Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.
Chapter 12: The Guardian
Adama had the crew scan the area again for Cylon activity after Kara had left. The data reported nothing out of the ordinary, but the lack of activity only fueled his worry about possibly being a Cylon. Then he heard it again, the low-grade static. He looked over at Tigh.
"Saul, scan for low-grade static," he requested.
"Yes, sir," the colonel replied, turning his attention to his console.
While Tigh attempted to scan the area, Adama picked up another report to examine fleet supplies. Pencil in hand, he jotted down a few notes. Then his concentration shifted and he began doodling again. To Tigh, it looked as though the admiral was taking copious notes on something. "Admiral. Admiral," Tigh called.
Adama looked up. "Hmm?"
"We're still not picking up anything," the XO relayed.
The admiral nodded and glanced down at the folder he had been looking at. Binary code covered three entire pages. What the frak is going on? This is getting ridiculous. As he turned back to watching the viewscreen and the DRADIS, he hoped that Roslin's day had gone better than his.
Roslin entered the brig, followed by her security detail. Six looked up in surprise. Sonya stood and straightened her clothes. "Madame President, please tell me you have good news," Sonya requested.
The president folded her hands, files pressed in front of her. "Actually I need to ask you about that electronic pad the admiral had you look at. I found it… confusing why you were unable to translate the device. I mean, there are backdoors to almost anything and if you claim to know about computers, it simply struck me as odd. Why couldn't you translate it?"
Sonya took a deep breath and stepped back from the bars. "It's not that simple. I mean, in theory, you would be right, but not in this case. Whatever binary code that thing is using, it's different from ours."
"Are you really able to read binary code?" Roslin asked, standing directly in front of Sonya's cell.
"Yes," the small woman responded adamantly.
Roslin pulled a paper from the folder and handed it to her. "What is this then?"
Sonya's eyes ran back and forth over it a few times. Holding the paper, she sank down onto the bed in her cell. After a while, she looked up at the president. "I would need a pencil and paper to accurately explain this, but from what I see, this is some sort of command code."
"For what?" Six asked, intrigued by the conversation.
"You said it was a command code. Is it like a general system code, or a manual override of something?" Roslin probed.
Sonya shook her head. "'Command code' was the wrong word. I meant 'master code,' like the master key to a door. This paper is the master code for system access."
"Which system?" the president interrogated.
The small woman handed the paper back to Roslin. "I don't know."
Six moved closer to them. "I know you don't trust me, but may I see it?"
Roslin studied the tall blonde Cylon, her brow furrowing in scrutiny. Then she decided that it could not hurt and handed the paper over to her. Six read it and gasped. "Where did you get this?"
"I can't reveal that at the moment," Roslin replied. "Why?"
The Cylon sighed. "It was supposed to be a legend. This could only have come from the Guardian."
Roslin crossed her arms. "Please, elaborate."
Six walked from one end of the cell to the other. "The One from whom we all evolved had a plan. Though it was unclear of exactly what his plan was, all Cylons understand pieces of it. However, those pieces are open to interpretation. The humans are part of it, but it's vague. The Guardian is said to have been given the means to control the Cylons if the plan of the One has failed, or if the Cylons have rejected the plan."
The president contemplated her next question, careful not to say anything other than what she wanted to. "Is this 'Guardian' a Cylon?"
Six blinked. "I suppose it's logical that you would ask that. No, the Guardian is said to be one of the humans."
"What else?" Roslin probed, knowing that there was more to this legend.
"All of the Cylons are aware of the legend, but few believe it," the blonde Cylon mentioned.
Roslin walked the length of the brig before turning back. "So your creator used a human as a check to make sure his creation didn't get out of line?"
"Yes. The One also touched him so that the Guardian would not be far away and could watch the movements of the others."
"Touched him how?" Roslin interrogated.
Six sat down on the bed. "I don't know, but it was foretold that the Guardian would accompany the Final Five."
Roslin would have asked more, but one of her marines told her that Cottle had called for her. She held the phone in her hand. "I just called the admiral. His blood tests are finished and I thought you'd want to be up here when I tell him the results," Cottle informed her.
"Yes, doctor, I would. Thank you," she responded, leaving the brig.
As she entered Life Station, her gaze momentarily faltered upon seeing the admiral. I wonder how he'll take the news when I tell him what I've done this time, she thought to herself. He smiled politely at her, his brow furrowing in slight worry as he waited to hear what Cottle had to say.
She smiled back and then noticed the folder in his other hand. "How was your day?"
He glanced at the folder and sighed. "It could've gone better. Yours?"
"About the same. Kara broke it off with Anders, and I haven't seen Tory since," she remarked.
"Your aide went AWOL?" he asked with a smirk.
"You could say that. Where is Jack? I thought he had your results," Roslin mentioned.
Adama looked past the beds and the orderlies. "I think one of the interns called him away to look in on a surgery."
She followed his gaze. "That's understandable. Is Lee still here?"
"I think so," he responded. The admiral moved to where Lee had been earlier that morning and found his son sitting up, moving the ice pack on his head from one eye to the other.
"Mr. Adama, Vice president Zarek would like a word with you when you're up to it," Roslin began.
"Dad told me earlier. I've been thinking about it all day. Doc had me stay here so I wouldn't get into any more trouble," Lee admitted.
"Can you see?" Adama inquired.
"Not well, but it's only because I can't open my eyes wide enough," Lee paused, wanting clarity on a few things. "Dad, about the trial, I said things to you that I shouldn't have."
Adama patted his son's shoulder. "Regret goes both ways."
"I'm sorry," Lee responded.
"I know, and I forgive you. No matter what you do, you're still my son," Adama stated.
Lee smiled, moving the ice pack, attempting to blink so that he could see his father. The admiral was a fuzzy blob. "Thanks." Then he tried to look at the blur past his father. "Madame President, are you still there?"
She gave him a small smile. "Yes."
"How have you been? Dad said you weren't feeling well earlier this morning," Lee inquired.
Roslin raised an eyebrow at Adama, who simply shrugged. Then she turned back to Lee. "I'm alright."
Adama noticed the folder in her hand and wondered what she had left out, regarding her day. "Did you happen to learn anything else about the woman in the brig?"
She shifted from one foot to the other. "Not much. I did stop by to ask her about the translation. Apparently she can read binary code, but the setup of that device wasn't something she was used to. As much as I hate to suggest it, maybe we should have her working with Baltar to figure it out."
"Mind if I ask who's in the brig?" Lee probed.
The other two turned back to him, figuring that perhaps he would have a suggestion. "Sonya Getani. She claims to be knowledgeable about computers, but we can't seem to find much information on her. She said she was working with the barter system. Then Zarek found that she had been causing trouble at a casino before the attacks," Adama mentioned.
Lee thought for a moment. "Did you say 'Sonya Getani?'" Both nodded and he continued. "I've been keeping track of the Black Market's movements for a while now. After New Caprica, a new name showed up, Sonny Jets. Jets has been in charge of some of the Black Market exchanges."
"So you think that Getani might be Jets?" Roslin suggested.
"No one ever said whether Jets was a man or a woman, only that Jets is smart about the business," Lee explained.
Roslin patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you, Mr. Adama. You might have just given us a bit of leverage."
Lee smiled back, ignoring the painful stretching cut on his lip. "It feels good to be useful again."
From behind them, Roslin and Adama heard someone clearing his throat. "I see that you feel good enough to be social, Mr. Adama. So I suggest you get out of that bed so someone else can use it," Cottle groused.
"I guess that means I'm dismissed," Lee stated. He moved to the side of the bed and stood. "I haven't thanked Kara for dragging me in here yet."
At hearing another person enter Life Station, Adama glanced over his shoulder, seeing the blonde woman. "You can right now. Here she comes."
Kara strolled over toward Lee. "Admiral, Madame President," she greeted the other two before facing Lee. "I came by to make sure you were still in one piece."
"Thanks to you," he told her with an uncomfortable smirk.
She rolled her eyes. "Apollo, I swear if you go mushy on me, I will make sure you stay here for another day. Now I'm going to help you find your quarters so you don't walk out an airlock."
"Starbuck, I'm not blind, my eyes are swollen," Lee grumbled.
"Whatever. The Old Man will have my ass if you get lost on his ship. Let's go," she ordered, dragging him along by the arm.
Roslin giggled as they left. "Are you sure those two should be alone? He may wind up back her tomorrow if he gives her any arguments."
Adama chuckled, glancing at the vacated doorway. "She threatens, but I don't think she'd punch his lights out at the moment."
Cottle stepped over to them, holding a file as well. "Alright, if the comedy act is over, I've got some things we should discuss in my office," he began. They followed him and he continued. "I'm sorry about having you wait. I had a kidney surgery to look in on."
"You're a doctor first," Adama stated.
Opening the file, Cottle spread the graphs and charts out on his desk. "The good news is you're not a Cylon."
Roslin eyed him incredulously. "Are you implying that there could be bad news?"
"If I'm not a Cylon, then what's wrong?" Adama questioned.
Cottle sighed, showing them a sheet of figures and percentages, relating to the contents of the admiral's blood. "You're healthy. Too healthy. You have some extremely powerful antibodies that I don't think have always been there."
"He was in surgery after being shot. Didn't you see that then?" Roslin probed.
"They could have been there at that point, but we were only checking for infection at that time. I was a little busy trying to put him back together to worry about a good immune system," Cottle said gruffly.
Roslin raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that the antibodies were introduced into his blood?"
"It's a possibility. From what I can tell, they've been there for probably a good number of years, but he wasn't born with them. They aren't… I mean they correspond with his physiology, but they aren't his," Cottle tried to explain.
"Were they manufactured then?" Adama asked.
"Honestly I'm not sure. However, they function a little differently than your standard immune system. When people have organ transplants, the body's immune system can sometimes reject the organ. Your immune system acts like it's accepted something. What I'm guessing is that it all has something to do with that thing in your neck."
Adama's brow furrowed. "So Cylons hijacked my body, implanted a homing device, altered my immune system to accept it, and I don't remember any of it?"
Roslin gently touched his forearm. "It's possible that you were incapacitated at the time. What if your landing in that building during the first Cylon war didn't happen the way you think? We already know that the Cylons can implant people with different memories. Let's say, hypothetically, that you did land there, but something went wrong and you were hurt when you came through the ceiling. Let's say that the Hybrid you found wanted to repaired, so to speak, and used the opportunity to implant the tracking device."
"But why would…," he trailed off, noticing that she averted her eyes. "Laura, what do you know?"
She took a deep breath, looking back up at him. "I… did something you're probably not going to like. I took your doodle with me to the brig."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"We needed answers," she remarked as they sat in two plastic chairs while Cottle stood.
Will we always do things behind each other's backs? I don't like it, but I can't be upset with her, considering that I gave Baltar something to do before asking her. He set his file on his lap and folded his hands in front of him. "You and I need to communicate better."
"Yes, Admiral, we do," she responded.
"So what answers did you find?" he probed.
"Sonya said that the doodle was a master code of sorts, but she didn't know what it was for. Six looked at it and said it came from the Guardian," Roslin began.
Adama rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Here we go again, more Cylon fiction."
Roslin shook her head. "Actually I think she may be on to something." She went on to explain Six's legend. "And the Guardian is supposed to be a human."
He leaned back in the chair, taking a deep breath. "You sure you can believe anything she says? And you were worried about my proximity to Kara. I remember you telling me that you've shared dreams with this particular Cylon. How can you trust her?"
She sighed, looking out. "I can't, but I also can't ignore an explanation that makes sense."
"See if she can make sense of this," Adama commented, handing Roslin the folder from his lap.
Flipping it open, she found the three pages of binary code. "When did you do this?"
"In CIC. I heard the low-grade static again and then I had three pages of that," he admitted.
"Whatever's going on, I'm starting to think we're in over our heads this time," Roslin commented.
Cottle snorted and the other two looked over at him, having forgotten that he was there. "Wouldn't be the first time. Bill, about the tracking device, I've got a few ideas. Since it was activated by a sound, maybe we can deactivate it if we can find, or mimic, the exact opposite sound."
Adama blinked in surprise. "It's worth a try," he said before looking to Roslin again. "Did you have plans for dinner?"
She dealt him a half-smile. "Only if you're offering to cook."
Cottle cleared his throat. "Well, I've got other patients to tend to. And Bill, remember what I told you earlier this morning."
"We'll see," Adama responded.
As he and Roslin stepped outside of Life Station and into the hall, she eyed him curiously. "What did he tell you?"
"Only that I should keep an eye on you," the admiral replied.
They reached his quarters and she slid out of her shoes, heading for the couch. She folded her jacket and draped it over one arm of the couch, then closed her eyes and leaned back for a moment. Adama set his file on the desk and then went to retrieve hers to move it out of the way. "Long day?" he asked.
She sighed, not opening her eyes. "They're all long."
He watched as her expression scrunched slightly and her brow crinkled before she shifted position. "I know Lee asked you, but I'm going to ask again. How are you really?"
Her eyes opened and she looked at him before answering. "I'm tired and sore."
"Can I get you anything?" he asked, stepping closer to her.
"Just tea, please," she responded, smiling warmly.
While he headed to the kitchen, she reached into her jacket pocket to remove a familiar small brown bag. When he returned with a teacup on a saucer, she poured a few ounces of a powdery substance into it. Then she noticed that he had left a spoon in the tea. I suppose it was silly to think that I could ever fool him, she mused as she stirred her tea. After a couple of sips, she realized that he was watching her.
"Does it really help?" he inquired.
She sighed, looking into her tea cup, almost as if she could read the future at the bottom. "It dulls the pain and it creates a feeling between relaxation and euphoria. But of course there are side affects."
As she set the cup down on its saucer for a moment, he rested a hand on her forearm. "You feel up to eating?"
A small smile graced her features. "Actually yes. What did you have in mind?"
There was a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Tonight I think I'll surprise you."
"Oh dear, should I call Jack?" she teased.
He chuckled. "Wait and see."
She elected to take a nap and let him cook. Stretching out on the couch, she noticed the dog lying in the floor before she drifted off to sleep. The movement of a hand gently cupping her face roused her later. "Mmm, how long was I out?" she asked, looking up at Adama.
"Only about half an hour. Dinner's ready," he explained as she sat up.
They sat side by side on the couch, the dog resting on her feet. Dinner consisted of green roll-like shapes backed to have a flaky crust, filled with something that almost tasted like cheese. "You've done it again, Bill, dinner is terrific," she relayed with a smile.
He took a bite. "I'm glad you like it."
Enjoying their dinner in companionable silence for a while, Roslin's mind drifted back over the events of the day. "I realize that she is likely going to cause us trouble, but I really think that we should have Getani work with Baltar. She's too bright to stay in the cell. We could have a marine watch her at all times."
Adama set his plate on the coffee table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "The trouble is that I don't have an infinite number of marines. We've got one watching each of the four newest Cylons, then we have one trailing Baltar, and you want me to use another one to watch that woman."
Roslin thought for a moment. "You had a guard watching Lee and Kara, right? Since no one is in that part of the brig at the moment, couldn't you have that guard watch Getani?"
He considered her suggestion, taking a sip of water. "We could try that for a while. There is another problem though. Since she works with the Black Market, they'll want her back soon."
"You know where I stand on it, but from what you've told me, it's a necessary evil," she stated dryly. The she stood, watching as the dog left her feet and sat by Adama's desk. Then she walked over to Adama and leaned down. "I should go. Goodnight, Bill."
She kissed him warmly. He returned the kiss and rose, catching one of her hands in his. "Jack wants me to keep an eye on you."
"So you've told me," she countered.
"What I didn't tell you was that he recommended you stay here. Look, you can have the bed and I'll take the couch," he explained.
She crossed her arms. "How chivalrous of you. Bill, I will not be coddled."
He stepped closer to her. "It's just until you feel better. I don't-"
"You don't get it," she stated, backing away, inching toward the hatch. She glanced down, keeping a few tears at bay. The sadness was still etched into her face though as she looked back at him. "There is no 'better.' And I will not spend whatever time I have left, being treated as an invalid, or a child," she told him quietly.
Then she turned and opened the hatch, quickly slipping out into the hall. He moved quickly before she could disappear from this sight. "Laura. Laura that wasn't what I meant," he called after her, staying in pursuit
(My thanks to caramelapples, Mariel3, The Breeze, BossaNovaBaby24, Calico Star, max72, Ceridwyn2, carolann, Reagan, Leliana McKay, and murphycat for reviewing :D)