Chapter 17

In any other circumstances, Jessica would have taken into account that the man was hopped up on caffeine pills, fear and grief over losing an ever increasing number of pilots. Now, however, she was herself hopped up on caffeine pills, fear and guilt over the same ever increasing number of dead pilots. Jessica's tolerance level emptied with surge of dropping nerves, replaced by anger. She threw the headset at Lee Adama's head. It shot smack against the side of his head and his blue eyes blazed furiously at her. He stormed towards her but Tigh held him back

"That's it!" Jessica cried hoping up onto the communications counter. "I would like to state here and now for the last mother frakking time! I am not a frakking Cylon!" Jessica screamed stamping her feet. "If you're gonna hand me over to the Cylons please, just put me out of my misery already and do it now cause this wondering if you're gonna, is frakking kill me" Jessica turned to Commander Adama. "And YOU!" She turned back to Lee, nearly losing her footing and falling off the counter but she regained her balance. "I am so sick of you with your suspicious looks and your accusations. And your 'oh, she's a bad girl but I still want frak her', bullshit; and it is not my fault that you have a pickle shoved so far up your ass and cannot open your narrow little mind this much," Jessica separated her thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart, "to see that I am not the enemy here. And just so you know, I don't want to marry you and I don't want to have any of your babies either, so there!" Jessica spat.

Somewhere outside of herself was the dawning realization that the CIC had gone deathly quiet, and every one was staring up at her because she was standing on the counter. And that Lee Adama's face was a red mask of mortification. She was certain that she herself was beginning to match the shade of his skin with growing horror. Kara Thrace broke the silence by bursting into side splitting loud laughter. Jessica closed her eyes wishing that when she opened them again, that everything she said had been a terrible figment of her imagination. No such luck. Jessica turned and climbed back on to the floor willing the floor to open up and swallow her.

"Captain, you proposed?" Kara asked, holding her helmet as she gasped for breath through her laughter. That seemed to jolt Lee from his frozen state.

"Shut up, Lieutenant." Lee snapped. Kara stifled her laughter but was still fighting against bursts of giggles. He stiffened, going into full military mode and turned to his father who had his mouth open. "Commander, we lost Thunder, Mouse, and Athena." Commander Adama stared at his son as if he'd grown a second head. He grabbed onto the normalcy of protocol and nodded. "We hit the Cylons hard but they seem to show up all around us, every time. As if where ever they're jumping from, they're told our exact position." The last statement was directed as a dig at Jessica but Lee didn't dare turn to face her which Jessica figured was just as well as she would have rather taken a shot to the head then meet his eyes. She dropped her head onto her arms and tried to trade in her power as a seer for the power of invisibility.

"All right, Captain. Dis...uh...dismissed." Commander Adama stammered.

"It's been 45 minutes, Commander." Lieutenant Gaeta announced. Jessica lifted her head and was ecstatically grateful when all attention turned to the young dark haired officer.

"Forty five?" Tigh asked hopefully.

"Yes, Sir." Gaeta replied. All eyes turned to the commander who was staring up at the big digital clock.

"What now?" Colonel Tigh asked when forty-five turned to forty-six.

"We wait." Commander Adama announced.

When the hour changed, Commander Adama announced that a new rotation was to be started and the now off duty pilots should try and get as much sleep as they could. Except for those on stimulants as they would be unable to wind down until the pills wore off. Commander Adama sent Lee and Kara back on patrol.

"So can I come to the wedding?" Kara asked as Lee followed her out of the CIC. Lee shoved her, hard. "Ow!" And then Jessica heard only fading footsteps.

William walked up to the communication console and cleared his throat.

"We'll discuss what happened here later. For now. Can you continue?"

Jessica nodded."Yes, Sir." She wasn't being let off the hook but it was a reprieve and she was grateful for it.

As she focused her attention on the small screens in front of her, Jessica tried to ignore the curious murmurs around her. She was going to get Salik to sew her lips shut. Be better for everyone, she reasoned. Lords, what the hell was she thinking, losing it like that? Jessica shook her head in self disgust. She wouldn't be surprised if the commander decided to toss her sorry behind out the airlock just to keep her big mouth shut. Though she got more than a few questioning glances, most of the staff stayed away from her. She took in a transmission from Colonial One. The president had been checking in at various points during the past few days and Jessica was glad to here Laura Rosilin's friendly voice.

"How are you holding up?" Laura asked.

"Ah besides the fact that I just humiliated myself in front of the whole Galactica crew, I'm good." Jessica replied miserably.

"Dare I ask what happened?"

"Lee Adama accused me of being a Cylon. I accused him of wanting to frak me." The words were out of her mouth before Jessica could even try and hold them back. Confused silence on the other end.

"I...I see. Well, I never heard of a proposition being used as an insult but then again I haven't been propositioned myself in a while." Laura said.

It was just what Jessica needed. She let out a small burst of laughter and then let President Rosilin talk to the commander. It was an hour and half later when she spotted it. At first, Jessica was certain she was hallucinating but after rubbing her eyes and assuring herself that she was, indeed awake and alert, she was unable to deny what was showing up on one of the screens before her.

"Uh, Captain Apollo...are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jessica asked. It seemed less daunting or personal to refer to him by his call sign. As if Captain Apollo was not the same Lee Adama she had chewed out only moments before.

"It looks like the Carrier." Lee replied, his own voice betraying it's earlier stiffness with growing confusion.

"I thought we lost them." Kara asked. Jessica was feeling a strange sort of dread in the pit of her stomach but she wasn't sure why.

"So did I. Commander?" Jessica called Commander Adama back to the counter. Colonel Tigh followed him. At that moment she began getting transmissions from the Olympic Carrier, requesting permission to board. Something on Jessica's face must have given Commander Adama pause cause he told the Olympic Carrier to stand by.

"What is it?" He asked her quietly.

"I...I'm not sure." Jessica said, the dread increasing. Something was very, very off.

"Shit!" Lee's voice came through the speakers. "Cylons are back. Frak!" Jessica met the commander's eyes.

"You don't think it's a coincidence." William asked her.

"What? You think it's the Carrier?" Colonel Tigh asked.

"Do you think the Cylons are following them somehow?" Jessica asked nervously. No. That wasn't what he was thinking. And it wasn't what she was thinking either. The request from the Olympic Carrier came through again.

"Tell them to keep their distance. I need you to do something for me." William asked. Jessica began shaking her head. "Ms Talbot, I need you to patch me through to President Rosilin again and then I need you to tell me if there are any Cylons aboard that ship."

"Commander, I can't...please don't ask me-" Jessica pleaded keeping her voice low so that the rest of the staff would be unaware of the commander's request.

"Now, Ms Talbot." William ordered firmly. She thought she was gonna be sick again as she called President Rosilin again.

"How many people are on that ship?" Laura asked.

"Thirteen hundred souls." Commander Adama replied. Jessica felt like her knees were gonna buckle beneath her and she fought back tears. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it. And everyone on board the Galactica would die. Jessica reasoned with a whimper. Well, the shoe was on the other foot now, Jessica thought bitterly. She'd condemned the Galactica for sacrificing thousands to save themselves and now she was being asked to do the same.

"Ms Talbot. Are there Cylons aboard the Olympic Carrier?" Commander Adama asked her.

Jessica felt like she was gonna be sick.

"There are people on that ship!" She whispered vehemently through burning tears. She could see the civilians there, being held on the Olympic Carrier. Men, women, children. Even a few infants.

"Are there Cylons, Ms Talbot?" Commander Adama asked. He was so calm, so firm and immovable that Jessica wanted to deck him. Jessica pictured the inside of the ship in her mind. The civilians were all pushed below decks so they wouldn't be visible looking inside and their pilots were dead. In their place, Cylons.