Chapter Eight

As soon as William Adama took one look at his son's guilty face and the blush on Jessica Talbot's cheeks he knew what had happened the moment before and it irked him. His son was usually a compulsive control freak so slipping up like this did not bode well for the mission Lee was about to undertake. Especially if Ms Talbot was going to be accompanying him.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you didn't kill each other before I got back. What happened to your head?" William asked noticing the small cut on Lee's forehead. Lee's fingers went to the abrasion.

"Oh,-"

"I hit him." Jessica injected, her heart still racing in her chest. "But it was an accident."

"This time." Lee said with a quirk of his mouth. Jessica bit back a grin and turned back to her chair.

"Ms Talbot, leave the reports for now. I'm gonna need you for something else right now." William said closing his door. "Well we found a water source. But there's a problem."

"There always is." Jessica said shaking her head. Then she grimaced with realization. "Ice? Well damn. That's gonna be rough going I suppose huh? Gotta get out the mighty big ice pick's." She joked. "Or you could send over all the women with every blow dryer in the fleet. Sorry." Jessica bit her lip when she could see that the commander was not appreciating her humour.

"The president has decided that she's gonna send over men from the Astral Queen to work the ice." William explained.

"Prisoners? Is that a good idea, I mean, sending them out into the open like that?" Jessica asked nervously.

"She says that the men chosen will be the ones up for parole soon." Lee explained.

"And Morgan?" Jessica suddenly asked, her face blanched.

"No, he'll be in prison for a while. Don't worry about him." Lee promised her, his voice softening. Then he cleared his throat and went on in a more controlled tone. "We're gonna give them a choice to volunteer and work towards earning their freedom."

"Prison or slave labour? Good luck with that." Jessica remarked sceptically.

"Not slaves." William insisted. "The more work they do, the closer they get to release. A point system" He looked none to happy with the idea and Jessica suddenly knew why. The idea of work release had not been his, but Lee's. Jessica wasn't sure if she was impressed or worried. A fair mind was a good asset to have but she didn't think it should apply to hardened criminals. William went on and explained that he wanted Lee to go over to the Astral Queen to recruit volunteers. Then he turned to Jessica. "And you're going to be going with him."

"Eh?" Jessica asked stiffening, hoping that she had heard him wrong. She hadn't. "Oh no. I'm not kidding, Commander. No!" She said shaking her head. She threw Lee a frantic look. He looked just as uncomfortable at the idea as she did.

"This is not a request, Ms Talbot." William insisted. "You're going to be scouting for Cylons."

Jessica threw up her hands in frustration. "Oh well that's frakking lovely. Just peachy. Wait a minute, how are we getting to the Astral Queen?" She asked, suddenly chilled.

"I was gonna take my viper-" Lee began

"No, you'll take a raptor. President Rosilin has assigned Billy to accompany you as her representative. Cally and Dualla will be joining you as well." William said.

"Me. In a raptor. Flying? No. Sorry, no. Send Doc Genius." Jessica replied beginning to tremble.

"I already told you, Ms Talbot, this is an order."

"Take your order, and blow it out your ear!" Jessica seethed. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and stop shaking. She blinked back tears of blind panic.

"Disobeying a direct order can have serious consequences on your sentence, young lady."

"I don't care. Tack on another month, a year. I'm not flying anywhere." Jessica said turning away from them both so they wouldn't see her tears.

"Are you afraid of flying?" Lee asked incredulous. "You're not exactly on the ground right now."

"Ms Talbot, I will expect-" William began, quickly losing his patience.

"Commander, give me a minute with her." Lee cut in quickly.

"That doesn't seem like the best idea considering what I almost walked in on." William reminded him. Both Jessica and Lee turned to look at him in guilty surprise. "I'm not an idiot. And it will not happen again. Do I make myself clear?" William warned them both.

"Crystal." Lee said, narrowing his eyes

"Excuse me? What gives you the right to order us around about our personal lives?" Jessica objected with a burst of irritation. "It's one thing for us to decide that on our own. You have no right to try and impose-"

"You are a prisoner on this ship. That gives me the right."

"Oh? Where is that stapler?" Jessica asked looking around for the stapler so she could give free reign to the urge that wanted to throw something at another Adama. She saw Lee grab it from the desk and hold it behind his back.

"You have twenty minutes to get yourself ready. Captain, you will see if there is a flight suit available for Ms Talbot and meet Specialist Cally in the hangar at 1100. Dismissed." William said ushering them out the door.

"He's out of his frakking mind if he thinks I'm getting on that raptor, Lee." Jessica insisted as they walked down the hall.

"Come on, Jess. What's the big deal?" Lee asked.

"It's different up here. This place is huge and this was the place you brought me when you rescued me. I feel safe here. If I get on that raptor, traveling from one place to another, it'll be just like when the Cylons herded us onto their compound, loading us up like cattle to slaughter." Jessica explained biting her lip to stifle a shudder as she watched the people being filed into the Cylon ships back in her memory. Any who tried to resist were shot. As Jessica was climbing up into one, a mother, refusing to be separated from her son, who was being loaded onto another ship, was shot. The woman had fallen down on top of Jessica, throwing her face first onto the stairs with her dead weight "I'll be right back there in my head." Jessica explained. She waited as Lee led her into his quarters. "The ships they used to transport us were so small. They had us packed in their like sardines. Hundreds to a ship. We could hardly breathe." Jessica said taking a deep shuddering breath just to remind herself that she could. "It's not the same here." She felt Lee's hesitation over placing an arm on her shoulder, not wanting to risk the contact tempting them to more. So she turned and walked out of his reach.

"You're not back there any more. You're safe now. We're just going to the Astral Queen to recruit workers." Lee assured her. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to trust that she'd be perfectly safe and yet she felt the familiar icy fear clutching in her stomach.

"I can't, Lee." She shook her head. Lee opened his door again and called for one of the guards to watch Jessica.

"I'm gonna go see if I can scrounge up a flight suit for you. I can pass by Dr Salik and see if maybe she can give you something to calm your nerves." He explained. She flopped onto the mattress when he left her alone. She didn't want drugs. She wanted to stay put. Jessica wanted to stay in the commanders office typing records and schedules. She wanted to be sitting safe with Elosha, talking about everything and nothing. She'd even rather spend the day enduring crazy Baltar's presence. Jessica wasn't sure but having the man stare off into space and talking to himself in low hushed tones when he thought she wasn't paying attention must be hinting at some kind of psychotic disease.

Her fear was growing, deep in her stomach and spreading up into her chest where it began to throb like sparks of tiny explosions. Jessica bent over and tried to breathe. She couldn't let them take her off this ship.

The idea came to her suddenly. Logic told her it would only delay the trip but Jessica was glad for any time it would buy her. She called for the guard who was standing outside of Lee's door.

A.N:

Mae: Thanks for always sending such entertaining feedback. (laughs)

Audrey: I bring you more. (smiles) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!