Chapter 8
Boots Outside the Door
With the destruction of the Cylon nuclear basestar over Picon, the Cylons split into two groups, those who wanted to destroy the remaining humans and those who felt that humans could now serve them to advance their own knowledge, especially in the area of biomedical and genetic engineering. Those who prevailed and eventually won over the others were the ones who wanted not to destroy the human race, but to continue learning from it even as they dominated it. After three straight days of fighting and proving that they could destroy the remaining humans, the Cylons made the overture for a truce to offer the government on Caprica the chance to surrender. Their offer was accepted.
- Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War.
.
When Lee left John Gallagher asleep in his quarters, he went to the CIC and asked his father if he had an assignment for him. He was getting tired of hanging around the CIC all day. He wanted to do something, anything to get his mind off what was happening.
Fortunately his father had already figured that out. He sent him down to the Communications Center and Mail Room to see how everything worked there.
When he arrived at the Comm Center, the lieutenant in charge called a young ensign over and asked her to show Lee around.
She introduced herself as Ensign Merric. She was petite and had honey-blond wavy hair that she had tamed into a ponytail. Her eyes were blue-gray and there was a very light dusting of freckles over her nose and into her cheeks. She wasn't wearing any makeup. Lee thought she was one of the cutest girls he had ever seen. She reminded him in some ways of his girlfriend, and he suddenly felt guilty for even thinking that she was cute. What was wrong with him?
She kept calling him Mr. Adama. He kept telling her it was Lee. When the lieutenant left to go get coffee, she started calling him Lee and told him to call her Blaire. She took her time explaining how personnel could make ship-to-ship calls throughout the fleet and ship-to-shore calls back to the planets.
She struggled with her words several times during her explanation about the ship-to-shore calls. Even if such calls were being allowed now, how many of the ship's personnel had somewhere to call? Lee could tell this was personal for her. Finally he told her to stop, that he got it. She nodded and seemed grateful. They moved on then to the Mail Room and she showed him how everything worked there even though the mail runs weren't possible either. When she got through with her tour, it was time for lunch and she asked him if he wanted to go with her. Without any hesitation, he said yes.
They talked about where they had grown up, Libran for her and Caprica for him. About what they liked in school and the sports they had played. She told him about how she had gone to Officer's Candidate School when she finished high school, how she was nineteen and had been on the Galactica only two months. She finally told him that she had a boyfriend back on Libran.
"I mean I used to have," she said quietly.
He told her about his girlfriend being on Gemenon and saw the sympathy in her eyes.
Finally he told her that he thought she had a lot of courage.
"I'm an ensign in the Colonial Fleet," was the way she answered him.
For just a few seconds he saw tears well up in her eyes, but she fought them down. She was brave. He'd never thought about courage in quite that way before. Courage wasn't just launching in a Viper to fight Cylon Raiders. Courage was everyone on the Galactica who was doing his or her job just like Blaire was doing.
On his way back to the CIC after lunch, he realized that he wanted to see her and talk to her again. He liked her. He suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss her. That made him feel guilty. What was wrong with him? He'd just been talking about his girlfriend and now he was thinking about kissing Blaire and even... Man, he had to get thoughts like that out of his head.
He spent the afternoon in the CIC with his father, waiting like they had for the last several days. Word finally came that the battlestars were to remain in position above Caprica. The President wasn't willing to let enough of them go to meet the Cylons with an effective force. His military advisors felt like it would be a sure way to get the battlestars destroyed and would leave Caprica virtually unprotected.
"So we wait," Bill said.
Late in the afternoon Lee went back to his quarters. He planned to go in quietly and lie in his bunk and read until the evening meal. He didn't know how long Gallagher would sleep, but he didn't want to wake him up.
When he got back to his quarters, he saw that someone had left a pair of boots outside the door. Why would someone put a pair of boots outside his door? They were definitely too small for him.
Picking them up, he quietly opened the door and went inside. The light was on but dimmed and it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust from the brighter lights in the corridor.
"You frakking idiot," a female voice said, "Don't you know what boots outside a door means?"
He looked in the direction of the voice. Dr. Cottle's medical technician, the girl he had called Lissa was in John Gallagher's bunk. Her dark hair was down around her shoulders and he saw her naked back. Fortunately the blanket was draped over the rest of her. Her clothes were on the floor.
"Easy, Lissa," Gallagher said. "He probably didn't know what boots outside a door meant before, but he's sharp. I'm sure he knows now."
"I'll go," Lee said starting to back up.
Lissa said, "No, I'm leaving. I got what I came for." She leaned over and kissed the captain. "Sorry I woke you up, John."
"I'm not," Gallagher said.
Lissa kissed him again before she glanced over her shoulder at Lee. "Don't open that door, just turn around."
His face burning with embarrassment Lee did as she said, but as he turned, he saw her throw back the blanket. She was completely naked. He heard the rustle of clothes being picked up from the floor and the quiet sound of someone dressing. He stayed where he was with his back turned, staring at the door, until she reached around him and got her boots out of his hand. She sat down at the small table to put them on.
Lee turned around. Gallagher was dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt and was standing by the bunk. When Lissa stood up, she took her hair clip from the table, twisted her hair and clipped it up. Then she went over to Gallagher and put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. She seemed to want to continue the kiss longer than the captain did.
"Easy, sugar. You're about to get me going again and make me embarrass myself in front of the commander's son."
Gallagher's words had the desired effect on Lissa.
She let him go. "Later, then?"
Gallagher smiled at her and winked. "You can count on it."
When she was gone, he sat down at the table, yawned and rubbed the side of his face that wasn't hurt. "Damn, I want a cigarette."
"You want me to go get some from Doc Cottle?"
"I've got some in my bag. I'm just not going to smoke in here since I know you don't. But thanks for the offer."
"I don't mind," Lee said, even though he really did.
"I need to quit. Now's as good a time as any. My daughter doesn't like it."
Lee found he couldn't look at the captain. "I'm sorry about walking in on you and Lissa. My timing sucked."
"Not really. Actually you did me a favor. Lissa was already getting geared up for round two when you walked in. Hell, I'm pushing forty. It takes me longer than ten minutes between times now, especially when I'm this tired."
Lee found that thinking about what Lissa and the captain had just done coupled with the brief glimpse he had gotten of her naked body was having an effect on him. Talk about embarrassing yourself. He sat down quickly in the chair on the other side of the table.
Gallagher didn't appear to notice. "You're seventeen. You don't have a clue what I'm talking about. At your age I didn't either. And I know, it's my own fault. She's very pretty and I was coming on to her down there in Sick Bay. Put me on a battlestar and I just slip right back into my old habits."
"You only met her this morning."
"I guess that was this morning wasn't it?" He yawned again.
"How can you…I mean…so soon? You don't even know each other."
"Uh-oh." Gallagher sounded amused. "Do you have a problem with my morals, or are you just a romantic soul who believes you need to be in love before you share a bunk with someone for a really nice half-hour?"
"I guess I feel like you need to care something about each other before you…do something like that."
"Lee, there's nothing in this universe better than sharing something like that with a woman you love. Absolutely nothing. But if you make being in love a hard and fast rule at this point, considering we're at war, you may never experience it again. Believe me, even without love, sometimes it isn't half-bad."
"So she was okay with what you did?"
Gallagher sounded even more amused. "Most of the time a request for an encore means yes."
"So are you going to?"
"Like I just said, we're at war. When you don't know if you're maybe five minutes away from being on the wrong end of a missile, you tend to do things you might otherwise not do. I was happy to help her out. Believe me. I got something out of it, too."
Lee suddenly decided to tell the captain what he hadn't been able to tell his father. "My girlfriend was on Gemenon when the Cylons attacked." He swallowed hard. "She's dead now."
"I'm sorry, Lee. I really am."
To his surprise he heard genuine sympathy in Gallagher's voice.
"I hadn't seen her since the beginning of the summer. We never…she wasn't ready to do anything before she left for Gemenon. I wanted to but…we never…"
"It's okay. I know what you're saying."
Talking to Gallagher was getting easier. It seemed like he really understood. Lee had wanted to talk to someone for several days, especially now that he had met Blaire, and he didn't think his father would understand or even care.
He went on. "Today when I was down in the Comm Center, a really cute girl showed me around. I…I started thinking about...I shouldn't have, but I was thinking about…about…you know."
"There's nothing wrong with thinking about sex. Hell, Lee, you're a male teenager. I'd probably worry more about you if you said you weren't thinking about it. But understand that thinking about it and acting on those thoughts are two entirely different things. You don't need to feel guilty for thinking about it."
"I don't?"
"No, you don't. You think she's interested in you?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure. She lost her boyfriend on Libran. I don't know what to do. I don't know how she feels about seeing me again. I think she might be interested, but I don't know."
"Are you asking me for my advice?"
Lee nodded.
"What did she say when you two parted company?"
"She said she was glad she had gotten to show me around the Comm Center and that she hoped she'd see me around soon."
"Remember what I just said about being at war. She's interested. Ball's in your court now."
"I couldn't."
Gallagher grinned. "Yeah, you could. That doesn't mean you should, but you could. Take my word on that. You're the only one who can make that decision, though. Didn't you and your dad ever have any kind of talk about this stuff? I don't want to go stepping on his area of responsibility. He and I might have some real differences of opinion. He'll most likely tell you to keep it in your pants until you get married. I'm not exactly a poster boy for chaste behavior when it comes to a pretty woman who's interested in my company…as you've just witnessed. You'd probably do better listening to your dad."
Lee frowned. "Are you kidding me? He's always been more interested in commanding a battlestar than being a father. And he'd be a real hypocrite if he told me to keep it in my pants until I got married. He sure didn't and you're looking at the result. I'm not supposed to know that, but I do. He and I…we aren't really that close. I didn't even feel like telling him about my girlfriend. Mostly he treats me like I'm still a kid. He doesn't have a frakking clue what my life's been like."
"That's too bad. Okay, since I'm old enough to be your father, and since it looks like you might be headed in a certain direction with a young woman on board ship, I'll go the rest of the way with the father-son talk. No, let's not call it father-son. I'm not comfortable with that since you've got a father. Let's say older brother talk. These are the rules I live by when it comes to women. The only time I've gotten into trouble is when I've ignored one of them. First and most important, don't ever count on the girl…or a war…to take care of birth control for you. You need to learn early on to be responsible for that yourself."
"I didn't count on…when I came on board the Galactica I never thought…I don't have anything with me. I mean nothing's going to happen anyway, but if it did…"
"Right over there on the shelf above my bunk. You get that far with this girl then feel free to help yourself. From now on, don't leave home without them. Rule number two. Always please your partner. If you don't think you can get there together, you take care of her first. If you can't figure out what she likes, don't be afraid to ask. Chances are she'll be glad to let you know."
"Really?"
"Rule three, never go after a friend's girlfriend or fiancé…or wife…ever. I don't care if you think she's the hottest woman in the universe. She's not worth losing your friend over. And if she comes after you, you don't want her anyway. She'll do the same thing to you someday. And the last rule I'll mention, never pick up a woman when you're drunk. It tends to make you forget rules one through three. So go to bars and drink with your buddies all you want, but if you plan to pick up a woman, stay reasonably sober."
"Did you, uh, did you learn all this from experience?"
"Mostly. You're a smart guy, Lee. You'll learn, too. And if you'll pay attention to the four things I just mentioned, you won't have to learn the hard way like I did. Basically what it comes down to is this. Never take advantage of a woman, especially one that's had too much to drink. Never lie to one just to get in her pants. It's not worth it. A nice looking guy like you is going to have a lot of opportunities. Don't let that go to your head. And one day, the gods willing, you'll meet a woman and lose your heart and if she loves you in return, then you'll know just how really good it can be."
"Did you ever meet anybody like that?"
"My daughter's mother. And before you judge me for what just happened with Lissa, that had nothing to do with what I feel for Kara's mother. Somebody as pretty as Lissa shows up wanting something like that from me, she's not going to have to ask twice considering we might die any time. But my heart wasn't involved in what Lissa and I just did."
"How long did it take you to figure all this out?"
He smiled. "Who said I have it all figured out? I'm still learning. The four rules I just gave you are the only ones that are never subject to change. Now I'm going to go get another shower and shave. Then maybe you want to go with me to get something to eat. Damn, I'm hungry. After that I want to talk to your father again about letting me leave. My daughter's waiting for me."
After Gallagher left, Lee sat at the table and tried to imagine having that same conversation with his father. The more he thought about it, the funnier it got. He could not imagine Bill Adama talking openly about sex with him and also giving him advice about birth control and pleasing your partner…plus offering to share his condoms. His father was obviously not acquainted with the concept of taking responsibility for birth control…at least he hadn't been eighteen years ago.
Lee was glad he was through laughing before the captain got back from his shower. Since Gallagher didn't know his father, he really didn't want to explain what was so funny.
They were just getting ready to leave for the mess hall when the phone buzzed. It was the commander asking Lee to bring the captain to his quarters.
Gallagher was happy. "Maybe I'll be on my way back to Caprica soon."
Adama's news was not what he wanted to hear.
"The authorities on Caprica have asked us to hold Zarek and his men until such time as they can be turned over to the civilian authorities. No surprise there. And I've had you checked out. You have an impeccable commercial flight record and an impressive number of decorations from the First Cylon War."
Gallagher smiled and looked toward the display case in the Commander's quarters. "Not as many as you have."
"I got lucky."
"Okay, I'll pretend I believe that. What about my daughter and her friend?"
"I've had somebody working on that. It took a while, but he finally got in touch with the detective who's in charge of your friend's murder investigation. The call to the emergency number was placed by what sounded like a young male. When the police got to the airport, though, there was no one there. There was evidence that they had been there. The police found some abandoned backpacks. He said it looked like someone had cut some blond hair in one of the restrooms. Also there was a map missing from the bulletin board in your friend's office. But no boy and girl. They searched the woods around the field and found nothing. We asked him to be on the lookout for them. Told him that the girl's father was safe on board the Galactica and to tell her when they were found. We just heard back from him. Nothing yet. They're going to keep looking, though."
"That's all the more reason I need to get down there."
"My news gets worse. We've intercepted some communications between the basestars. Something's going to happen, probably soon. All traffic on and off Caprica has been stopped. I'm sorry."
Gallagher thanked the commander for his efforts and turned around and left. Lee looked at his father.
"Go with him," Adama said.
For once Lee didn't need to ask why. Gallagher's disappointment was so evident even he could see it.
They went to the officer's mess. Lee watched the captain pick a table where four Viper pilots were sitting and ask if he could join them. He introduced himself and shook hands with all four of them. Then he introduced Lee. By now everyone had heard about Zarek and the hijacked ship and knew who Gallagher was.
Lee was so excited to be sitting with four, no make that five, Viper pilots that he could hardly eat.
In between bites Gallagher asked the pilots questions about the Mark V and VI Vipers. He told them he had flown the Mark II. Soon they were talking about the First Cylon War. By the time they had finished eating, Gallagher had taken the salt and pepper shakers from several tables and was using them as Raiders and Vipers, showing the pilots some of the basic Cylon moves since none of the current pilots had ever gone up against a Cylon Raider before outside of a simulator.
Within ten minutes there were a dozen pilots gathered around the table. Most of them were asking questions. Not long after that another pilot came up. "CAG would like to see you, sir, if you don't mind."
Gallagher nodded and looked at Lee as he got up. "Spend some time with your new friend. I may be late getting back to the room."
Lee finally found Ensign Merric's quarters. She was bunked in with a lot of other ensigns. He asked a woman on her way in if she would ask Blaire to come outside. A few minutes later Blaire opened the hatch door. She looked both surprised and happy.
They walked up to the observation deck but found that it was closed by the commander's orders. The hatch was sealed. They wandered down toward the hangar deck. Several times her hand bumped his as they walked. Finally he just took her hand and they continued walking. She had heard about the Cylon basestars, but they didn't talk about it. Instead they talked about high school and their various extra-curricular activities. She's had almost as many as he had.
He finally got up the nerve to ask her if she would like to go back to his quarters. She said yes.
They sat at the table and talked for a while. She was the one who finally made the move. She came around and sat on his lap and kissed him. It was awkward at first, but it got better.
She was the one, too, who took off her boots and put them outside the door. "I see you've got a bunkmate. We don't want him walking in on us."
"No, we don't want that," Lee answered, the memory of his blunder that afternoon still fresh in his mind.
He turned the lights down. At the last minute he remembered what the captain had offered and just grabbed the whole box from the shelf over Gallagher's bunk.
The first time was over too quickly and afterward she cried. She said she was sorry, that it had nothing to do with him and he believed her. He knew she was probably thinking about her boyfriend. The second time was better, especially for her. He was learning what she liked. The third time was really good for both of them, so good he could hardly believe he had just met her that morning.
When she got up and started getting dressed, he did too. He walked with her back to her quarters. Outside the door they kissed gently and it wasn't the least bit awkward any more. He told her she was beautiful. She told him she would never forget him or how nice he was to her. He finally understood that she thought they were all going to die.
When he got back to his quarters, Gallagher was in his bunk. Lee took the box of condoms from his shelf and put them back on Gallagher's shelf. Gallagher put the book he was reading down on his chest.
"I saw the boots," he said. "I walked down to the hangar deck and hung out with the crew."
"Thanks…for everything."
"Sure."
Lee went to the showers and when he returned, he got into his bunk and switched off his light.
"What did the CAG want?"
"Your father had told him that I flew a Viper during the First War. Commander Adama either thought I could help or thought I needed something to do. Anyway, Major Spencer and I looked at the footage that the other battlestars relayed during the last week. The Cylons have learned a few new tricks, but most of the moves are still the ones they were using before. Then Spencer called the pilots into the ready room. I talked to them, pointed out a few things in the film footage for them to watch for and answered a lot of questions. Most of them just wanted to see that someone had survived going up against their Raiders…even if it was the old ones."
"I'm sure you helped."
"I hope so."
"You know you were right."
"About?"
"About everything you said earlier. About sharing a bunk with someone and not having to be in love. So thanks again."
"You okay with it?"
"I'm fine. She was, too. We may die tomorrow or the next day. We both know that. She's not my girlfriend and I'm not her boyfriend, but we were okay with it. I didn't think it could be like that, but it was…really good."
"Then it's mostly you who gets the credit. All I contributed were a few words of advice and a condom."
"Uh, well, actually you contributed three."
Gallagher started laughing. "Damn, you just made me feel old."
"Sorry."
Gallagher was still laughing. "Don't be. Three. Damn. Remind me to keep my daughter away from you."
"Captain Gallagher?"
"Call me John."
"John, what color is Kara's hair?"
"Blond like her mother's. Why?"
"Just curious. Does she like sports?"
"She's one of the best soccer players I've ever seen. Even when she was just a little thing if she ever got lined up on the goal, she'd nail it every time. And I'd put her up against almost anybody on a skateboard. She doesn't know the meaning of fear."
"She sounds like she's something special."
"She is. I might also mention here that anybody who touches her before she's eighteen is a dead man."
"Too bad. She sounds like my kind of girl."
"Lee, she's thirteen years old. Am I going to have to get out of this comfortable bunk and come over there and kick your ass?"
He could tell Gallagher was trying hard not to laugh.
"I hope not. So when I meet your beautiful, blond, athletic daughter, you just keep reminding me of that."
"You can count on it." Gallagher waited a couple of moments. Then he said, "Three. Damn." This time he did laugh.
...
That was the last time either of them had the opportunity to talk for quite a while.
The Cylons jumped into space near them at 06:00 the next morning.
Based on intercepted communications they'd been at Condition One for over an hour.
They would stay at Condition One until a truce was declared seventy-two hours later to discuss the terms of the surrender of the last remaining Colony to the Cylons.
The Galactica was one of only a few battlestar that hadn't lost most of her Vipers to the Cylons. They'd lost less than half.
By then, though, it didn't matter.
With six basestars in position to destroy the planet, the war was over.
They had lost.
