them. The problem was, how Gaeta was behaving did remind him of Hera, but without the tantrums… and without the giggles. Childlike, yes, but no emotion.
The door opened, and both Helo and Gaeta looked up. Gaeta's gaze lingered for a long moment on the man and the woman that entered, but then he turned back to his drawing. Helo, on the other hand, looked at them with relief.
"Hey!" The man spotted Helo and smiled. "You guys must be the new pair, am I right?" The man was shorter than Helo, with dark hair, a nose that looked like it might have been broken once or twice, and large ears that stuck out. His face was quite good-looking, and his smile was friendly. He extended his hand. "I'm Victor," he said.
"Karl Agathon," Helo said, "but everyone calls me Helo."
"That's right. I heard you're a pilot." The woman with Victor was extremely striking, with light hair, golden skin, and almond shaped eyes. She spoke with a throaty accent that Helo placed as Scorpian and extended a graceful hand with long fingers. "I'm Sierra."
Helo shook it. "Nice to meet you." These were the Actives; Roslin had told them about them. They'd been traveling with Adelle and Topher to demonstrate the technology when the Cylons hit. Roslin had said that because of the large amounts of energy required for the imprint process, as well as the care required for an active in their blank state, they were still imprinted with the easy-going, Agency employee personalities they'd been given for their original trip. Topher admitted to doing a little tweaking, but confessed that he hadn't been able to do much, especially once Roslin had imposed strict power rationing on their ship. But they seemed normal enough.
Sierra looked at Gaeta, who was still drawing. "This is Gaeta?"
"You know about Gaeta?"
"Adelle told us," Victor said, sitting down on one of the bigger pillows. "Said he'd be coming on soon."
"I see." Helo studied them. "Do you work for the Agency?"
"Well, when the Agency's got work," Victor said. "Haven't had an Active in a long time- not on this whole trip."
"Right." Helo studied them both more closely. Roslin had told him that these two themselves were Actives, although she said she'd found them completely normal. He saw what she meant. They seemed completely cognizant, nothing like this strange, vacant state that Gaeta was in.
"Yeah, well, what are you going to do?" Victor asked. "The thing about the process is it takes a fair amount of energy, and what we've got is rationed, so…" he made a cutting motion with his hand. "So instead of programming and all that good stuff, we're on kitchen shifts and killing time by learning to sew and trying to update the navigation program."
"I'm doing the program," Sierra said dryly. "He's learning to sew. And he's not half-bad at it, either."
"Really." It had never dawned on Helo that, despite the amount of work to keep some sort of civilization going, the average civilian had very little to do. It made him wonder what all they were planning on doing with Gaeta.
Gaeta set aside his drawing. "I'm tired," he informed Helo in a neutral sort of voice.
"All right," Helo said, standing up. He leaned over to help Gaeta stand, and as he did, he snuck a peek at the picture. The drawing made him stop cold. Helo had never been under the impression that Gaeta had any art talent, but he was fairly sure Hera managed more competent drawings.
"Oh, yeah," Victor said, noting Helo's shock. "Freaky, isn't it? They really are like big kids."
"Blank slates," Sierra corrected, although her mouth twitched a little as she said it. "Give him the right imprint, and he could be Johenessan."
"Right. Come on, Gaeta," Helo said, hauling his charge to his feet- well, foot. Gaeta came along obediently. "Let's get you to bed."
There was a bathroom in the small quarters, and Helo cringed with a sort of embarrassment when he realized that it wasn't equipped for a handicapped man, and Gaeta needed help. Gaeta, however, didn't seem to care. But it was awkward in its intimacy, and Helo knew that if Gaeta had been in his own mind, he would have died of humiliation. Helo helped him use the facilities and get undressed, and then guided him back into the room that Adelle had shown him that was set aside for sleeping. That room looked much more like Galactica, with bunks along all three walls. Helo helped Gaeta into a bottom one and then, largely because there was nothing else to do, climbed into the one above him and lay on his back, folding his arms behind his head.
He wished he was back on Galactica. The thought made him sit up suddenly. Wasn't Sharon supposed to be in here with Zarek? For a moment he thought about trying to contact Galactica, but he knew it was no good right now. Adama would be off duty, and very few other people knew about this project. He sighed and sat back. Something must have gone wrong, and he'd bet that it had to do with Zarek being pushed out an airlock, and he would have been told if something had happened to Sharon herself. She was most likely back on Galactica with Hera, asleep in their quarters. And as he heard a noise that told him Gaeta wasn't completely asleep yet, he envied her intensely.
Lucky Sharon.
***
"Lieutenant."
Sharon opened her eyes, taking in the stark white and metallic gray of the sick bay. "Admiral. What…" she raised her hand to her head, and to her mild surprise, she felt a bandage. "Did you catch him?" she asked.
"Not yet. But we will." Adama sat down beside her bed. "I have some questions for you."
Of course he did. Sharon mentally braced herself. "Yes, sir."
"How did Zarek get uncuffed?"
"I did it, sir. He got my gun first."
"All right." Adama sat back. "How did he get your gun?"
"He charged me, sir. Caught me off guard."
"I see." He rubbed his forehead.
"I'm sorry, sir. I know I should have-"
"It happens, and Zarek's sneaky. I can't say I'm surprised." Adama looked exhausted. For a moment Sharon thought he would press her more, but he didn't say anything.
"Sir?" she finally said. He looked down at her, and she swallowed. "When we were in the room… even though two hatches were closed…." She swallowed again. "We could hear Gaeta screaming."
"I know." Adama winced. "It wasn't easy to watch, and it wasn't easy on him. But it's done, and DeWitt and Brink assure me that the worst is over." His face hardened. "And by all military law, he should be dead. Remember that."
"Of course, sir. I wasn't… it was just that Zarek heard him."
"I see. Thank you, Lieutenant."
She nodded. "How's Helo?" she finally asked, when it became evident there were no more questions.
"I assume he's fine. He and Gaeta will be over in a few hours, and we'll see how well this project works." He frowned. "One other question, Sharon. Who piloted the Raptor?"
He was looking for information, not accusing. Otherwise he would have called her lieutenant. Sharon lay back against her pillow. "I did. He can't pilot a Raptor, sir. But he said he'd be able to find someone on the Hitei Kan who would get him to another ship."
"We'll see about that." Adama stood up and clapped her shoulder. "Get your rest, Lieutenant. We're going to need you."
"Yes, sir."
There was a time, Sharon thought as Adama left, that he would have pressed her harder, asked more questions. But asking questions was something the Admiral wasn't doing a lot of since Earth. It broke Sharon's heart to admit that, but it really was the truth.
She closed her eyes.
***
It was close and dark. Tom huddled against the wall, his knees pulled up against his chest, trying to will himself invisible. He couldn't remember being this scared since… since he was put into prison the first time. Even the Cylons hadn't been this terrifying. He could hear his own heartbeat, and the sound of voices as the soldiers searched the room.
He could handle death- hell, he had assumed he'd die from the minute he took Gaeta's hand in that brig cell. Longer. He'd been a dead man walking for a lot longer than that, from the moment he blew up that first bridge. He could handle torture. But the idea of losing his mind, being forced to do anything Roslin wanted without even death as an option… Tom would not live like that. He didn't care if he was saving children and feeding puppies, giving up his own agency in that manner was unthinkable.
Roslin and Adama had to be stopped.
He couldn't hear anything in his cubby, nothing but the sound of his own breathing and his own heartbeat. He couldn't see anything in the darkness. He wondered if this was how a Cylon felt right before they were programmed, and then pushed the thought from his mind and began to count to stop his mind from going any further down a path he didn't want it to go down. It couldn't be that much longer.
And it wasn't. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was less than six hours, the access panel was taken away, and light and air flooded Tom's tiny prison. Levi Kallas extended his hand. "They're gone," he said, helping Tom to stand. "They're convinced you're not here."
"Thank you." Tom forced himself to stand, stretching his protesting back. "I appreciate it."
"Don't be so quick to thank me. We're going to have a ship-wide meeting in storage bay A in twenty minutes." Levi's face was stony. "The thing is, Tom, you're a face everyone is going to recognize. If this is going to work, the entire ship has to be on board."
"Will they?" Tom asked worriedly.
"I think so." Levi didn't look completely convinced. "We were ready to follow you and Gaeta, you know that. But at the same time, you cost lives."
"That's the way a revolution works," Tom said stonily.
"Didn't say it wasn't. But these are civilians who have families, not soldiers who are prepared to die." He sighed. "But on the other hand, you're not asking them to. And if they agree… we have leverage, thanks to the tylium." Levi smirked. "You know that better than anyone."
"I know."
Levi sighed. "I don't know if I believe you about the mind programming thing," he said. "It sounds too far-fetched, especially given our lack of resources these days. But we've always stood behind you, and I think we will continue to do so."
"Thank you."
Levi nodded. "Twenty minutes in storage bay A."
"I'll be there."
***
"I don't like it." The voice belonged to a woman who stepped forward. She was tall, with short blond hair and a scar down one side of her face. "We've had enough trouble with Galactica. We don't need to be inviting more."
"But Marissa, we wouldn't have so much trouble with Galactica if they hadn't forgotten we are humans," a small wiry man with glasses countered. "Their insistence on this alliance with the Cylons, their refusal to listen to the voices of democracy… we went over this when we made the decision to follow the Vice President and jump away from the Fleet."
"And I objected then, Asok. And I still object now. One day, Galactica will lose their patience with us. Besides, you saw the paper this morning, and you heard the same reports I did. He killed the Quorum."
"I've got to say, Asok," a big man with dirty overalls said, "Marissa's got a point there." He turned to Tom. "When we followed you and jumped away from the Fleet, it was a peaceful protest."
"After the crew mutinied and killed a Cylon and two marines, Dale," Asok put in.
Dale ignored him. "But violent rebellion, like what you did on Galactica? You've got a lot to answer for, Zarek."
They all turned to him, waiting for his answer. Tom pulled himself up. "Well," he said, "I'm not sure what I'm expected to say here. 'I'm sorry for killing the Quorum'? You can keep holding your breaths if that's a sentence you're waiting to hear from me. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and when I executed the members of the Quorum, we still had a chance to win. We still had a chance to put things right, to effect a change in this Fleet, to end the alliance with the very things that destroyed our entire civilization. It was not an act of murder, but a sacrifice that had to be made. And yes, their blood is on my hands. I don't deny that at all.
"If Laura Roslin and Bill Adama were trying to execute me, by firing squad, by airlock, by slow and painful death, I would not be here. I would not expect you to help me. They won and what we did will be called mutiny as opposed to revolution, but execution of the leaders… that's fair. Because let's not lie; I would have done the same."
Tom looked out over the faces and found himself shifting into his normal speech-making stance. "Death is hard to face, there is no denying that. But it was something I was prepared for long before I committed to the rebellion that died. But now… now Laura Roslin has found a new weapon. It's a weapon that controls a person's mind." There were murmurs, and Tom saw the disbelief. "I have no idea how she got it. I assume it was something that was adapted or perfected from the Cylons, and how they program their own to be sleeper agents, or how they box them forever. And that's what Roslin and Adama are doing. They have programmed Felix Gaeta, and they were going to program me."
"If that's true…" someone began.
"It can't be," Marissa insisted flatly. "Look, Zarek. I don't like this alliance any better than you do, but the Cylons have not been in the Fleet long enough for that kind of technology exchange to take place."
"I can't believe it either," Tom said. "But watch Gaeta. Have someone observe him, see if there's any evidence to it. It won't be in the papers, that's for sure, or on the wireless. They won't let the press anywhere near this."
"How are we supposed to know-" Marissa began, but Asok cut her off.
"There we go," he said. "That's the plan. We give refuge to Tom Zarek, temporarily at first, and we watch this Gaeta. We have contacts on the Galactica," he nodded at Dale, "and I'm sure someone here must know him." He glanced over the crowd.
Xeno Fenner raised his hand. "I worked with him on New Caprica," he said laconically. "I've got an idea of what he's really like."
"Right." Asok nodded. "Temporary refuge, and if we don't see sufficient evidence, or we see evidence that Zarek is lying, we revisit this."
Marissa nodded stiffly. "I can accept that. Shall we call a vote?"
Tom watched, half nervous and half excited. He hadn't realized such a democracy had existed within their Fleet. And when they voted yes, he felt safer than he had in years.