Act of Contrition

Violet sighed as she pushed her way between two sweaty men. The Dia Lucrii's market was pretty busy, especially for one that had only been open a week. The Caerus had been asked to deliver some clothes to one of the stalls. It didn't matter if they had been owned by the dead.

"Hey, you there, how would you like some quality Caprican jewellery."

"Fleet Special Dinners. Now available in beef and cheese flavours"

"Crew needed. Inquire for details."

It was like a free for all. It seemed anyone could turn up and try and sell something. There was no structure. Sellers just set up anywhere they wanted, making a pretty chaotic environment. Not that Violet wasn't used to such environments.

*Flashback*

Violet walked quickly through the crowd. She needed to get anyway. She couldn't let anyone find out what she had done.

"Crew needed! Good pay, plenty of adventure."

Violet looked over to see an older looking man standing in front of a ship. It wasn't the most impressive but Violet didn't want to attract attention.

"How much?" she asked the man. "The pay I mean."

"A third of all profits made on deliveries. For now at least."

Violet was interested. "Deliveries, huh? What kind?"

The man shrugged. "Anything really. We'll travel all round the colonies. Quite an adventure." He held out his hand. "I'm Marcus, Marcus Talon."

Violet shook it. "I'm Violet Henderson. And I think I might take your offer."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Sure so soon? What are you desperate to get away from?"

*End Flashback*

"Violet!" She looked ahead to see Dean calling her. She hurried through the crowd.

"What is it?"

Dean looked awkward. "Nothing...just...didn't want you to get lost."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What do you think babe?" Max put on a pair of sunglasses and posed, awaiting Natasha's opinion.

She giggled. "You look like Greg Mardoll."

Max frowned. "That guys a frakkin idiot."

Natasha shook her head. "Uh, uh, uh. He's sexy..." She kissed him briefly. "...just like you."

"Aw. You sure know how to make a guy feel special."

"You gonna buy that?" asked the stall owner and Max put them back and walked off.

"Why didn't you buy them. They looked good."

"I'll buy some when we get to Earth, okay? No point having them when you don't get no sun."

Natasha shrugged as she placed her arm round Max's waist. "Suppose not."

They walked over to a bench on the outskirts and sat down together.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Natasha.

"Shoot."

"Have you ever thought about children?"

Max gave Natasha a confused look. "You pregnant?"

Natasha laughed and shook her head. "No...I...just wondered."

Max shrugged. "Never thought about it to be honest."

"Do you think we should have a child?"

Max laughed. "Me? A good father? Give me a break."

Natasha looked away. "Don't worry." Max sighed. Why did he always upset the women he was with?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You go to markets like this a lot. Before the attacks?" Dean asked as he walked with Violet through the Dia Lucrii. Each had an ice cream in their hands.

"Yeah. I did actually. I lived near one so...it was unavoidable."

"Did you like that?"

"The noise from it...it was relaxing...for me it was normal."

*Flashback*

Violet stepped off the Caerus and entered her home town for the first time in over a year. It hadn't changed a bit. She smiled as she smelt the Tauronian air. This was home.

She made her way to her old house and nervously knocked on the door. After a few moments her mother opened the door.

"Vi! Oh, Violet!" She threw her arms around her and embraced her in a hug, beginning to cry. "I thought you'd never come back."

Later that day, Violet, her parents and her brother were all gathered together. They wanted to know what Violet had done while she was away. She had given her family the briefest warning before leaving. She couldn't tell them the real reason and had no time for a proper goodbye. She told them she made food deliveries to the poorer colonies. They believed her...had no reason not to.

Later, Violet and her mother were alone in the kitchen.

"Vi, can I ask you something? Why did you really leave?"

Violet feigned shock. "What do you mean?" However, there was no need. Her mother always saw right through her.

"Was it because of him? What happened." Violet remained silent. This seemed to be enough as Violet felt her mother's arms embrace her. She would say no more. Her mother wouldn't want to know.

*End Flashback*

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"850...900. There you go, 900 cubits."

Marcus thanked the stall owner and placed the money in his pocket while he inspected the clothes one more time. Marcus presumed there would be no problems and so made his way back into the crowd. He quickly saw Logan and walked over to him.

"Expensive?"

Logan was looking at some metal to use to fix the broken oil pipe. At the moment, he'd placed some tape over the hole but that wouldn't hold for much longer.

"150. Not too bad, I can't really argue with him though. I don't think she can hold out much longer...the ship I mean."

The seller returned and handed Logan the metal. "Ta kind sir." He turned to Marcus. "You heading back to the ship now?"

Marcus nodded.

"I'll come with you. Get started on this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Krista admired the fine Caprican necklace. She ran it through her fingers, it was beautiful. "How much?"

"800."

"What? No way." She placed the necklace back. Suddenly she was almost knocked off her feet. A group of children ran past her. They gathered at the side of the market and almost instinctively, Krista followed. One of the boys turned to her.

"What do you want, miss?"

Krista bent down so they were eye-level. "I'm looking for a little boy. About your age. Brown hair, blue eyes. He's called Sean."

The childs eyes widened. "I know a Sean."

Krista's heart began to race. "Is he here?"

"SEAN! OVER HERE!" the boy cried out. A few second later a boy could be seen moving through the crowd. Krista couldn't get a good look at his face. As he got nearer, she began to feel feint as her heart banged against her rib cage. Suddenly, he was in front of her.

It wasn't him.

"What is it, ma'am? Would you like to buy one of my comic books?"

Krista shook her head and smiled the best she could. "No...erm...I was looking for someone else." She walked off quickly and ran into the restrooms and locked herself in a cubicle. No-one wanted to see her cry.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"VIOLET!"

She turned round. Poss was standing behind her. She smiled and gave him a hug.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

Violet nodded her head. "Great. What you doing here."

"Getting some R&R with my buddies." Two other men joined the group. "These are Brian and Pierre."

Violet pointed at Dean. "This is Dean."

They shook hands. "I saw you when you came on my ship the other day." Dean greeted Poss' two friends while he continued to speak to Violet. "What are you doing here?"

"Business deal. Delivering clothes."

"Cool."

Violet laughed. "Not really. I forgot to ask, what do you do again?"

"I was a trainee architect before the attacks. I'm thinking of getting a job in ship repair but...no luck so far."

"Well...I'm giving you luck. Use it wisely."

Poss laughed. "Well, thank you. I'm gonna move on...it was nice to see you again. The last person I expected to see."

*Flashback*

"Who have you come to visit?"

Violet checked the name again. "Shales. Bodie Shales."

The guard passed her her badge and after a short waiting period she was seated behind the glass. She had never been to a prison before. And Violet was tense. After a few moments a guard walked in with a prisoner who sat opposite her, behind the glass. They both reached for their phones.

"What are you doing here? You're the last person I expected to see."

Violet remained silent.

"I'm sorry for what happened but if you expect me to say that I did it, I'm not because I didn't."

Bodie looked at the ground. "I saw you. Every day in that court. You stared at me every day. You showed no emotion on your face but deep down I knew you was hurting. You was keeping your pain from everybody else. I felt sorry for you."

Violet didn't say anything.

"Listen, I know it's too late but I need you to believe me. If one person does I'll die a happy man."

He placed his hand on the glass. The guards on both sides of the booth tensed.

"I...didn't...kill...Michael. I swear to you. I loved him like a brother. I never wanted to hurt him, you know that."

Violet looked into his eyes. "I believe you."

Bodie's face looked in shock. "You...believe me?"

She nodded. "I always have."

"Then why didn't you say anything?! Why did you do nothing?!"

"I told everyone I could. The police, the press, my family, everybody. No-one believed me."

Violet felt tears run down her cheeks. Bodie looked in shock. "How did you know?"

Violet didn't answer.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW? Tell me...please."

"I just did." Violet couldn't tell him the truth. As long as he knew she knew he wasn't lying, that would be enough for him.

She knew he hadn't done it...

...because she had.

*End Flashback*

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The intercom crackled. "Cylons have been spotted in close proximity to the fleet. All ships are grounded until further notice."

"Frak!" Max said. "Just when this place is starting to piss me off!"

Just then, Violet and Dean walked up to him and Natasha. "What are you thinking about? You okay?" Dean asked her quietly.

"I'm fine." It was an obvious lie but Dean knew not to push it.

"What do we do now?" asked Natasha.

Dean looked around. "We wait."