Rene thought about sitting down on the floor of the decon chamber, but wasn't sure if she would be able to get back up. She settled for leaning against the wall and drowsed briefly while waiting for the decon cycle to end. She wanted to pop another stim, but knew she'd already swallowed too many in the last cycle and her racing heart couldn't take more. She checked her pulse, not liking how quick and jumpy it was. Her head hurt as well, a sharp pain that was jabbing the back of her eyeballs and threatening to stab through her temples. She wasn't sure if it was just the stress of the mission, or if it was the effects of jumping. "Probably a wicked combo," she thought to herself as the doors opened to decon. "One foot in front of the other until I reach Starbuck." She repeated her mantra until she found the corridor she needed.
She walked into the Life Center, briefly scanning the room with two purposes. She needed to see Starbuck, to see for her own eyes that he was fine, like they promised her he would be. But she also needed to find where they kept the intravenous medications. She was exhausted and feeling the effects of the jumping so many times. She was hoping whatever Med Tech that was on duty would be reasonable, otherwise Rene knew things could get ugly. She wasn't in any condition to deal with an objection.
She found Starbuck easily as he was the only patient in a bio bed. She expected to find him unconscious and looking pale and bloody, the way she had left him.
Instead she found him wide awake, propped up chatting amiably with Cassiopeia, not a tube in sight. He nearly glowed as he saw it was Rene who had entered the Life Center and flashed her his million cubit smile.
"Rene! How did it go? How much fuel did you get us?"
Rene walked over and was pleased to see that Cassiopeia moved away to give them some privacy.
"Hey handsome." Rene tried to smile despite the fatigue and realized it must come off a bit skewed as Starbuck's smile slipped too quickly as worry crossed his features. "Three for you, one for me. I have to get the Zakar going, after all. Can't give you a ship with an empty tank. That wouldn't be a proper gift, now would it?" She winked at him to try to reassure him.
"Four tankers? You got back, just now?" Starbuck said, looking to her bloody uniform, indicating the stains. "All mine I hope?"
"Yeah, it is. I'm fond enough of my own to keep it all to myself. You really are okay?"
"Better than new. Just going to be a bit bruised and they claim I can't smoke those heavenly fumarellos of yours for a while."
"Just leaves more for me I suppose," she said trying her smile again as she leaned heavily against his biobed.
"You didn't let Apollo and Boomer go back with you. You took too big a risk. I was worried."
Rene just shrugged, thinking he might be right, but it was over and done with and the only one hurt so far was Starbuck. If he launched into a lecture about risk taking, the evidence would be against him not her.
"You okay?" Starbuck asked, noting she offered no rebuttal to his argument.
"I will be. Just tired. Long day. I was worried about you."
"Thanks by the way. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you." Starbuck reached for her hand.
"Well, you wouldn't have gotten hurt if it weren't for me. I told you to stay behind."
"That's not the deal. Where you go, I go." Starbuck felt her hand tremble. "You're as pale as a ghost. You okay?"
"I'm supposed to be asking you that." She winked at him, then looked up to scan the room again, noting the cabinets across the room that might hold what she needed were unfortunately behind the med tech station. She looked back down to Starbuck. "Don't scare me like that again, okay?"
He squeezed her hand and felt it shake within his grasp. "If you'll stop scaring me. You can't do this all on your own. That was insanity down there."
Rene didn't have the energy to argue with him, and the proof of her ability was still sitting in the Galactica's landing bay. She felt her eyes close. It took an effort to open them when Starbuck squeezed her hand.
"You should go get some sleep."
Rene nodded, "Soon, just have to take care of something." She smiled at him again, as she pulled her hand away. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she walked toward the med tech station and Cassiopeia. She heard Starbuck say something to her, but she couldn't make out what it was through the haze of her fatigue. Halfway to her destination, she casually drew her laser, letting it dangle at her side.
"Hey, Cassiopeia, right? I need a favor. Potassium chloride in a dextrose/saline intravenous. Please."
Cassie blinked. "Excuse me? Why would you need that?"
"Look, it's been a long day. I'm asking nicely, please."
"Is that why your laser's drawn, because you're asking nicely?" Cassie said pointing out her weapon, while also noting that the hand holding the blaster was shaking.
"It's not pointed at you, so yeah, I'm asking nicely. Look, if you don't want to do it fine, just let me have the bag. I'll do it myself." Rene raised the weapon slightly.
Cassie regarded the girl before her. She was pale with dark circles bruising her eyes. Her uniform was still smeared with Starbuck's blood, now dried a deep rust trailing down her chest to her legs. It appeared to be an effort for Rene to stand up straight, and her shoulders were shaking. Cassie lowered her voice so Starbuck would not hear. "Rene, there's something you and I need to talk about first. You shouldn't be flying. I should be assessing you before any medication."
Rene violently cut her off. "No! There are some facts I need to be ignorant of right now. Ignorance is bliss. I can't deal with it. Not now. Too many other lives are depending on me, two hundred and twenty thousand to one. One that might not make it anyway." Rene closed her eyes and willed the tremor in her spine to stop. She breathed deeply before looking to the Med Tech and going on. "If you want it to have a chance, please, potassium chloride in dextrose/saline." Rene raised her weapon a little higher, tilting it toward Cassiopeia rather than at the ground. The weapon shook slightly as Rene moved her fingers to make sure it was on stun, not kill.
Cassiopeia didn't like the idea, but realized that the cocktail of choice would probably do more good than harm, replacing vital electrolytes that intense physical exertion naturally drained from the body. Plus once hooked up to an IV, she would have the girl somewhat captive and might be able to complete a full scan on her and alert Dr. Salik to the situation.
"Any particular dose of potassium chloride? Or concentration of dextrose/saline?"
That seemed to stun the warrior for a brief moment, before she smiled grimly and replied casually, "Whatever you have most of."
Cassie turned to the cabinets behind her and found the fluids.
"Over here. I'd like you to sit down please and remove your jacket." Cassie watched as Rene shuffled towards the nearest bio bed and struggled to hop up on it. Rene didn't holster her weapon, instead setting it on the bed beside her as she struggled out of her stiff dirty jacket. Cassie considered simply taking the weapon from her. Rene didn't look like she could put up much of a struggle, but Cassie thought better of it at the moment as her nurturing nature overrode any need for safety. Cassie didn't need a med scan to know Rene's heart was racing. She could see it pounding in Rene's neck, and her breath was slow and labored. Cassie raised the left cuff of Rene's uniform, palpating the thread pulse, before cleaning the site and deftly inserted the IV. She asked, "What happened?"
Rene hissed at the sting of the potassium more than the initial poke of the needle. "I think I found the limit. In case Jake asks, it's eight."
"Eight what? Tankers of fuel?" Cassie asked.
"What's going on?" Starbuck tried to ask casually as he propped himself up for a better view. "Rene? What are you doing?"
Rene didn't answer. She didn't even have the energy to plead with Cassiopeia to reassure Starbuck. She spent what little energy she had left trying to slow her heart rate and still the shakes that threatened to take control.
"She's just dehydrated Starbuck, and hasn't eaten for probably a cycle. Just giving her some nutrients."
"Rene?" Starbuck debated leaving his bed to come to her. "She doesn't look so good, Cass…"
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Rene shot back, certain she could hear the rustle of his movement. She looked up and tried to reassure him. "It will be okay, Starbuck. Stay in bed."
"It's that…that vortex isn't it? I felt it. Thought my insides were going to end up on the outside on my way back. What does it do?"
"Just speeds things up a little. Takes a lot of you, that's all. Never been through that many times. Think I found the limit." She tried to flash him a smile, but it was weak and vague.
Starbuck saw her smile drop completely and turned to see the Life Center doors open and Commander Adama striding into the room. Adama didn't stop to check on Starbuck as he walked determinedly to Rene.
"It is time for some answers, Lieutenant. What was that we witnessed?" Adama ordered.
Rene reached up to remove the IV bag from the stand. She held it in her left hand, as she tried to holster her weapon with her right. It took her two tries to get her weapon secure, before she slid from the bio bed to her feet.
Adama wanted to put aside his command for a moment, to ask if the Lieutenant was okay, but he had other concerns that needed to be addressed. Plus he briefly wondered if all this was just a ploy, a play on their sympathy, from the blood stained uniform to the stop at the life center before the bridge as ordered. Adama looked to Cassiopeia instead, knowing the med tech would indicate if the situation were dire. Cassiopeia caught the glance and nodded, an indication to go ahead with his questioning.
"Lieutenant, now!" Adama barked.
"No." Rene straightened as best she could.
"No?" Adama asked incredulously.
Rene leveled her gaze at him, her face a defiant mask, the arm holding the IV bag dropping against her will. "No."
"Lieutenant. You are going to answer my questions, here and now!"
"Or what? What will you do?" She angrily challenged. "Throw me in the brig and we're done. Hurt me and…Hades, you already took my father, my brother, my world. What more can you do to me? You break me, all you get is something broken."
"Rene it's not like that here," Starbuck seemed to beg, tossing aside his covers to come manage the situation.
"No, Starbuck," she said to stop him. "This is the only chit I have to bargain with. I need this capstone, and I'm saving it." She thought about walking away from them, but was unsure if she could keep her feet beneath her. "I brought you three tankers full of fuel. You should be thanking me, not yelling at me!"
Her hand dropped below waist level, and blood began backfilling its way up the tubing.
"Lieutenant…Rene…" Adama softened his tone. "We need to know what that was. Is it a threat to us? Do the Cylons know how to use it?"
"How's it feel Commander not knowing? To be out of control? Sucks, doesn't it?" she sneered.
Adama was taken aback by her response. He remained silent, a skill he'd learned from experience with hot headed reckless pilots.
"That's how I feel every day. Every single day since I came squalling into this universe, and now I have one thing I can control. I am not going to give that up!"
Starbuck came to stand by the Commander, feeling vulnerable covered in bandages and wearing only his briefs, but hoping his presence might bring Rene to reason. He ignored the stabbing pain beneath his bandage and the weakness that suffused his limbs. "Rene, come on. We're on your side here. We need to know what that was."
"My side? How many years of servitude is that going to cost me for my safety? How many duties and details will that be? What's the quota, Starbuck?" She went to take a step and felt her knees weaken. She reached back to the bio bed to steady herself, dropping the IV bag on the surface.
Starbuck stepped towards her prompting Rene to fumble for her weapon. He stopped and held out his hands, "Easy Rene…You're safe here."
"Like my father was safe in the service, like my brother was safe? Like we were all supposed to be on Caprica?" She directed her glare at Adama, "How much more do you want to take from me?"
Without her hand supporting her on the bed, Rene's knees went out from under her and she slid down the side of the bed. She dropped her hand to the floor to catch herself, panicked and breathing hard. Both Adama and Starbuck moved to go to her. She tried to scramble backwards while still trying to draw her weapon, her IV pulling out in the commotion. Blood ran down her arm. Her boots slipped harmlessly on the floor, and the bio bed against her back prevented her from getting anywhere.
