The sound of their boots echoed down the cold, gray, steel steps, boldly announcing their presence in yet another section. It was the same routine on every floor: Sheba took the compartments to the left, Apollo to the right and Starbuck went straight.
Another three centars had passed and still no sign of Athena; and Starbuck was feeling extremely guilty. Guilty for not treating Athena with the respect and honesty that she deserved, but also he was guilty for the fight he almost had earlier with Apollo. He knew that Apollo was more worried then anyone here. Athena is his sister after all and he had every right. Starbuck knew he should've backed off when Apollo started in with the whole sealing business again; and if Starbuck really took the time to think about it, he might have realized that Apollo was right. Athena didn't say no to him, she said she needed more time. And if Starbuck REALLY thought about it, he might realize that the feelings he had for her were still there.
Was he afraid? Afraid that he really did love Athena, but that she wouldn't give him a second chance? He did love Cassie, that much he was certain. But what he felt for Athena was far greater. It was something he couldn't even begin to express or to put into words. So if he couldn't put it into words, how could he explain it to anyone else, much less to Athena? Starbuck had never felt like this before in his life and it was something he didn't want to think about, or analyze, right now. They all needed to focus on finding Athena.
The more he thought about Athena being kidnapped by that deranged man, the more energy he had; the more desperate the search became - sometimes rising to a frenzied pace.
They were getting closer to finding Athena; Apollo said he could 'feel it'.
Starbuck hoped Apollo was right, because Athena was now missing for almost two days.
=============================================================================
One centar had passed and Athena finally had some concept of how the video-link worked. She could feel the sweat tricking down her face, mixing with the blood from her injuries. Wiping her forehead, she sat back on her heels for a moment. She hadn't been paying attention when Atreus powered up the link, so she was just making an educated guess; a guess that just had to be right. She knew her life depended on it.
Her head was really pounding. The headaches she had earlier were nothing in comparison to what she was experiencing now. Although she was hungry, the double vision and dizziness, coupled with the on and off nausea, made it impossible to think straight; and made it even harder to concentrate. Right now she hurt so much, and was so desperate, that she would even accept Cassie being here to help her. Now that was saying a lot!
Not wanting to stand up for fear of passing out, Athena tilted the lens downward towards her. Her heart soared with hope when she booted up the link and the screen came on. It was staticky, but it was on and that's what counted.
Remembering Atreus' words she said, "Patch me through to Commander Adama."
A few microns passed and nothing happened. Rubbing her eyes, Athena tried to remain calm and focused. She began to fiddle with some wires, hoping that would do it.
She tried again. "Patch me through to Commander Adama."
Tigh and Adama were sitting in the living area talking when the comm activated.
Hoping that it was news about Athena, Adama hurried over to the unit. The reception was very erratic and the connection seemed unstable. But for one brief moment, Adama had a crystal clear view of the caller.
"Athena! Thank the Lords you're alive!"
Upon hearing Adama call out Athena's name, Tigh was at his side in a micron; relief and joy evident on his face.
"Athena where are you?"
There was no reply.
"Athena? Can you tell me where you are?" Adama repeated slowly and clearly.
"I don't know," was the staticky reply. "Maybe .... storage ... beta ..." the connection was starting to crackle and fade.
"The storage compartments in beta section?"
Athena shook her head. "Not sure."
"Apollo, Sheba and the others are near that area. We're getting closer to finding you so please just hold on."
"... moving ... off ... ship."
"He's going to move you off the Galactica?" Turning to Tigh, Adama said, "Get an alert out immediately. I'm not letting Atreus take her off this ship. Stop all outgoing launches if necessary! Notify Apollo and tell him to focus on beta section!"
Nodding in understanding, Tigh left.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. Hurry."
Adama didn't like the sound of that. It may have been just the connection, but Athena sounded very weak and unsure of her health. "Have faith Athena. Your brother will find you, I promise you! You'll be home soon. We all love you."
Then the question that Adama never wanted to hear, came out. "Is Atreus my father?"
Adama paused, as he wasn't sure how to reply. "In my heart, you are my daughter."
That pause was all Athena needed. Now she knew that Adama wasn't sure either.
Adama got one more look at Athena before the link disconnected.
=============================================================================
Upon receiving word from Colonel Tigh that Athena thought she was in beta section, both teams converged from different ends, in a pattern. They would leave nothing out of their search. They all took heart in the fact that Athena was alive and they were determined to find her.
=============================================================================
Athena collapsed back on the cot; praying like she never prayed before, that Apollo would find her soon. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to rest and regain some strength. Her head still hurt and she was sick of being in this room. She wanted to take a turbo-shower and eat a nice, hot meal. Silently she berated herself, *Oh stop whining, Athena. Things could be worse. Apollo is out looking for you right now. It's just a matter of time before he finds you. You know that he won't give up.*
The quiet of the room was shattered by the sound of Atreus returning. Looking to his right, he was happy to see that Athena was finally getting some rest. Moving to his left, he began to pack up the video link in anticipation of their move off ship, when something on the computer keyboard caught his eye. Blood. Bright red, fresh human blood. And since there was only one person in this room who was bleeding, and it wasn't him, he knew that Athena had tried to use the video link. But as to whether or not she was successful, given her state of mind, was another story. But he couldn't take any chances.
Looking over his shoulder at Athena, he became enraged. Grabbing her harshly by the arm, he jerked her up off the cot and over towards the video link. Shoving the keyboard in her face he yelled, "Who did you contact?" When receiving no answer he screamed, "TELL ME NOW!"
"No one! I couldn't get it to work," she lied.
"I don't believe you!" Then suddenly, and without warning, he threw Athena into the equipment. She went crashing to the floor, landing on her side, crumpled on the floor.
Jerking her by the arm, he ushered her up off the floor and out the door.
"Please let me go!" she begged. "I promise not to tell anyone if you just let me go!"
Atreus threw her into another room, adjacent to the one they were occupying. "Understand this right now! The only place you're going is off this ship with me!" he said, producing a laser. Turning to the access control panel, he shot it so that Athena couldn't get out.
Looking up at Atreus from the floor, Athena was truly terrified. He had a laser. Where did he get that from? He didn't have one before.
Quickly taking one more look at Athena, he exited the room and made sure she was sealed in.
Even though she knew escape was impossible, she did everything she could think of to get out of there. But after what she estimated to be 15 centons, her vision started to blur and she became very dizzy. *Well, it's official,* she thought. *My whole body hurts now.*
As she curled up on the cold steel floor, Athena estimated that the barren room she was in was approximately 14 x 14 and had considerable more light then the previous room. Unfortunately the light didn't help her vision any. In fact, it made her headache much worse.
Slowly and quietly, the tears started to fall. She didn't want to die. Not here, not this way. It wasn't supposed to be this way! Silently, she prayed to her Mother and to Zac; alternating between, 'please don't let me die' and 'I'll see you soon'.
Athena held out hope that Apollo would find her, but in case he didn't, she owed him an apology. Her earlier actions had been too harsh. She knew her brother had never wished she had died on Caprica. Apollo always meant well, and Athena knew he loved her very much. She conjured up an image of Apollo and began to explain things to him; began to apologize. She hoped that Apollo would understand that she had said those words in anger; she didn't really mean them. Athena hoped that Apollo knew just how much she loved her big brother.
Her last thoughts before passing out were, "Please find me Apollo. I need you."
=============================================================================
30 centons later.
Starbuck quickly headed down the corridor, methodically checking the room on the right and then on the left; alternating down the corridor. At the very end on the right was one more room - the last room in his section.
There was something odd about the door, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Starbuck tried the door control, only to find that it didn't open. *Strange,* he thought. Trying it one more time, the door finally opened. As he crossed the threshold into the room, he wasn't prepared for what he found.
There, in the middle of the room, lay Athena. She was curled up in the fetal position with her arms wrapped around herself, laying as still as night; blood stains clearly visible on her blue uniform.
*She can't be dead! Dear God, NO!* Fearfully walking towards her, Starbuck softly said, "Athena?"
His heart leapt for joy as she slowly stirred.
As Athena turned her head to face him, she saw a pair of blue eyes staring down at her. Suddenly, she started screaming, "Get away from me!" as she tried to scoot back to the wall, away from him.
*Those blue eyes!* Athena thought to herself. *Atreus is back and he's going to take you away! You've got to get out. You've got to get away!*
Momentarily forgetting that he had a porta-link, Starbuck stuck his head out into the corridor and screamed, "APOLLO! I FOUND HER!! APOLLO!"
A micron later, Apollo came running around the corner and down the corridor, "Where is she?"
"In there."
As Apollo entered the room, he couldn't believe his eyes. His sister was huddled, knees to chest, against the wall. Even from this distance, he could clearly see the blood on her face, on her hands, in her hair and on her uniform. He could also see blood on the wall from where Athena had clawed at the wall, trying to escape. His first instinct was to rush over to her and to hold her; but in her state of mind, he knew that was a bad idea.
Apollo moved towards her slowly so as not to frighten her. He spoke softly, but firmly. "Athena? Athena, it's me. It's Apollo."
Believing she was hallucinating, Athena shook her head no.
Moving closer to her, he extended his hand. "It's me. It's Apollo," he repeated.
As Starbuck came up from behind Apollo, Athena screamed, "Get away from me! Gonna take me away!"
Not moving his eyes off of Athena, Apollo spoke to Starbuck. "Starbuck, take a few steps back." Leaving his hand extended, Apollo slowly, reached for her hand. Placing his hand on top of hers he said, "It's me, Athena. I'm real."
Athena looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Apollo?"
As Apollo gently hugged her, she cried into his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Apollo. I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh. None of this is your fault." As he placed his arms underneath her, he said, "Right now we have to get you to Life Center."
As Starbuck turned around to leave the room, the door hissed closed. He immediately tried the door control only to find that it had been shot out. "Frack!"
Apollo was already standing with Athena in his arms when he heard the door close. He looked down at Athena's blood stained face then back up at Starbuck. "You've got to get that door open. She needs immediate medical attention!"
"Don't you think I already know that?" he shot back at Apollo. Finding his porta-link, Starbuck contacted Sheba. The wires had been fused together from the heat and he knew he couldn't get them out; they would have to call a technician.
"You got it Starbuck," Sheba replied. "A technician is on the way. Boomer also wants to take a crack at it. He thinks he might be able to bypass the effected wires."
"If anyone can get us out of here, it's Boomer. He was always good at hot wiring hovercrafts on Caprica."
Meanwhile, Apollo had moved to the far corner of the room with Athena. As he cradled her in his arms he asked, "Athena, can you tell me where it hurts?"
Her eyes didn't open as she softly replied, "Everywhere."
"We're going to get you out, so you just have to hang on, okay? Athena?"
But something was happening to her. Athena felt ... light; as if she didn't weigh an ounce. Slowly and painfully Athena moved her hand, and with all her strength, clasped her brothers jacket. "Apollo. Always remember ...., " she paused as her breathing became labored and Apollo could begin to hear a wheeze rattle in her chest. "Always remember that I love you. I'll be with .... Mama and Zac .... watch over you...."
And then Athena went limp in Apollo's arms. Apollo tried frantically to find a pulse; his mind refusing to believe what his eyes saw. She had stopped breathing; stopped moving.
Athena was dead.
END PT 6
Another three centars had passed and still no sign of Athena; and Starbuck was feeling extremely guilty. Guilty for not treating Athena with the respect and honesty that she deserved, but also he was guilty for the fight he almost had earlier with Apollo. He knew that Apollo was more worried then anyone here. Athena is his sister after all and he had every right. Starbuck knew he should've backed off when Apollo started in with the whole sealing business again; and if Starbuck really took the time to think about it, he might have realized that Apollo was right. Athena didn't say no to him, she said she needed more time. And if Starbuck REALLY thought about it, he might realize that the feelings he had for her were still there.
Was he afraid? Afraid that he really did love Athena, but that she wouldn't give him a second chance? He did love Cassie, that much he was certain. But what he felt for Athena was far greater. It was something he couldn't even begin to express or to put into words. So if he couldn't put it into words, how could he explain it to anyone else, much less to Athena? Starbuck had never felt like this before in his life and it was something he didn't want to think about, or analyze, right now. They all needed to focus on finding Athena.
The more he thought about Athena being kidnapped by that deranged man, the more energy he had; the more desperate the search became - sometimes rising to a frenzied pace.
They were getting closer to finding Athena; Apollo said he could 'feel it'.
Starbuck hoped Apollo was right, because Athena was now missing for almost two days.
=============================================================================
One centar had passed and Athena finally had some concept of how the video-link worked. She could feel the sweat tricking down her face, mixing with the blood from her injuries. Wiping her forehead, she sat back on her heels for a moment. She hadn't been paying attention when Atreus powered up the link, so she was just making an educated guess; a guess that just had to be right. She knew her life depended on it.
Her head was really pounding. The headaches she had earlier were nothing in comparison to what she was experiencing now. Although she was hungry, the double vision and dizziness, coupled with the on and off nausea, made it impossible to think straight; and made it even harder to concentrate. Right now she hurt so much, and was so desperate, that she would even accept Cassie being here to help her. Now that was saying a lot!
Not wanting to stand up for fear of passing out, Athena tilted the lens downward towards her. Her heart soared with hope when she booted up the link and the screen came on. It was staticky, but it was on and that's what counted.
Remembering Atreus' words she said, "Patch me through to Commander Adama."
A few microns passed and nothing happened. Rubbing her eyes, Athena tried to remain calm and focused. She began to fiddle with some wires, hoping that would do it.
She tried again. "Patch me through to Commander Adama."
Tigh and Adama were sitting in the living area talking when the comm activated.
Hoping that it was news about Athena, Adama hurried over to the unit. The reception was very erratic and the connection seemed unstable. But for one brief moment, Adama had a crystal clear view of the caller.
"Athena! Thank the Lords you're alive!"
Upon hearing Adama call out Athena's name, Tigh was at his side in a micron; relief and joy evident on his face.
"Athena where are you?"
There was no reply.
"Athena? Can you tell me where you are?" Adama repeated slowly and clearly.
"I don't know," was the staticky reply. "Maybe .... storage ... beta ..." the connection was starting to crackle and fade.
"The storage compartments in beta section?"
Athena shook her head. "Not sure."
"Apollo, Sheba and the others are near that area. We're getting closer to finding you so please just hold on."
"... moving ... off ... ship."
"He's going to move you off the Galactica?" Turning to Tigh, Adama said, "Get an alert out immediately. I'm not letting Atreus take her off this ship. Stop all outgoing launches if necessary! Notify Apollo and tell him to focus on beta section!"
Nodding in understanding, Tigh left.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. Hurry."
Adama didn't like the sound of that. It may have been just the connection, but Athena sounded very weak and unsure of her health. "Have faith Athena. Your brother will find you, I promise you! You'll be home soon. We all love you."
Then the question that Adama never wanted to hear, came out. "Is Atreus my father?"
Adama paused, as he wasn't sure how to reply. "In my heart, you are my daughter."
That pause was all Athena needed. Now she knew that Adama wasn't sure either.
Adama got one more look at Athena before the link disconnected.
=============================================================================
Upon receiving word from Colonel Tigh that Athena thought she was in beta section, both teams converged from different ends, in a pattern. They would leave nothing out of their search. They all took heart in the fact that Athena was alive and they were determined to find her.
=============================================================================
Athena collapsed back on the cot; praying like she never prayed before, that Apollo would find her soon. Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to rest and regain some strength. Her head still hurt and she was sick of being in this room. She wanted to take a turbo-shower and eat a nice, hot meal. Silently she berated herself, *Oh stop whining, Athena. Things could be worse. Apollo is out looking for you right now. It's just a matter of time before he finds you. You know that he won't give up.*
The quiet of the room was shattered by the sound of Atreus returning. Looking to his right, he was happy to see that Athena was finally getting some rest. Moving to his left, he began to pack up the video link in anticipation of their move off ship, when something on the computer keyboard caught his eye. Blood. Bright red, fresh human blood. And since there was only one person in this room who was bleeding, and it wasn't him, he knew that Athena had tried to use the video link. But as to whether or not she was successful, given her state of mind, was another story. But he couldn't take any chances.
Looking over his shoulder at Athena, he became enraged. Grabbing her harshly by the arm, he jerked her up off the cot and over towards the video link. Shoving the keyboard in her face he yelled, "Who did you contact?" When receiving no answer he screamed, "TELL ME NOW!"
"No one! I couldn't get it to work," she lied.
"I don't believe you!" Then suddenly, and without warning, he threw Athena into the equipment. She went crashing to the floor, landing on her side, crumpled on the floor.
Jerking her by the arm, he ushered her up off the floor and out the door.
"Please let me go!" she begged. "I promise not to tell anyone if you just let me go!"
Atreus threw her into another room, adjacent to the one they were occupying. "Understand this right now! The only place you're going is off this ship with me!" he said, producing a laser. Turning to the access control panel, he shot it so that Athena couldn't get out.
Looking up at Atreus from the floor, Athena was truly terrified. He had a laser. Where did he get that from? He didn't have one before.
Quickly taking one more look at Athena, he exited the room and made sure she was sealed in.
Even though she knew escape was impossible, she did everything she could think of to get out of there. But after what she estimated to be 15 centons, her vision started to blur and she became very dizzy. *Well, it's official,* she thought. *My whole body hurts now.*
As she curled up on the cold steel floor, Athena estimated that the barren room she was in was approximately 14 x 14 and had considerable more light then the previous room. Unfortunately the light didn't help her vision any. In fact, it made her headache much worse.
Slowly and quietly, the tears started to fall. She didn't want to die. Not here, not this way. It wasn't supposed to be this way! Silently, she prayed to her Mother and to Zac; alternating between, 'please don't let me die' and 'I'll see you soon'.
Athena held out hope that Apollo would find her, but in case he didn't, she owed him an apology. Her earlier actions had been too harsh. She knew her brother had never wished she had died on Caprica. Apollo always meant well, and Athena knew he loved her very much. She conjured up an image of Apollo and began to explain things to him; began to apologize. She hoped that Apollo would understand that she had said those words in anger; she didn't really mean them. Athena hoped that Apollo knew just how much she loved her big brother.
Her last thoughts before passing out were, "Please find me Apollo. I need you."
=============================================================================
30 centons later.
Starbuck quickly headed down the corridor, methodically checking the room on the right and then on the left; alternating down the corridor. At the very end on the right was one more room - the last room in his section.
There was something odd about the door, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Starbuck tried the door control, only to find that it didn't open. *Strange,* he thought. Trying it one more time, the door finally opened. As he crossed the threshold into the room, he wasn't prepared for what he found.
There, in the middle of the room, lay Athena. She was curled up in the fetal position with her arms wrapped around herself, laying as still as night; blood stains clearly visible on her blue uniform.
*She can't be dead! Dear God, NO!* Fearfully walking towards her, Starbuck softly said, "Athena?"
His heart leapt for joy as she slowly stirred.
As Athena turned her head to face him, she saw a pair of blue eyes staring down at her. Suddenly, she started screaming, "Get away from me!" as she tried to scoot back to the wall, away from him.
*Those blue eyes!* Athena thought to herself. *Atreus is back and he's going to take you away! You've got to get out. You've got to get away!*
Momentarily forgetting that he had a porta-link, Starbuck stuck his head out into the corridor and screamed, "APOLLO! I FOUND HER!! APOLLO!"
A micron later, Apollo came running around the corner and down the corridor, "Where is she?"
"In there."
As Apollo entered the room, he couldn't believe his eyes. His sister was huddled, knees to chest, against the wall. Even from this distance, he could clearly see the blood on her face, on her hands, in her hair and on her uniform. He could also see blood on the wall from where Athena had clawed at the wall, trying to escape. His first instinct was to rush over to her and to hold her; but in her state of mind, he knew that was a bad idea.
Apollo moved towards her slowly so as not to frighten her. He spoke softly, but firmly. "Athena? Athena, it's me. It's Apollo."
Believing she was hallucinating, Athena shook her head no.
Moving closer to her, he extended his hand. "It's me. It's Apollo," he repeated.
As Starbuck came up from behind Apollo, Athena screamed, "Get away from me! Gonna take me away!"
Not moving his eyes off of Athena, Apollo spoke to Starbuck. "Starbuck, take a few steps back." Leaving his hand extended, Apollo slowly, reached for her hand. Placing his hand on top of hers he said, "It's me, Athena. I'm real."
Athena looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Apollo?"
As Apollo gently hugged her, she cried into his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Apollo. I'm so sorry!"
"Shhh. None of this is your fault." As he placed his arms underneath her, he said, "Right now we have to get you to Life Center."
As Starbuck turned around to leave the room, the door hissed closed. He immediately tried the door control only to find that it had been shot out. "Frack!"
Apollo was already standing with Athena in his arms when he heard the door close. He looked down at Athena's blood stained face then back up at Starbuck. "You've got to get that door open. She needs immediate medical attention!"
"Don't you think I already know that?" he shot back at Apollo. Finding his porta-link, Starbuck contacted Sheba. The wires had been fused together from the heat and he knew he couldn't get them out; they would have to call a technician.
"You got it Starbuck," Sheba replied. "A technician is on the way. Boomer also wants to take a crack at it. He thinks he might be able to bypass the effected wires."
"If anyone can get us out of here, it's Boomer. He was always good at hot wiring hovercrafts on Caprica."
Meanwhile, Apollo had moved to the far corner of the room with Athena. As he cradled her in his arms he asked, "Athena, can you tell me where it hurts?"
Her eyes didn't open as she softly replied, "Everywhere."
"We're going to get you out, so you just have to hang on, okay? Athena?"
But something was happening to her. Athena felt ... light; as if she didn't weigh an ounce. Slowly and painfully Athena moved her hand, and with all her strength, clasped her brothers jacket. "Apollo. Always remember ...., " she paused as her breathing became labored and Apollo could begin to hear a wheeze rattle in her chest. "Always remember that I love you. I'll be with .... Mama and Zac .... watch over you...."
And then Athena went limp in Apollo's arms. Apollo tried frantically to find a pulse; his mind refusing to believe what his eyes saw. She had stopped breathing; stopped moving.
Athena was dead.
END PT 6