---
GROUSE
BROTHER'S KEEPER
---

Zak was thrown into the cell next to Cally's. Opposite from them were Billy and Dualla. His head hurt, his vision was distorted by the swelling above his left eye, his lips were still bleeding, and he must have looked like Ares after a party at Dionysos.

"Looks like you've been bored here without me!" he teased seeing the three gloomy faces. "Glad they decided my presence might cheer you up."

"Sure," a corner of Dualla's lips rose slightly, her eyes glinted.

"The situation isn't funny," Billy disagreed. "We're in immediate danger of--"

"Easy, Billy." Dualla returned to observing the guards. "Everything's gonna be all right."

"I don't know about that."

"They don't wanna hurt us," Cally backed her older colleague up. "That won't get them what they want." She curled up on her rack, and rested her head on the bars, her eyes closed.

Billy needed more profound explanation though. "Which is what?" he asked skeptically.

"To be treated like human beings?" Zak supposed with amusement. "Zarek seems to be completely clueless about what happened with the Worlds." He got up and approached the bars. "What a mess." Humans were fighting for the survival of their race and yet there were people who were willing to kill their own species.

An ugly looking guy with eyes of a wild animal strolled down the walkway and stopped right outside Zak's cell. Looked up and hissed like a snake. Zak took two steps back, knowing it was a mistake. Every single gesture matter with people like this!

The guy spat with disdain. And gazed over at Cally, resting in her cell.

"You're not asleep," he croaked.

"Not any more." She opened her eyes wearily.

Zak cursed under his breath, sensing trouble. Every single gesture . . . And Cally was making all the wrong gestures.

"Is that your way of telling us you're not scared?" the wild man's voice turned into hiss again.

"No, it's my way of telling you I'm tired."

Oh, Cally! Zak tried to telepathically tell her to shut up, but telepathy didn't work, of course.

"Don't! Don't mock me, little girl!"

"I'm not mocking you."

Lords!

---

"Alpha one," Apollo's voice said in Starbuck's earpiece, "we're in."

"Bravo in position. I've got eyes on the mice." She shot a sharp glance above the railing of the overpass, assessing the situation.

"Status?"

"Four in cages. Three seem okay, one," she hoped Lee didn't hear how her voice wavered, "a little banged up."

He heard. Was silent a split second too long. "Stay frosty, bravo," responded finally. "We're on with the big cat."

"Only three cats in sighting, alpha," she interrupted then. Her heart was thumping, eyes searched for targets, fingers shook with anticipation of a shot. "We could--"

Apollo didn't even let her finish. "You have your orders! Alpha out."

Frak!

She looked at the cells below again. Zak was up, talking to one of the prisoners who guarded them. Kara didn't like the red stains on his cheek and shirt, she itched to kill the bastard who did this to her man.

But she had her orders. Apollo was planning to negotiate. Feldercrab!

---

Lee knew what Kara thought about his plan. She'd told him as much on the raptor.

"That's what he wants," she'd pointed out. "Time, negotiations, it all works in his benefit. We have a surprise virtue, don't waste it!"

"You don't know what he wants," he'd responded.

"And you know it so well!"

Of course he didn't know. But what he knew was that Zarek wasn't dumb, and there was no way the old terrorist dog was hoping to gain something through this act. At least not something that seemed obvious. Tom Zarek was a legend, almost. Twenty years in prison, over a matter of principle. His word carried weight, people would listen to him, especially given the circumstances--there were already riots over the water crisis. He had to be dealt with carefully.

Apollo took a deep breath, steeling himself right outside Astral Queen's control center. Guards were disarmed and knocked out, there were only a few men inside. Lee looked at his marines.

"Keep bloodshed to minimum," he reminded, and signaled for the entrance.

They blasted in, guns ready, eyes on target. Two of Zarek's men opened fire, and were floored immediately. The other two stopped stiff, their leader standing in the middle of the room, looking slightly annoyed, and . . . bored.

"Alpha one, we're in, wait for instructions." Apollo reported to his other teams. Then he turned to Zarek. "Tell your men to lower their weapons."

The two men behind Zarek dropped their guns by a fraction, but at their leader's gesture held them up again.

"You're not going to take this ship," Zarek said loudly and clearly. "Does Laura Roslin really think that using Adama's military to massacre the people here is a proper move? Is that what she sent you here to do? Who gave her the right?" his voice was rising louder. "Who charged her with the right to be making decisions for all of us, deciding who lives and who dies!"

Lee allowed himself to be taken off guard, and started to counter, "You've seized--"

Zarek didn't let him. "The answer is: no one. No one voted for her. Is that democracy? Is that a free society?"

"We need a government!" Lee interrupted with anger. "We need rules. We need a leader."

"We need to be free men and women. If we're not free, then we're no different than cylons!" Zarek delivered with force. And something in Lee's brain clicked.

He shot a glance at the console--a green light blipped at the comms station. Zarek was transmitting his revolting speech! His broadcast was jammed, and he knew it, but there was always a chance that some desperate scribbler would find the way around that. And gods knew they had far too many scribblers in the Fleet.

Lee stared at the terrorist, at the man's smug smile and the realization hit him like a hammer. The answer had been so simple it was shocking they hadn't seen it sooner.

"This is not about the elections," Lee stated under his breath. "Or about freedom. All this time . . . All this time you wanted us to storm the ship."

Zarek's brow rose slightly, almost appreciatively. But he said nothing.

"You want a bloodbath," Lee continued loud enough to be heard over the broadcast--if it was being overheard--looking into the other man's eyes, nearing him slowly. He saw torment in those eyes. "Tom Zarek's been out of the headlines, out of the news, forgotten for twenty years as he rots in a cell. And now he's got a chance to go out in a blaze of glory. And he's gonna take it."

They stood face-to-face now, so close Zarek could take him out with ease, had he hidden knife or something. But Lee was sure he was safe.

"You've been saying how everything you're doing is for freedom, but the truth is, it's all about Tom Zarek and his personal death wish. It always had been. Even back then, twenty years ago."

Lee kept looking into the poles of despair that Zarek's eyes were, underneath his arrogant mask. He kept expecting an answer, but before he got one, his gaze caught movement. His eyes shot there on instinct. And he saw--

---

Mason wrestled with the cell's lock, and Zak felt his heart thumping up in his throat. Cally sat up on her rack, watching the convict trying to enter her cell. She did not believe he would get in.

And Zak prayed that he wouldn't.

He'd seen the man's eyes, they were wild, insane. This man was dangerous, more dangerous than the cylons. Cylons were machines, this was living being, tormented, twisted, damaged.

The lock let go.

Mason stepped in.

Zak stretched through the bars as far as he could and grabbed the man by his collar, pulled. The convict's head hit the metal bars with a loud 'pang'. Zak swiftly changed the hold and locked the man's neck with his elbow. The catch wasn't perfect, as there was this barrier between them, but at least he stopped the bastard from hurting Cally. For how long though?

He heard shouts down the walkway. Thumping of heavy boots as someone run. Someone wrestled with a lock to his cell, and he held the bastard as hard as he could, for as long as he could. Frak it all! He had so much anger in him he didn't really care what would happen; at least he'd do something memorable, even if there was no one to remember.

Pain shot trough his scull and he saw stars as if he was in a viper out in space--

---

"Mason--" Zarek breathed out with shock.

That was a chance, that split second. Apollo moved, and his marines moved a fraction of second later. Zarek's men were disarmed in a flash, he himself neutralized and handcuffed.

And then they heard a shot.

"Cease fire!" the Captain ordered, and run out to the gallery overlooking the cells, dragging Zarek with him. "Cease fire!" he repeated louder, holding the gun to Zarek's temple.

"This won't stop them," the terrorist mocked.

But it did. Tom Zarek, the insurrection leader, was too important a figure, for the prisoners to simply let him die.

"How about it, Tom?" Lee turned to the man he held at gun's point. "You still have a death wish? You're ready to leave this world, right here, right now?"

Zarek squinted sideways. "Yes."

"Too bad," Lee forced himself to calm down; inhaled and exhaled a couple of times. "Cause this is what you're gonna do: you're gonna tell your men to help us get that water off the moon." That was the main goal of the mission. But there was more to the whole situation, and Lee knew it . "And then . . ." he hesitated. Inhaled. "Then you're gonna get your elections."

"What?"

Zarek was shocked. And Lee was shocked too, but he understood the complexity of the matters, and his instinct told him this was what needed to be done.

"Because you're right, Tom," he explained. "You're right about democracy and consent of the people. I believe in those things and we're gonna have them. And you can have them too. Or you can have this bullet. Your call."

"And the President will honor your word?"

That was the question.

"She will. Or she won't," that was the answer, the only honest one. "You can't know that. You let the hostages go, we'll leave this ship in your hands. They try and come after you, you can still have your last stand. It's your choice."

Zarek took the time to look at the younger man closely. "All right," he agreed finally. "Lower your weapons!"

---

Zak woke up, feeling lightheaded, his mouth sore.

"Mr. Adama?" he heard a female voice somewhere above his left ear, so he wearily opened his eyes. "Can you hear me?"

"I--ough--do. What happened?"

"I'll get the doctor."

The nurse fled, and returned a second later with the grumpy doctor Cottle. The white haired doc shone some light into Zak's eyes, told him to show his tongue, did five other things that made Zak more and more embarrassed and annoyed, and finally asked, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Ziggy."

"Ziggy?" The look of surprise on doc's face was priceless.

"Yeah," Zak suppressed a smirk. "He's that idiot who pours vodka to every glass on a party. Even to tea. I think I remember him standing over my soda, but I may have confused something. What do you think I remember!" he suddenly yelled. "They killed me, and I ended up in Hades with you as Hephaestus! Am I going to be here for eternity? My gods!"

"He's agitated," the doctor stated with disgust, pulling away. "Give him five milligrams Relanium, he's staying overnight. Your Papa ain't gonna like it, young man." He grumped, turned around and left.

"Did he go?" The young man lifted off his pillow, looking at the curtains. Then he turned to the nurse. She was the same girl, who was taking care of his injuries previously. "He scares me, you know?" Zak whispered conspiringly.

"He can be intimidating," the woman smiled. "But he knows what he's doing, trust him."

"What is your name?" Zak asked, feeling quite comfortable now, with doctor out of his sight. Even the prospect of spending the night in the Life Station didn't look too scary.

"Laurie," the nurse replied, approaching Zak's bed with a needle.

"What?" Zak squeaked nervously, and she gazed at him surprised.

"Laurie."

"No. That!" Zak pointed at the needle, his eyes wide open. "It's not necessary!" he tried to assure her, but she did not consent.

"I'm sorry, the doctor said otherwise. Don't worry you won't even feel it."

Indeed Zak did not feel it; he passed out before the needle even touched his skin

---

Laurie was there again when he woke up, checking his IV. But there was someone else as well.

"Kara," Zak croaked.

"Hey stone-head, glad you decided to wake up," she smiled. "We were starting to worry."

"Stone-head?" Zak asked incredulously, as she passed him some water to sip.

"Yup. Cottle is surprised your brain is still working. I'm surprised he found a brain in there." She poked his skull lightly, and Zak winced.

"Don't do that. Ants are making enough noise. Feels like bad hangover, really."

"Heard you were drinking last night," a male voice said from the other side of the bed, "so it shouldn't be surprising." Zak turned his head cautiously and saw the owner of that voice. The big brother himself, smiling broadly and mischievously. "With Ziggy no less."

"Ouh."

"I think I remember Ziggy," said Lee, glancing at Kara, and smirking. "Do you? He was that mop-headed guy who shared the bunk with Zak in the first year of Flight School, before he was kicked out."

"I think I wasn't familiar with Zak's bunkmates at that point," Kara replied laughing. "Or any point for that matter."

"Right," Zak also smiled at the memory and at her bright green eyes. "We usually did this--"

"Um," was interrupted by Lee. "So when was Ziggy kicked out?" After all the subject of where his brother did what with his girl was not something Lee wanted to discuss.

Zak blushed, what--given his pale appearance--made him look like a clown.

"Not before I was--" started explaining and his face fell. "I mean before I left."

"Uh."

Uncomfortable silence fell. Lee was a little surprised that jerk Ziggy actually stayed at the Flight School longer than Zak did, but then, Flight School was about flight ability most of all, and Zak, however he wanted to deny it, didn't get his family share of the talent.

"Glad you're okay though," said Lee to break the silence. "What were you thinking, attacking that guy like this?"

"Pot calling the kettle black," Kara interrupted. "I could ask you what were you thinking! And then, giving them the ship like that!" She shook her head. Still couldn't forgive--Duh! Couldn't understand Lee's actions.

"Kara, we avoided a bloodbath!" Lee defied. "The way you acted you would play right into his hands!"

"But you stalled and risked lives of the hostages! Of your brother!" she yelled.

"I knew what I was doing!" he yelled right back.

"That's the thing; you didn't! You had a hunch, and acted on it, but you didn't know!"

"Well, I was proven right!"

"But dangerously close to--"

"Could you please stop screaming?" nurse Laurie stepped inside the curtained area, glaring at them like the Commander himself. She was in her realm after all. "This is Life Station, there are patients who need their rest!" Both Kara and Lee, ashamed, fell silent, only shot angry glances at each other for a few seconds.

"I'd better go," Lee finally got up. "Need to talk to the Commander."

"Guess he's not happy with your performance."

"Kara!"

Their eyes locked for a moment again, and Zak felt as if he was in the middle of the stormy cloud, where lightnings were shooting left and right.

And then Lee left. And a few minutes after that Kara left too, excusing herself with Zak's need to rest, and her need to write a report or something. Of course she was mad because of Lee, and Zak knew it. Those two were always catalyzing the most extreme emotions in each other, he was already used to that. What he wasn't and didn't want to get used to, was the fact that he was merely an observer of the events unfolding. Apollo saved the day, Starbuck had other ideas of saving the day, or saved another day.

Zak greeted his teeth. Next day would be his, whatever it takes.

---
t.b.c.