Consequence
Of Alliance
-Chapter 2-
Apollo relaxed on his back, gazing up at the stars and the vast expanse of space from the solitude of the celestial chamber. It was where he always went to think; his special, private place. Or at least it had been until one night, just under a secton ago, when he'd revealed its existence to Starbuck, Cassiopeia and Sheba. A small part of him felt remorse in sharing his secret place, but in light of the discovery they had made, he found he couldn't fully regret it. Besides, the expressions on their faces had been more than worth it. Especially Sheba. . .
Sheba. He knew he had been avoiding her since he got back, had tried not to think about her even. He couldn't deny it. But he just didn't know what to say when he saw her; how to tell her something he had tried for so long not to admit to himself, let alone anyone else. That was what he had been agonising over continually since he got back.
He let out an exasperated sigh. Why was it so difficult? Why couldn't he just look her in the eye and tell her he loved her. She had found the courage to say how she felt, so what was stopping him?
But he knew the answer.
The pain he had experienced when he lost Serina was something that he never, ever wanted to go through again. Not for anything or anyone. The thought of loving someone like that again scared him more than he cared to admit. Not to mention the fact that he had Boxey's feelings to consider.
Apollo shook his head angrily. He couldn't hide behind a little boy; couldn't hide behind anyone. She wouldn't accept that. Lords, he didn't even accept it. He wished someone could help him but there was no way he could tell anyone. Not Starbuck, not Athena, not even his father; he had to sort this one out by himself, however hard it was.
He sighed. Now that he was finally confessing to himself exactly how much he cared for her, he was realising, more and more, that he had loved Sheba for a very long time, and at the same time, had tried his best not to. Something inside him was terrified that if he admitted to caring for her at all, he would lose her as quickly as he had Serina.
He suddenly wished, wholeheartedly, that she were standing in front of him, even if only for a moment, so he could gaze into her dark brown eyes, and let her know what was really in his heart; what he was frightened to say out loud.
Apollo rose suddenly.
Frightened.
Scared.
Terrified.
He was becoming the one thing he detested most, save the Cylons. He refused to be a coward of any kind. He had avoided his feelings for far too long. It ended here. Life, as he had learned, was far too short. When Sheba returned from the prison barge, he would be waiting. . .
*~*
Starbuck trudged despondently along the corridor in the direction of the Life Station. Since he had left Apollo, he had been unable to think about anything other than his friend's unexplained onset of depression.
He had seen Apollo like this before, if he was angry or upset about something, but never after any kind of victory and never for any great length of time, save the period following Serina's death.
This was different.
As far as he could see, there was nothing apparent for his friend to be upset about, and that was what was bothering him. He needed someone else's opinion, someone that had experience with other people's thoughts and feelings.
He needed Cassiopeia.
*~*
When he entered the Life Station, Cassiopeia was tending to a patient, one of the casualties of the battle. He wasn't seriously hurt, just a few burns, but had been kept in for observation.
She looked up and smiled warmly as she saw Starbuck coming towards her. "Hi."
"Hey." He grinned back at her, his black mood lifting slightly at seeing her, as she finished with the patient. "You okay to talk?"
Cassi nodded and ushered him into a separate, unoccupied section of the Life Station. Most of the time, Starbuck was quite good at covering up his feelings, but this time, the look on his face told her immediately that something wasn't right.
A centon passed with Starbuck fidgeting, looking at the floor, unsure of how to begin.
"Starbuck, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing his difficulty.
He looked up at her and gave a wry smile. "That's what I was hoping you could tell me."
"What do you mean?" Cassiopeia looked puzzled. "Are you sick?"
He shook his head. "It's Apollo. He's. . . Lords, I don't know. Since we got back, it's like he's not been here. I'm worried about him, Cass. I thought he'd get over what was bothering him, but he's still withdrawn, distant, like his mind's somewhere else."
"Do you know why?"
He looked uncomfortable. "I, uh. . . I. . . I think it has something to do with. . . Sheba. I think something happened between them on that Raider, you know, after we left."
She nodded. "I think you're right. Something Sheba said as we watched you launch. I-"
"She's in love with him?"
Cassiopeia smiled slightly. "I think so." She paused, a pensive, questioning look coming over her face. "Does he love her?"
Starbuck looked wistful. "Yeah. I don't know if he knows it or not, but he does. Has for a long time. I just hope when the right moment comes, he can admit it to himself." He sighed. "And her."
*~*
Baltar ran along the twisting corridors, laser at the ready. He should be near the landing bay by now, he was certain. This was the way he had gone the last time; the last time, when he had been so near to escape, so close. He had the Council members as hostages, he had *Adama* as a hostage, and yet he had still failed. Apollo and Starbuck had seen to that.
He smiled. This time would be different, though. This time Apollo and Starbuck would not stop him; this time they weren't here. Instead, as he had learned from the guard, Adama had sent two others. A mistake that would be fatal for so many people, he'd make sure of it.
He slowed to a walk as he heard the chatter of conversation nearby. Ducking to the side, he waited until they rounded the corner, and fired. The four members of the ground crew fell. It was too easy. For a prison ship, security outwith the cell area was extremely lax. On his journey to the landing bay he had seen no one until now.
The traitor looked cautiously around the corner from his place in the shadows to find he had reached the bay. It was completely deserted save the shuttle and the pilot he knew would be inside. He would have to act quickly if he was to succeed. Someone was bound to find Jonas's body soon, despite his efforts to hide it, and Baltar's absence would, of course, be noticed.
He crept towards the safety of the shuttle's open door. Once he was inside he would be fine. As well as the ship, he'd have a hostage and Adama, he knew, would do nothing to jeopardise her life. That was where he had made his mistake the last time; taking too many hostages. This time would be different. He *would* succeed.
Baltar checked his laser. It only had enough power left for a single shot. He would have to make it count. He set it to heavy stun and quietly made his way down the shuttle's dim corridor.
*~*
"We are all agreed, then?" the young Sire asked coolly.
The murmurs around the council chambers were in agreement save for the uncomfortable silences of Siress Tinia and Councillor Anton. Both were friendly with Adama and, while they still weren't sure of his alliance with Baltar, they didn't agree with Antipas's drastic suggestion.
"Councillor Anton? Siress Tinia?" he asked, a slight edge of impatience coming to his voice. He was so close. . .
"I must admit, I'm having trouble with this," Tinia volunteered. "It seems a little. . ."
"Drastic," Anton finished.
"It is necessary," Antipas replied flatly. They would *not* stop him now, not when it was in his grasp. "He must be made an example of."
"I fail to see just how this would accomplish that," Tinia protested. There was a quality to this young council member she disliked. She wasn't sure if it was the way he was so arrogantly trying to push them to favouring his decision or whether it was something she sensed beneath his polished exterior, but it was beginning to gnaw at her with each word that passed his lips.
"Siress Tinia, is it possible your involvement with Adama during the last fiasco surrounding Baltar has coloured your thoughts? Only this morning, you vehemently defended our position and yet now you seem to disagree with the appropriate course of action."
Tinia was mortified. Yes, she like Adama, respected his command ability, but to suggest. . . And in front of such an audience! Thankfully, Anton intervened.
"We still do not know all the details surrounding this 'fiasco,' Sire," the Councillor interjected. "And may I remind you of what Adama said? If he had not taken such action, we might well be dead."
Antipas scowled, a mere narrowing of his eyes unnoticed by most. This old councillor would not get the better of him. "Adama made us think that the base star could not easily have been avoided; he was wrong. Instead, Adama used the Great Traitor for nothing more than to gain his own personal glory!"
"I will not believe that," Tinia said coldly, and then turning to the other council members, "And if you do, then you're fools, the whole lot of you."
Sire Montrose rose angrily, his pride wounded. "Now, look here, Tinia," he bellowed.
"Members of the Council," Antipas interrupted, rapping a convenient gavel. "There is no need to discuss this any further. The vote has already been taken and, at a nine to two majority, it would seem that I win."
Anton and Tinia watched in horror as the other members of the Council of Twelve nodded in agreement, glad that they had a strong leader to take actions on their smallest concerns.
*~*
Sheba checked her timepiece for what seemed like the fifteenth time in as many centons. Where the frack was Jonas? He was certainly taking his time, the little snitrad. He-
The quiet thud of careful footsteps reached her ears, interrupting her impatience. She turned, expecting to see the swaggering Warrior coming up behind her, probably expecting an apology for her earlier behaviour, but instead the face of Baltar leered back at her.
Shocked, her eyes immediately flicked to the laser aimed at her; to the traitor's finger flexing on the trigger, and, in a split-micron movement, brought her arm up and sent the shot wide, as her other hand went to her holster, clawing for her own weapon.
Baltar retaliated instantly by bringing the pistol down hard on her head. Stunned, she fell back, unable to react when he shoved her violently to the side. Her head struck the metal of the wall and she slumped, unconscious, to the floor.
*~*
Apollo strode down the corridor, his pace quickening with every step until he was almost running. He was going so quickly he didn't see Starbuck rounding the corner from the Life Station and ran right into him.
"Hey!" Starbuck protested. "Watch it, buddy, you'll wind up hurting someone." Then he saw the panic in his friend's eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Sheba," he said breathlessly, for once not caring what conclusions his friend jumped to. "She's not back yet. She's over a centar late. She-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Starbuck replied, putting a restraining hand on Apollo's shoulder. "What are you talking about?"
"Sheba went to the prison barge to get Baltar and she's not back yet!" Apollo practically shouted. He couldn't explain it, not logically anyway, but he knew that she was in danger. He knew something was wrong.
"Okay, how late is she? Only a centar?" he questioned, unsure of why Apollo was worried.
Apollo checked his timepiece and nodded.
"Then there's probably some problem with the shuttle. There's nothing to worry about." Starbuck was doing his best to calm his friend down, but it obviously wasn't working. He had never seen Apollo so panicked, not even during any kind of Cylon attack; he was usually the calm one of the pair, the unexcitable one. "What else could it possibly be?"
Apollo didn't like to think. As he looked at Starbuck, he could see only confusion in his friend's blue eyes. He couldn't see what Apollo saw, what the Captain had worried about as he had counted the centons in the *Galactica's* Alpha landing bay, waiting for Sheba to return.
"Baltar," he finally whispered.
"You can't be thinking. . ." Starbuck trailed off, shaking his head, a look of total and utter disbelief on his face. "Nah, it doesn't make any sense. We're setting him free, for Kobol's sake. He wouldn't-"
"Wouldn't he? He sold out his own race, joined forces with the Cylons and hunted us down at every opportunity; who knows what goes on his head?" Apollo spluttered, cutting him off.
"But still. . ." The lieutenant replied incredulously.
"I'm going to the bridge. Maybe they know something," Apollo said hopefully, interrupting him for the second time, and took off before his friend had a chance to reply.
"Oh, Lords!" Starbuck muttered under his breath before he hurried down the corridor after Apollo.
*~*
"Father?"
Adama looked up to see Athena standing over him, a worried expression on her delicate features. Since their victory over the Cylon base ship, he had given his Warriors a well-deserved furlon, keeping only one squadron and a few bridge crew members on duty at a time. Only Athena, Omega and a couple of others he was not familiar with were on duty with him at the moment, although Tigh and Mullahan were set to relieve them within the centar.
"Yes, Athena?" Adama answered. He had said little since his return from his meeting with the Council that morning, preferring to gaze at the starfield through the bridge's viewscreen, undisturbed, and deep in thought. He had not told her the details of the disastrous conference then, and he didn't particularly feel like discussing it now.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Over the past few days, Athena had tried everything she could think of to get her father to take a proper break and relax as he had ordered his Warriors to, but Adama had only left the bridge to eat and sleep, save the meeting he had attended that morning. He appeared to be worrying about something and she was certain it wasn't just Baltar's impending release. "Is anything wrong?"
Adama couldn't help but smile. Both his children were protective, but when Athena asked about him, she always sounded just like his beloved Ila used to. Ila also wouldn't leave him alone until he told her what was bothering him, and Athena was the same. He sighed. "The Council found out about my plan to release Baltar. They're not happy."
Her eyes widened with concern. "What are they going to do?"
"I don't know," he said softly, shaking his head. "They're convinced he can provide us with more tactical information about the Cylons. Of course he could, but the simple fact is that he won't. We have nothing to offer him in return. He bargained once, and his price was freedom. A price which hasn't even been paid, and won't be, if the Council get their way." He looked up at her, his brown eyes filled with determination. "I don't break my promises, Athena. I have to free him. No matter how much I dislike having to do it"
She was about to reply when Apollo burst onto the bridge, followed hastily by Starbuck.
"Apollo, Starbuck. What-" Adama began.
"The shuttle to the prison barge; it's not back yet," Apollo cut him off sharply. He was desperately trying to stay calm, but alarms screamed at the back of his mind; Sheba was in danger. "They're at least a centar overdue!"
Before Adama could respond, Athena's console beeped, announcing an incoming transmission.
He heard him before he saw him. The putrid, mocking voice of Baltar filled his ears as the traitor's image leered onto the screen.
"Hello, Adama!"